Two Cumbrian clubs are on the road to Wembley tomorrow after contrasting starts to the season.
Workington Reds only have a single point in NPL Premier from six games and they play their first FA Cup game of the season at home to Stalybridge Celtic.
Kendal Town also have a home tie against Dunston but their League form so far has been very good.
They sit fifth in Northern League Division One, five points behind leaders Whitley Bay with a game in hand.
They lost the opening game against Newcastle Benfield, and also their most recent at home to Horden but in between put together four straight wins.
Narrow defeats to Whitby and Warrington Rylands, along with a draw against Ashton have been Reds’ results so far at Borough Park.
The three defeats away at Stockton, Hednesford and Lancaster have been more concerning.
An inability to keep clean sheets, the low number of chances created and subsequently only two goals scored – one a penalty – underlines the problems.
Stalybridge are in NPL West, the level below but have a shrewd manager in Jon Macken who took over at Bower Fold last October.
They currently lie tenth in the table with seven points – two wins, a draw and a defeat at Macken’s former club Witton Albion.
Former Reds forward Ruben Jerome now plies his trade for Celtic and scored the first goal in their excellent 2-0 win at Bury in the previous round.
At Parkside Road, however, the mood among supporters is different with Kendal showing early promise under new manager Matt Flynn that they can have an impact on the Northern League this season.
Their good run has been sustained despite the fact that they have had several players missing at different times.
Dunston sit in a similar League position in NPL East – fifth in the table but after three wins to start the season have lost two in a row to Bradford PA and Redcar Athletic for a miserable bank holiday weekend.
