Waiting Game

ALL SMILES: Pawel Abbott (centre) celebrates after putting Athletic ahead at Brighton.

ATHLETIC officials are hopeful of landing a cash windfall after being handed a big home draw against Leeds United in the first round of the FA Cup.

Coca-Cola League One leaders Leeds — beaten for the first time this season by Millwall on Saturday — travel across the Pennines to Boundary Park in two weeks’ time for what is arguably the biggest tie of the cup weekend.

Details of the games picked for television coverage have yet to be released, with Sky Sports and ITV sharing the rights to the competition following the collapse of Setanta.

Kick-off times and selected matches are expected to be finalised in conjunction with clubs and the police today.

Last season, Setanta showed two games at this stage and ITV one, with all the sides featured picking up £75,000, though it is unclear at present how much the equivalent matches will provide for clubs this year.

Other than Athletic’s tie, possible games that could be selected include Bristol-based Zamaretto League minnows Paulton Rovers at home to Norwich City, Blue Square North side Northwich Victoria hosting Charlton and another all-League One game between high-flying Bristol Rovers and Southampton.

Athletic, now up to ninth in League One and two points off a play-off spot, host Huddersfield Town on Sunday (2pm kick-off) buoyed by a solid 2-0 win at Brighton.

Ex-Town striker Pawel Abbott, who bagged his sixth goal of the season at the Withdean Stadium, will play in that game despite needing a hernia operation.

Jon Worthington definitely misses out though. The club received the results of the scan on his ankle injury late last week and the confirmation of ligament damage means that the combative midfielder is ruled out until next year.

Left-back Alan Sheehan, who set up Athletic’s second against Brighton with a precise free-kick, reaches the end of his current loan deal after the Huddersfield game.

Though Athletic officials are likely to seek to extend his spell at the club past that point, the Irish full-back’s parent club Leeds are at the very least unlikely to allow him to play when the two sides meet in the FA Cup.

ATHLETIC reserves take on Bolton Wanderers in the Manchester Senior Cup tonight (7pm) with a number of first-team squad members set to be involved.

Chris Taylor and Andy Holdsworth will both play as they bid to regain full fitness following injury lay-offs and they are joined in the squad by Paul Black, Keiran Lee, Nick Blackman and Ryan Brooke.

The game takes place at Ewen Fields, home of Hyde United, and admission is £4 adults and £2 concessions.




FA Cup, first round draw



Gillingham v Southend; Grimsby v Bath City; Gateshead v Brentford; Chesterfield v Bournemouth; Blyth Spartans or Telford United v Lincoln City; Stockport v Tooting & Mitcham United or Eastbourne Borough; Burton v Oxford City; Barrow or Chester City v Eastleigh; ATHLETIC v Leeds; Lincoln United or Cambridge United v Ilkeston Town; York v Crewe; Wycombe v Brighton; Hereford v Sutton United; Nuneaton Town v Exeter City; Bristol Rovers v Southampton; Carlisle v Morecambe; Forest Green v Mansfield; Oxford United v Yeovil; Paulton Rovers v Norwich City; Swindon v Woking; Port Vale v Stevenage; Luton Town v Rochdale; Bromley v Colchester; Accrington v Farnborough or Salisbury City; Millwall v Crawley Town or AFC Wimbledon; Stourbridge v Walsall; Shrewsbury v Staines Town; Wealdstone v Rotherham; Torquay v Cheltenham; Barnet v Darlington; Notts County v Bradford; Huddersfield v Dagenham & Redbridge; MK Dons v Macclesfield; Rushden & Diamonds v Hinckley United; Northwich Victoria v Charlton Athletic; Aldershot v Bury; Wrexham v Gloucester City or Lowestoft; Hartlepool v Kettering or Redditch United; Tranmere v Leyton Orient; Northampton v Kidderminster or Fleetwood.

Matches to be played on the weekend of November 7 and 8.