Buoyed by their midweek victory that took them out of the relegation zone, Welling United now commence their F.A. Cup campaign.

As is so often the case, they start it with an away game, visiting Ryman League One South team, Whyteleafe F.C..

Their opponents on the London / Surrey border have already navigated two rounds to get this far. They started with a 1-1 draw at Hollands and Blair before winning the replay 4-2 with Karl Parker notching a hat-trick.

Roscoe D’Sane’s brace saw them through the first round as they won 2-1 at Ramsgate after going behind.

In the league, they have won two and lost four but both victories were at their Church Road ground, 3-1 over Godalming Town and 4-1 v Sittingbourne.

This will not be the first meeting between the two clubs. In 2008 they met at the same stage and after holding Welling to a 1-1 draw at Park View Road, Whyteleafe beat the odds and the Wings to claim a 2-0 victory in the replay.

Mark Goldberg’s team will go into the game far better placed after their victory over Eastbourne Borough. Pierre Joseph-Dubois put Welling ahead but Craig McAllister equalised before the break.

Dubois-Joseph put Welling ahead again four minutes after the break and they were rarely troubled before Dan Walker put the icing on the cake with a third in injury time.

Goldberg knows that despite the difference of two leagues, it will not be easy at Whyteleafe. “It doesn’t matter who you are playing against. It’s eleven men against eleven men. Certainly for the first sixty minutes, it’s a matter of a battle.”

“You’ve got to do all the hard stuff, then hopefully, the quality should come through. We’ve got the ability to go there and get the victory. There’s no doubt, we’ve got the team to do it, and we’ll go to do it to the best of our ability.”

Although, Welling have struggled to find five fit players on the bench in recent week, Goldberg expects to be able to name the maximum of seven allowed in the cup. “We might have one or two back. Sam Hatton could be back. Dean Leacock could be available and Josh (Jackson), it’s good to have him around because he’s a good young lad.”

Pictures supplied by Dave Budden.