By Rob Cole
Dig deeply enough in the early rounds of the FA Cup and you always find a Welsh connection. So will it be the Wrexham old boy or the former Newport County favourite who survives the replay between Billericay Town and Leatherhead?
The 22-year-old midfielder Robbie Evans joined Billericay this season from Wrexham after making 120 appearances for the north Walians. He started the first round tie for the Isthmian League side at Leatherhead.
Opposing him was the former Newport County midfield stalwart Lee Minshull, who made 133 appearances for the Welsh club as they fought their way back into the Football League. He is the current captain of Leatherhead.
Already into the draw for the second round are Yeovil Town, who had former Wales Under 19 defender Tom James to thank for twice clearing off the line to keep their goal intact in a 1-0 home win over Southend United. It was the first time in 12 years the League Two club had beaten higher league opposition in the tournament.
On the bench for Yeovil was another Wales Under 19 player, on-loan Swansea City defender Keston Davies. Former Wales Under 21 goalkeeper was on the bench for AFC Fylde in their famous 4-2 home win over Kidderminster Harriers that put them into the second round for the first time in their history.
Another former Wales Under 21 goalkeeper, Maidstone United skipper Lee Worgan, pulled off a string of great saves to help his side beat Cheltenham Town and was at the centre of a sending off incident in the second half when Kevin Dawson lunged at him and was shown a red card.
Boreham Wood, of the National League, produced some more FA Cup magic as they beat a Football League side for the first time in their 70-year history as they knocked out Blackpool with a 2-1 home win. Lining up in their defence was former Wales Under 21 cap David Stephens, who put in a man of the match performance.
Former Welsh international Ryan Green was at the heart of another famous win by Hereford United in the cup as they reached the second round with a 1-0 home win over.
The big question is, though, will any of these teams survive if they draw the mighty Newport County when the draw is made on Monday night ahead of the game between non-league Chorley and Fleetwood Town, the League One side that contains Cardiff-born Wales Under 21 cap Wes Burns.
The draw will be broadcast on both BBC Two and BT Sport 1, with coverage starting at 7.00pm. The second round itself will take place across the weekend of 1-4 December and teams making it through to Round 3, when the Championship and Premier League clubs enter the fray, will earn £27,000 in prize money.
