Lincoln City, Scunthorpe United and Hull City at home, Grimsby Town away – Humberside’s club’s learn FA fate

The FA Cup first round proper draw saw the four Humberside teams enter the fray, as they found out who they would face to open their respective cup journeys.

League One sides Lincoln City and Hull City were joined by Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe United of League Two as they found out their FA Cup first-round opponents on Monday night. As EFL sides, the four remaining Humberside clubs enter the competition at this stage as dream ties for some of the teams in non-league.

Lincoln City

The Imps went into the FA Cup first-round draw as the highest-ranked side in the competition. Michael Appleton’s men are sitting pretty at the top of the League One table following consecutive wins against Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town.

They were drawn to face League Two side Forest Green Rovers at the LNER Stadium. Despite being located on very different sides of the country, the two teams have formed a rivalry built on last-minute winners, post-match fights and even accusations of spitting.

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Lincoln and FGR were promoted from the National League together in 2016-17 under Danny Cowley and Mark Cooper respectively. While the former moved on to pastures new last season, Cooper has remained at the New Lawn but has been unable to help his side follow the Imps into League One.

He might be happy that the game is played behind closed doors to avoid any further abuse from the Lincoln faithful, but will be determined to get his first win over the Imps since the two sides were promoted to the Football League.

Hull City

Having been relegated from the Championship in disastrous fashion last season, Hull City have looked a much-changed side and now sit third in League One. While a cup run would be nice for Grant McCann’s side, the emphasis will undoubtedly be on returning to the second tier as soon as possible.

The Tigers will face Fleetwood Town at the KCOM Stadium in the first round, coming up against Joey Barton’s men for the second time this campaign. Their previous meeting was in League One at the beginning of October, where the Fishermen romped to a 4-1 victory at Highbury Stadium.

Of course, this tie now presents Hull with a perfect chance for revenge against the first side to beat them in the league this season. Perhaps the Tigers will feel that they have more of a chance at their own ground, but Fleetwood have proven time and time again that those who underestimate them usually pay the price.

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Grimsby Town

Ian Holloway’s Grimsby have had a pretty underwhelming start to the season. The Mariners sit in 17th after their opening seven League Two games, having only notched up two victories. So they might be happy to be drawn away at National League side Dagenham & Redbridge in the FA Cup first round.

The Daggers were tipped for a successful season after pulling off some superb signings in the summer transfer window, but Daryl McMahon’s side sits 19th in the fifth tier having won just one of their opening five games. They overcame Southern League Premier Division South side Hartley Wintney FC 1-0 in the last round of the cup thanks to a 14th-minute penalty from Mitch Brundle.

National League sides have often proved to be banana skins for those in League One and League Two, but Dag & Red’s poor form could give Grimsby a much-needed confidence boost ahead of their trip to East London.

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Scunthorpe United

Scunthorpe United have had a fairly abysmal start to their campaign, dropping to 23rd in League Two after eight games. The Iron suffered some humiliating home defeats recently, losing 4-1 to Forest Green Rovers and 5-0 to Cambridge United at Glanford Park earlier in October. Neil Cox’s side have picked up just one win, beating Carlisle United at the end of September.

So a home tie against high-flying Solihull Moors of the National League may not be what the Iron would’ve wanted. James Shan’s side won all but one of their five games in all competitions this season, including a 5-0 thrashing of King’s Lynn Town and a 4-0 win against Wrexham in the last round of the FA Cup.

Now fifth in the league, The Moors will present a clear threat to a Scunthorpe side devoid of confidence. The non-league team may be the underdog on paper, but The Iron will have to drastically improve to see off their FA Cup opponents.

More regional FA Cup previews

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