Plymouth Parkway target historic FA Cup first-round place

Parkway stand one win from a landmark

Plymouth Parkway have described their fourth qualifying-round tie against Chertsey Town as the club’s “FA Cup final”, with victory taking the seventh-tier side into the competition’s first round for the first time.

The Southern League Premier Division South club, currently second in the division, would then be in the draw alongside higher-profile teams including Plymouth Argyle. The neighbours are separated by less than two and a half miles, but their grounds are very different in scale: Argyle’s Home Park holds 17,900, while Parkway’s Bolitho Park has capacity for 3,500, including 250 seats.

“From a history point of view it would be the first time we’ve done it, but also from a financial point of view you’re obviously going in when big clubs are coming in,” chairman Mark Russell said. He added that the prospect of facing teams such as Leicester City, Sheffield Wednesday or Argyle in a competitive match was an exciting one.

Argyle is the dream draw

Parkway regularly meet Argyle in pre-season, most recently in July, when the League One side won 4-1. Midfielder Rio Garside, who came through Argyle’s academy, said he would relish the chance to play his former club—at either ground.

“I didn’t make it to the first team, it would be nice to maybe play at their place, but I’d also love to play them here,” Garside said. He described the build-up as exciting, with friends and family already talking about the tie.

Striker Andrew Neal, Parkway’s leading scorer with 10 goals in 11 league games this season, has previous experience of the FA Cup first round. He featured for Truro City when they reached that stage in 2017 and drew Charlton Athletic.

“These are the days that you’ll remember,” Neal said, recalling the Charlton tie as one of his career highlights. “If we can get through Saturday and we can get a big draw, it’s something that will stick with you for the rest of your footballing career.”

Curtis says Chertsey will be a major test

Manager Karl Curtis said Parkway had already negotiated difficult away matches at Gosport and Frome Town before beating National League South side Horsham in the previous round. He warned that Chertsey, despite playing in the same division as Parkway, would pose a similarly serious challenge.

“Because of where the club is at in step three, it’s four wins and we’ve done three,” Curtis said. “Now we play Chertsey here ... this is our FA Cup final.”

If Parkway reach the draw and are paired with Argyle, Russell said the club would weigh the sporting appeal of playing at Bolitho Park against the financial benefits of staging the match at Home Park.