Old Spotted Dog club entertain Long Melford this weekend in the extra preliminary round of the famous competition

Chris Davis is hoping his past experience in the FA Cup can help Hackney Wick earn a maiden win in the famous competition this weekend at home to Long Melford.

Wick, after merging with London Bari in the summer, will compete in the historic tournament for the first time in their history on Saturday.

But Davis has managed in the FA Cup before with Bari and actually took a team to Long Melford in 2015.

The Suffolk-outfit ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in the end, but the Wick manager is confident his new-look side can gain revenge in the extra preliminary round this time.

Davis said: “We played Long Melford previously with Bari and I remember the journey there and how tired we were.

“Because of that we had such a small amount of time to get ready and our preparation wasn’t great.

“It didn’t affect us for the first 45 because it was level at half time, but we started to get tired after the break and lost 3-0.

“We are hoping Long Melford may suffer something similar and feel fatigued because of the journey.

“I do know they are a very good team though, so we need to make sure we perform to our best.”

There is understandably a lot of excitement at Hackney Wick ahead of their first-ever match in the FA Cup.

Owner Bobby Kasanga will be hoping for a decent crowd at the Old Spotted Dog for the 3pm kick-off.

Wick will have plenty of confidence too after beating Burnham Ramblers 3-1 at the weekend in their Essex Senior League opener.

The division new boys then claimed a 1-1 draw at home to Tower Hamlets, thanks to a Ibrahim Camera goal, on Tuesday night in front of 94 spectators.

“It is a big occasion for the club. I think the people previously at Hackney Wick are more excited than us new guys from London Bari,” said Davis.

“They are all jumping up and down, but for us we have been in this situation quite a few times in the past.

“We are hoping we can go through, but we need to make sure we are professional and stay focused.

“The last thing we want to do is make things difficult for ourselves, so fingers crossed we can get a good result.

“Our priority this season is the league, but of course we would love to go as far as possible in the FA Cup.”