Chelmsford City and Grays Athletic will compete for a place in the quarter-finals of the Essex Senior Cup at Melbourne on Monday night.
And bosses Glenn Pennyfather and Julian Dicks will put the friendship they forged at Canvey Island aside for 90 minutes in a bid for silverware in the BBC Essex-supported competition the Clarets currently have in their custody.
Blue Square bragging rights are at stake in an Essex derby which constitutes one of the ties of the round, and Pennyfather is keen to put one over on his companion, who has recently taken charge at the South Essex club.
“I’ve spoken to Julian on numerous occasions but haven’t seen him since we were at Canvey,” Pennyfather commented, “so it’ll be good to say hello again. He has a decent team and this will be a good yardstick to see how far our younger players have developed in such a short space of time.”
City made it to this stage courtesy of a win by the odd goal in seven at Heybridge Swifts, while Athletic had a smoother path through via a 5-0 victory at another Ryman League Division One North club, Romford.
Pennyfather is aware of his opponents’ abilities, stating: “We couldn’t have had many tougher draws than this one, but we’re looking forward to it as players tend to raise their game when they’re competing against higher opposition. We’ve done well in this competition and want to continue to do so.”
Striker Rob Edmans and wide midfielder Anthony Cook are the only injury doubts for the cup tie, though neither are far away from full fitness and Pennyfather is glad his team’s worries in this department seem to finally be easing. He explained: “We have a good set of games running up to Christmas, with a big FA Trophy game to look forward to against AFC Hornchurch on Saturday, and I hope for that game that we will have a completely full squad to choose from for the very first time this season!”
