Chelmsford City v Whitby Town: Blues aiming to end twenty years of FA Cup hurt

You have to go back to the 2003-04 campaign for the last time that the Blues participated in the first round proper of the FA Cup, having been thrust into the national spotlight in their previous appearance at that stage of the competition just two seasons earlier.

That arrived in 2001-02, when the Match of the Day cameras came to the Turnbull Ground to screen their 1-1 draw with Plymouth Argyle, with the Pilgrims triumphing 3-2 in Devon in the replay.

Two years later, Whitby also reached the same stage before losing out at Hartlepool United.

In the past two seasons, the Blues have also bowed out to local opposition in the shape of Marske United and York City.

They must travel to the other end of the country today if they are to book their place in the hat for the first round draw for the first time in two decades on Sunday afternoon.

They face a Chelmsford side who are just outside of the play-offs spots in Conference South.

Whitby find themselves in a similar position in the Northern Premier League and with the pressure off as they bid to cause an upset.

Manager Nathan Haslam, whose side have seen off Goole, Prescot Cables and Morpeth Town to get to this stage of the competition, said: "We're going to go toe to toe with a team in the league above.

"On paper they've got more quality than us, they're in the league above, but my lads have got nothing to fear.

"We've got to approach the game in the right way and not really worry about the opposition.

"We'll go and play our own game and see if we can exploit them.

"They'll have their home crowd behind them and I'm sure they won't want a replay up at Whitby.

"We're going for the win, it's as simple as that, and we need to be positive, playing on the front foot to do that.

"We'll play with lots of courage and aggression. It's a game that we're looking forward to."