Parkway eye FA Cup progress after 'winnable' draw

Plymouth Parkway are aiming to make progress in the FA Cup after their first-ever first round draw.

The seventh-tier side will host Southern League Premier Division South rivals Berkhamstead on 7 November.

Parkway reached the first round proper after a 2-0 win over another seventh-tier side, Chertsey Town, at Bolitho Park on Saturday.

Meanwhile, their Hertfordshire-based second-round opponents impressively came from a goal down to win 2-1 at National League side Southend United.

"If you're not going to get one of the big guns away, that's the exact draw you'd want," top scorer Andrew Neal, who got Parkway's opening goal against Chertsey, told BBC South West.

"Someone in our league, at home, a very winnable game.

"It's hard not to now get excited and look towards maybe a potential second round draw."

Manager Karl Curtis, who has led Parkway to second place in their league after 11 games, says he will not be taking his side's opponents lightly.

The two sides have yet to play each other this season, with Berkhamsted seven points behind the Plymouth club, in 11th place.

"I thought the first FA Cup first round would be an absolute bonus no matter who we play, but what it has done now is given us an opportunity for this journey to continue," Curtis said.

"It's going to be another 50-50 game. Some people might disagree on that and go, 'no, you've got the home advantage so you'll be favourites', but I think sometimes that will bring its own pressure.

"I believe it'll be a sell-out on the day as well, so that'll bring its own added pressure to us and it'll take a little bit of pressure off them.

"But they're a very good side, I know they are, I've watched some of their games already this season and when you go to Southend and win, you're a good team.

"So they'll come here full of confidence themselves. We'll be confident and that's why I say it's a 50-50."

For a side that was originally formed in 1988 as a park team, the cup run caps a meteoric rise in recent years.

Parkway won promotion from local football to the Western League in 2018 before going up to the Southern League in 2021 and winning promotion to the seventh tier a year later.

They are now in the midst of their greatest-ever cup run - they have already earned £18,375 in prize money while a victory next month would guarantee them at least £68,950 more.

It all comes as Parkway explores investment from the Middle East, a far cry from the club former manager Gez Baggott first got involved with in the early days.

"I'm extremely proud," he said.

"I've seen the club win championships, I've seen them win cups, but my aim was always to get into the first round proper, and I've seen it.

"There's a lot of people I wish were here to see it who are not here now and it's been a long road, but this is such an achievement for the club, it's absolutely fantastic."

Curtis is keen to keep a lid on all the cup excitement for the time being.

Parkway are four points behind league leaders Poole Town with a game in hand, while third-placed Uxbridge are level with them having played a game fewer.

It means a focus back on to the games immediately coming up, rather than aiming for the first full weekend of November.

"We've got to navigate through four or five league games like Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday between now and then, plus a cup game," Curtis says.

"So that's going to be a challenge in itself whilst you're trying to get a healthy return of points in the league.

"What I don't want is this cup journey derailing us or giving anyone excuses to take our foot off the gas in terms of the league, which we won't allow to happen at all.

"The most important game for me at the minute, funnily enough, is just going to be the next game."