Ah, the magic of the FA Cup! For teams in the non-league pyramid, the dream is to reach the First Round Proper. Wimborne have achieved that just once, in 1982 when, as the lowest ranked team left in the competition, in the Western League Div One (tier 9), they lost 4-0 at Fourth Division Aldershot. In that same season Worthing (tier 7) went one better to achieve their best performance in the competition: they knocked out Dartford 2-1 at home in Round One before losing 4-0 at Third Division Oxford United in Round Two.

Forty-three years later, Tim Sills’ Magpies are sitting fifth in Southern League Premier South with a W4 D3 L2 GF 16 GA 10 record; Chris Agutter’s Rebels are 11th in the league above, National South, with a W3 D3 L3 GF 15 GA 12 record.

Wimborne’s last home defeat was back in February which means that they are unbeaten at the Wyatt Homes Stadium this season: Havant & Waterlooville (3-1), Uxbridge (2-2), Weymouth (3-0), Evesham (1-1), and on Tuesday a 3-2 comeback win over Plymouth Parkway. In the FA Cup, Tim’s team knocked out Bishops Cleeve (5-2) away then Bath City 2-1 at home two weeks ago. The three leading goalscorers – Will Fletcher (six), Lewis Williams (five) and Joe Smith (four) – all scored in the last game against Plymouth Parkway.

On their away days this season Worthing won 4-3 at Horsham, lost 1-0 at Farnborough, lost 1-0 at Chippenham, before hammering Dagenham & Redbridge (with Andy Carroll) 5-2. The following Saturday, starting their FA Cup campaign, they drew 2-2 at Jersey Bulls before winning the replay 5-0, with Temi Babalola bagging a hat-trick, to set-up Saturday’s encounter. Their opening day league fixture was a 1-1 home draw with Bath City, who Wimborne defeated in the FA Cup Second Round Qualifying.

Wimborne have only been beyond the Third Round Qualifying three times: in 1982, 1986, and 2020 when James Stokoe’s squad knocked out Maidstone Utd on penalties before losing to Boreham Wood in the Fourth Round Qualifying.

If scores are level after 90 (ish) minutes, there will be a replay at the Sussex Transport Community Stadium on Tuesday. The 40 winning teams from this round will be joined by the 24 teams from the National League for the Fourth Round Qualifying.

Wimborne are the underdogs, with all the pressure on their higher-league opponents who finished fourth in National South last season, a mere one point behind champions Truro. This has all the ingredients to be a cracker of a cup tie. So come on down, and cheer on Tim’s team. After all, it’s what Saturday afternoons were made for.

There will be additional catering facilities available on Saturday as a large crowd is expected.

As there’s limited parking at the ground in Ainsley Road BH21 2FU, if you can travel by bus, bike, or on foot it would be really helpful. However, if you do decide to travel by car and park on the nearby streets, please do so respectfully to our neighbours.

• The Morebus no.13 runs along Leigh Road from and to The Square in the town centre with stops at the bottom of Parmiter Road, a five-minute stroll from the ground.
• There is a bike park near the players’ entrance.
• Please note that season tickets are not valid for FA competitions.
• A packed printed programme will be on sale.
• Admission: adults £14, concessions £8, U18s £5, U13s £2.
• Weather Forecast: light cloud; 16oC; 50% chance of rain.