Shane Baptiste's Woodford Town side travel around the M25 to face Spartan South Midlands Football League side Colney Heath as our Emirates FA Cup adventure begins at the Extra Preliminary Round stage.

The two sides have met in this competition before, with the previous meeting taking place in 2020 as The Woods progressed with a 3-1 victory at home, albeit the match took place at Harlow Town's home ground, with Woodford yet to move to Ashton's. We also met with The Magpies in a pre-season friendly just over a year ago.

The Woods

We've won both of our competitive games so far this season, beating newly-promoted Hackney Wick on the opening day and West Essex in midweek, scoring six goals across the 180 minutes of action we've been involved in.

Last season, we exited the competition at this stage, losing 3-1 at Benfleet. However, we did reach the First Qualifying Round stage two seasons ago, losing 4-1 at home against Felixstowe and Walton United, having previously beaten teams from higher up the pyramid in Hertford Town (4-1) and Bowers and Pitsea (4-3), including an enthralling matchup with Bowers that saw us score in the 89th and 95th-minute to earn a replay and then winning 4-3 at Ashton's.

Our hosts

Colney Heath were defeated on home soil, Tuesday evening in their second league fixture of the season, losing 2-1 against Aylesbury Vale Dynamos, but they did taste victory against Baldock Town on the opening day.

This is the third season in a row in which The Magpies have faced an Essex Senior League side at this stage of the oldest domestic cup competition in the world. Last season, they were defeated by eventual Play-Off Final winners Takeley, and they faced our local rivals Ilford in the previous campaign - drawing 1-1 at home before winning 2-1 at Cricklefields Stadium in the replay.

Match Details

This Extra Preliminary Round clash will take place at Colney Heath's Recreation Ground (AL4 0NP), kicking off at 15:00 BST.

Kit Colours

The hosts will don their home strip, featuring black and white striped shirts, black shorts and black socks. For the first time this campaign, we will wear our brand new 2025/26 home shirt, which can be bought here. The strip features yellow shirts with blue trims, blue shorts and white socks.

Ticket Information

Pay on the day is available at the Recreation Ground, with tickets the following.

Adults: £8
Concessions: £5
Under 16: £1