Plymouth Parkway, a seventh-tier club from the Southern League Premier Division South, are one win away from reaching the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history. Their next step is the fourth qualifying round, and victory would put them in the draw alongside their far more established neighbours, Plymouth Argyle.
The contrast between the two clubs is stark. Argyle, currently League One leaders and founded 140 years ago, play at the 17,900 all-seater Home Park, less than two and a half miles from Parkway's Bolitho Park, which has a capacity of 3,500 and just 250 seats. Parkway, who began playing park football in 1988, are now second in the seventh tier and hope to reach the English Football League with proposed Kuwaiti investment.
Chairman Mark Russell described the prospect as massive. He said that a draw against bigger clubs such as Leicester City, Sheffield Wednesday or Plymouth Argyle would turn what might otherwise be a pre-season friendly into a real competitive match. Manager Karl Curtis, a Tottenham Hotspur fan, has guided the side through tough away ties at Gosport and Frome Town, and then a win over National League South side Horsham.
Curtis now calls the Saturday tie against Chertsey their FA Cup final, having previously described the earlier round as a semi-final. Russell said that, if drawn against Argyle, a home tie would suit the club's pitch, but a trip to Argyle's ground would offer valuable experience for the players.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing