Looking to successfully play the role of underdogs once again in this competition, National League side Aldershot Town will host League Two leaders Stockport County in the second round of the FA Cup.
The Shots demolished an out-of-sorts Swindon Town to book their place in round two last month, while the Hatters made light work of non-league outfit Worksop.
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Aldershot enter round two of the FA Cup after a record-breaking success at Swindon in the previous round, where the Shots came out on the winning side of an 11-goal thriller at the County Ground, representing the first time a non-league side has scored seven in an FA Cup game against Football League opposition.
Tommy Widdrington‘s men fired themselves into a sensational seven-goal lead after just an hour of the contest thanks to a Jack Barham hat-trick and a brace from Swiss striker Lorent Tolaj, coupled with strikes from Josh Stokes and centre-back Cian Harries to emphatically seal the visitors’ place in the draw for the next round.
Since their 15 minutes of fame in the first round, Aldershot have returned to National League matters and kept their playoff ambitions on track, winning three of their last four matches in the fifth tier, including last-minute maximums against Bromley and Halifax Town most recently courtesy of late goals from Coby Rowe and the aforementioned Tolaj.
The Shots currently occupy sixth position in the National League standings after collecting 36 points from their opening 22 matches, meaning Aldershot have established a three-point buffer between themselves and eighth-placed Rochdale, although the 17-point gap to runaway leaders Chesterfield appears unassailable.
Aldershot’s best-ever run in the FA Cup arrived in the 2012-13 season while they plied their trade in League Two, with the Hampshire-based club handed a fourth-round tie against Championship side Middlesbrough, who sealed their place in the fifth round thanks to a 96th-minute winner from Lukas Jutkiewicz at the Riverside Stadium.
Stockport have suffered a slight blip over the past week in their largely flawless campaign in League Two, with the Hatters collecting just a single point from duels against Newport County and local rivals Salford City, although Dave Challinor‘s men remain five points ahead of second-placed Wrexham in the fourth-tier standings.
County saw their remarkable 12-game winning run in League Two come to an end at Rodney Parade last weekend, when goals from Bryn Morris and Shane McLoughlin for the Welsh club sentenced Stockport to their first league defeat since the trip to Mansfield Town back on August 26.
Fielding a dangerous forward line consisting of 12-goal striker Isaac Olaofe, Kyle Wootton and Paddy Madden on Tuesday night at Edgeley Park against Salford, Challinor’s side were unable to convert their 64% possession and 20 shots into a meaningful moment, meaning the Hatters failed to score in a league match for only the second time this season.
Stockport were one of the biggest winners in round one of this year’s FA Cup last month as former Notts County man Wootton scored a hat-trick to help the League Two leaders to a 5-1 thrashing of Workshop, and County will be looking to repeat the trick against another non-league opponent on Sunday.
Challinor’s men are averaging two goals per game in the fourth tier after 20 matches, but their forward line was dealt a huge blow in late October after Aston Villa loanee Louie Barry suffered a serious hamstring injury, with the youngster expected to be sidelined for another three months.
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Aldershot announced the signing of attacker Ollie Bray from Willand Rovers earlier in the week, but the promising forward will be unable to feature on Sunday as he is cup-tied.
Widdrington could be tempted to name an unchanged XI from the one which got the better of Halifax in dramatic fashion last time out, meaning Haji Mnoga would remain on the bench despite providing the match-winning assist.
Dejan Tetek did not even make the bench during the week and is unlikely to feature against the League Two leaders this weekend, with the right-back playing only 106 minutes of National League football since leaving Reading in the summer.
Stockport boss Challinor does not have many possible ways to make alterations to his side due to an increasing injury list, but Akil Wright is set to enter the XI at the expense of fellow defender Kyle Knoyle.
The Hatters suffered a major fitness blow in the past week with the news that influential midfielder Will Collar could be sidelined until late January due to a hamstring injury.
A number of the visitors’ youngsters could be handed rare starts in the engine room if Challinor decides to rotate against non-league opposition, meaning Joel Cotterill and Cody Johnson could play a significant part in Hampshire.
Aldershot Town possible starting lineup:
Van Stappershoef; Willard, Harries, Hartfield; Jones, Frost, Rowe, Glover, Stokes; Barham, Tolaj
Stockport County possible starting lineup:
Hinchliffe; Wright, Horsfall, Pye; Southam-Hales, Powell, Croasdale, Touray, Madden; Olaofe, Wootton
Aldershot have shown that they possess fighting spirit in abundance during narrow wins over Bromley and Halifax recently – a characteristic which will be very helpful against Stockport this weekend.
The Hatters are not at their scintillating best at the moment, and we feel that the League Two pacesetters will need a replay back at Edgeley Park to get past the Shots.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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