HALSTEAD Town continue their journey in this year’s FA Cup on Saturday with a visit to Leiston FC who play in the Southern League Premier Division, writes GRAHAM DOVER.

This will be Leiston’s first competitive match of the new season although they have performed well in pre-season and scored plenty of goals.

This is match that everyone at the club is looking forward to and manager Mark McLean is hopeful that one or two of his injured players may have recovered by then and be available for selection.

Following the game on Saturday, the Humbugs have little time to regroup before they return to league action on Tuesday night when Wivenhoe Town are the visitors to the Milbank stadium.

Both sets of players know each other well and this rivalry gives the game the effect of a local derby. Wivenhoe will want to avenge losing both games last season.

The two teams are amongst the best supported clubs in the league and matches between them usually produce a good game in front of a large crowd.

Kick-off time on Tuesday is 7.45pm and supporters are welcome to attend.

The club’s usual COVID-19 safety procedure will be in place to ensure the safety and protection of everyone attending.

Halstead's 1-1 draw with Athletic Newham last weekend led to mixed emotions for manager McLean.

Disappointment that his team didn’t claim all three points after leading 1-0 at half-time but also relief that keeper Jack Cherry’s fantastic save in the closing minutes ensured that the visitors didn’t grab an undeserved victory.

McLean thought it was a great game between two good sides and after the game praised the performance of both keepers.

Cherry for that last-minute save and Wilkinson in the opposition goal for great stops from Joe Jones and Jordan Pavett to keep his Newham side in the match.

The turning point in the game was at the start of the second half when Newham equalised moments after the save from Pavett.

The game then swung on a pendulum with chances being created at both ends of the pitch, although towards the end of the game Mclean thought his team had retained the impetus and could have scored a winner.

But overall he conceded that a draw was probably a fair result.