After beating
Gloucester City at Stonebridge Road on Saturday, the Fleet have been
handed an away tie against fellow Kent side Whitstable Town in the second round of the FA Trophy. The
Oystermen currently play in the Ryman League Division One South and
sit 19th in the League.
The draw went
national this round with clubs as far as Gateshead and Barrow AFC
potentially awaiting the Fleet but, just like every other cup tie so
far, the draw was kind to the reds giving them a short journey.
Whitstable have
beaten Sittingbourne, Potters Bar Town, Hythe Town, Carshalton
Athletic and Hendon to get this far. Although it's a tough draw for
the Oystermen, they will be giving it all they have on Saturday 14
December in front of a healthy crowd at the Belmont Stadium.
The two sides have
met just once in competitive action over the years, with the Fleet
running out 3-0 winners in an FA Cup Qualifying tie. The most recent
meeting between the sides came last season in round one of the Kent
Senior Cup. The Fleet came out on top in this match, winning 5-1 at
the Belmont Stadium with Nathan Elder bagging four.
In other news
today, Steve Brown picked up the Skrill South Manager of the Month
award for November as the Fleet picked up five straight wins in
Skrill and FA Competitions as well as progressing in the Kent Senior
Cup.
The Fleet beat
Bromley and Gloucester City in the FA Trophy as well as beating
Concord Rangers, Basingstoke Town and Hayes and Yeading United in
League action. Over the six games in the month, the boys in red
managed to hit a total of 17 goals, conceding just three in the
process. The victories in the League have pushed the Fleet up to
third in the table, their highest position of the season so far, and
they're improving with every game that passes.
Brown has got the
players working for each other and confidence is sky high at the
moment; the Fleet fear no one.
To complete the
double award, on-loan striker Michael Thalassitis picked up the
Player of the Month award for November as he bagged four goals in
five matches. The Stevenage man hadn't been having the luck but after
starting, and scoring, against Concord Rangers on November 02, he's
started every game.
The Fleet are at
home on Saturday in the Skrill South as they play Whitehawk before
returning to cup against against Whitstable the following week.