Reigning SCEFL Champions Faversham Town turn from prey to hunter in the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Cup this weekend as they make the short trip up the A2 to face National League Ebbsfleet United at the Kuflink Stadium. 

And for boss Tommy Warrilow it’s a return to one of his previous clubs…  When Warrilow played at Stonebridge Road, it was a completely different set up and even a different name as when the Faversham boss wore the Fleet red, it was for Gravesend & Northfleet.  

But this is Cup weekend and come 3pm on Saturday afternoon, the two divisions that separate the two Clubs will mean nothing, as the Lillywhites proved in the previous round when they won at National League South side Maidenhead.

“Who knows in the FA Cup?” Warrilow told us this week. “We know what we are coming up against and we will go there with the same attitude we went to Maidenhead with in the last round – we will go to give it everything we have, we are not going to make the numbers up, but we know that we are coming up against a very good, organised, full-time side!” 

“We’re all looking forward to it! We’ve had three games to play since the draw was made and we have had to concentrate on them and the League which is obviously our main priority, but it’s nice to now come up to the fixture as we are all looking forward to it!” 

“It will be nice to go back to the Fleet as well,” Warrilow admitted after playing nearly one hundred games for the Club back in his playing days.

“We used to train in the car park round the back – I’m not sure if it’s even still there – when I played there! To be fair, it’s just the main stand that is different as pitch wise and everything else wise it’s still all there!”

“Pitch-wise though I am sure that it’s a lot, lot better – at the end of the day, the facilities will be better as the new main stand is a lovely stand!”

“I haven’t been into the new changing rooms and have watched a game from the stand as when I last went back as manager of Tonbridge the stand hadn’t been finished!” 

“In my time as a player we were fortunate enough to get a promotion and a had a great FA Cup run where we went out to Leyton Orient – I had some good times there. But the nice thing is in football we keep in touch, and I am still mates with players I played with there and the management as well.” 

Warrilow has been in charge now at Faversham for coming up to two years and Saturday will give the manager and his number two, Alex O’Brien, the chance to look back on how far the Club has come very quickly.

“Exactly that!” Warrilow reflected. “We were in SCEFL last season, and we would like to think it’s growing and going in the right direction on and off the pitch!”

“What we have to make sure is that we don’t lose track of a little bit of reality as we’re sitting third in the League which is an unbelievable start considering we have played three of last season’s Play Off sides already – Sittingbourne and Margate in the League and Merstham in the FA Cup – and I would like to think that the Football Club is, and will keep going, in the right direction, but we have to be realistic when we have our bump in the road, which will happen, and make sure the bump isn’t a massive hurdle and we get back on it!” 

“But at the moment, I can’t ask much more of all the lads that have played for me since I walked through the door. The first aim was to get out of the SCEFL League which we have done, and the second aim is to make a good fist of this level, and if you throw in a decent FA Cup run, then that’s all well and good!”