Matlock could face competitive football ahead of league opener

The Gladiators could be involved in FA Cup Preliminary Round action on Saturday 12 September after on Tuesday news filtered through from the FA that up to four NPL Premier Division clubs could be involved at this stage of the competition.

A total od 736 clubs entered the competition last season and the intention is for the same number of clubs to be involved again in 2020/21.

Fifteen clubs from the Step 3 leagues, the NPL Premier, the two Southern Premier Divisions and the Isthmian Premier will be required to play in the Preliminary Round as opposed to the First Qualifying Round which is usually the case for clubs at Matlock’s level.

If league positions are used to decide who plays in the Preliminary Round, the Gladiators could well be starting competitive football a week earlier than most of their Premier Division counterparts as they were in third bottom spot when the season came to a premature end due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Should Matlock find themselves in the Preliminary Round, manager Paul Phillips says it is a situation Matlock must accept and embrace.

“We’ve got to prepare for that if it happens and we should look at it positively in that it will be a really competitive game before the league games get under way,” he said.

"It would be an important game for the club and one we’d want to win and we’d hope it would act as a springboard for the games that follow.”

All will be revealed on Monday when the draws for the Extra Preliminary and Preliminary Rounds, the competition format and the prize fund will be published by the FA.