The 1,000-capacity Artic Stadium will host its maiden FA Cup first-round tie on Wednesday evening, as Cray Valley Paper Mills seek to prolong their historical adventure in a replay against Charlton Athletic.
The eighth-tier crop managed to hold their League One counterparts to a 1-1 draw at The Valley earlier this month, and a trip to Gillingham will be on offer in the second round if Cray Valley can defy the odds once again.
Match preview
© Reuters
Already cementing their place in Cray Valley folklore, Steve McKimm's charges had to navigate a total of eight qualifying ties to even earn a shot at a giant killing in the first round, requiring replays to see off all of Lordswood, Northwood and Carshalton Athletic.
The hosts' affinity for getting the job done at the second time of asking offers some hope of a historical night at the Artic Stadium, three years on from Cray Valley's inaugural appearance in the FA Cup first round, which ended in a 1-0 loss to Havant & Waterlooville.
An identical scoreline was on the cards when Charlton's Scott Fraser broke the deadlock nine minutes into their showdown at The Valley, but just three minutes after the restart, a slide-rule pass from Hassan Ibrahiym picked out the run of Kyrell Lisbie, whose cross was turned into his own net by Addicks defender Lucas Ness.
By avoiding defeat at The Valley, the Millers can proudly boast their best-ever FA Cup result no matter what transpires on Wednesday evening, but their knockout exploits have left them to play catch-up in the Isthmian South East Division.
McKimm's men have only played six times in the league this term, but they have gone unbeaten in all of them and made it four wins for the new season with a 3-0 trouncing of Erith and Belvedere on Saturday, seeing them occupy a spot in the top half of the rankings with a whopping 21 goals; only league leaders Three Bridges (30) have more.
On the other hand, one can be sure that Charlton will have no time for FA Cup sentiment as they endeavour to avoid a disheartening evening against eighth-tier opposition, who punished them for failing to take their chances back on November 5.
One-time winners of the tournament back in 1947, Charlton also have a perfect streak to prolong on Wednesday evening, as they have prevailed in each of their five FA Cup replays against non-league teams, although their most recent one was back in 2010 against now-Premier League outfit Luton Town.
The season before that saw the Addicks suffer their most recent FA Cup exit at the hands of non-league opposition away from home - a 1-0 defeat to Northwich Victoria in the first round - but they have only fallen at the opening hurdle once in the past 13 seasons since that humiliating afternoon.
Goalkeeping gaffes were the theme in Charlton's League One showdown with Portsmouth at the weekend, as after Alfie May had cancelled out an Abu Kamara opener, a rush of blood to the head from Ashley Maynard-Brewer allowed Colby Bishop to restore Portsmouth's one-goal advantage from the penalty spot.
However, in the third minute of injury time, Conor McGrandles beat Will Norris with a tame near-post header to steal a point for Michael Appleton's men, but that 2-2 draw leaves Charlton with just one away win under their belt in 2023-24, while their only FA Cup victory on the road since March 2014 came against Gateshead in 2021. Another chapter in the Cray Valley fairytale, therefore, cannot be ruled out on Wednesday.
- W
- D
- W
- D
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
As well as boosting morale with a convincing league success, Cray Valley came out of their beating of Erith and Belvedere with no injury concerns to report, and the same crop of players from their inspiring draw at The Valley should be rewarded on Wednesday.
After providing the cross for Ness's own goal in the opening match, Millers hotshot Lisbie scored twice in the space of three minutes at the weekend, and the 19-year-old is primed to link up with Freddie Parker in the final third.
Teenage midfielder Matthew Vigor - a summer signing from the Crystal Palace academy - was only a second-half substitute at the weekend, but the teenager will be eyeing a recall to the starting XI for the replay.
While Cray Valley are unaffected by the international break, Charlton have seen five players called up by their countries for November's fixtures, including number one goalkeeper Maynard-Brewer, who will swap the Addicks jersey for a New Zealand kit.
Terell Thomas (Saint Lucia), Daniel Kanu (Sierra Leone) and James Abankwah (Republic of Ireland Under-21s) will also be unavailable for the trip to the Artic Stadium, but Chem Campbell has made a full recovery from the injury which forced him off in the first clash with Cray Valley.
Terry Taylor (ankle), Panutche Camara (muscle), Harry Isted (knee) and Chuks Aneke (hamstring) are all sidelined for the visitors, who should not be averse to rotating their resources despite the disappointment of last weekend's draw.
Cray Valley Paper Mills possible starting lineup:
Freeman; Williams, Tumkaya, Lee, Asiedu; Ibrahiym, Black, Vigor; Ademiluyi, Parker, Lisbie
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Walker; Asiimwe, Ness, Hector, Edun; Dobson, McGrandles, Fraser; Campbell, Tedic, Blackett-Taylor
We say: Cray Valley Paper Mills 0-3 Charlton Athletic
Not a single ounce of pressure should be weighing on the shoulders of Cray Valley, who have already gone toe-to-toe with Charlton on rival territory and should see no reason why lightning cannot strike twice in Eltham.
The Addicks would not require a replay had they shown more of a clinical edge on November 5, though, and while the FA Cup always springs a shock or two, we can only picture Appleton's men giving their eighth-tier hosts a rude awakening and booking their spot in the second round.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
