AFC Wimbledon drawn with Coventry in FA Cup first round

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

The first round proper of the FA Cup (trophy pictured) with Budweiser is looming large and on Sunday afternoon, 87 teams discovered their fate as the draw took place.

While the former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier and 2002 FA Cup final goalscorer Ray Parlour were unable to produce some of the magic the neutral football fan would want from a first round proper draw, there are some intriguing ties.

The main highlight sees the drawing of two sides against one another who tasted FA Cup success in the 1980s.

AFC Wimbledon will welcome Coventry City to the Cherry Red Records Stadium on the weekend of the 9th/10th November. The home side won the competition as Wimbledon in 1988 when they stunned Liverpool at Wembley and of course were formed by disgruntled supporters after the old club defected to Milton Keynes a decade ago.

Coventry won the prestigious prize in 1987 and have had their own financial concerns of recent months, including liquidation threats in the summer but have done well to climb into 13th in the League One table, considering they started the campaign with a 10-point deduction.

2008 FA Cup winners Portsmouth will make the trip to Stevenage, whilst last season’s giant-killers of Liverpool, Oldham have an exciting meeting with another club that has fallen from grace dramatically in recent times in the shape of Wolves.

New Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough will take his team to Colchester United in round one and there will be a Lincolnshire derby as Scunthorpe United, relegated to League Two for this season heading to Blundell Park to face Conference side Grimsby Town.

Former Champions League winner with Ajax, Edgar Davids will take his Barnet side to Preston, while fresh from knocking seven goals past Vauxhall Motors in qualifying on Saturday, Macclesfield Town will fancy themselves to give Swindon Town a tough test at Moss Rose. Macclesfield made round four last season and knocked out Cardiff City on their way to a clash with eventual winners Wigan Athletic.

The lowest ranked side left in the competition who will definitely figure is Daventry Town. The Southern League Division One Central side will head to 1997 semi-finalists Chesterfield and League Two strugglers Northampton Town face a tricky tie away to Bishop’s Stortford from the Conference South Division.

All ties will take place in a fortnight’s time, with three television ties from BT Sport and ITV likely to be selected in the coming days.

THE FA CUP WITH BUDWEISER FIRST ROUND DRAW
Morecambe v Southend United
Walsall v Shrewsbury Town
Boreham Wood v Carlisle United
St Albans City v Mansfield Town
Milton Keynes Dons v FC Halifax Town
Bristol Rovers v York City
Tamworth v Cheltenham Town
Grimsby Town v Scunthorpe United
Bury v Cambridge United
Corby Town v Dover Athletic
Colchester United v Sheffield United
Oxford United v Gateshead
Hartlepool United v Notts County
Wrexham v Alfreton Town
Chesterfield v Daventry Town
Bristol City v Dagenham & Redbridge
AFC Wimbledon v Coventry City
Preston North End v Barnet
Bishop’s Stortford v Northampton Town
Burton Albion v Hereford United
Rotherham United v Bradford City
Gillingham v Brackley or Barrow
Salisbury City v Ebbsfleet United or Dartford
Accrington Stanley v Tranmere Rovers
Brentford v Staines Town or Poole Town
Stevenage v Portsmouth
Shortwood United or Aldershot Town v Port Vale
Leyton Orient v Southport
Peterborough United v Exeter City
Torquay United v Rochdale
Braintree Town v Newport County
Oldham Athletic v Wolves
Worcester City or Lincoln City v Plymouth Argyle
Bradford Park Avenue or Kidderminster Harriers v Hemel Hempstead or Sutton United
Hednesford Town v Crawley Town
Stourbridge v Biggleswade Town
Welling United v Luton Town
Macclesfield Town v Swindon Town
Wycombe Wanderers v Crewe Alexandra
Gloucester City v Fleetwood Town

All ties to play on the weekend of Saturday, 9 November/Sunday, 10 November

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