Redcar Athletic welcome Hemsworth Miners Welfare to Green Lane for Steelmen’s first-ever FA Cup clash

Northern League side Redcar Athletic will play in their first-ever FA Cup clash when Northern Counties East League side Hemsworth Miners Welfare come to town for the Extra Preliminary Round clash.

Both sides play in the ninth tier of English football or step five of non-league, as it is more commonly referred to, but Redcar are new to this level having been promoted as part of the FA restructuring of non-league this summer.

The Steelmen have had two promotions in recent history, having only reached Northern League Division Two in 2018, when they were promoted from the Wearside League.

Hemsworth Miners Welfare meanwhile are in their 10th season in the FA Cup but have never made it past the Preliminary Round, so a win against Redcar would equal their best-ever run in the Cup.

A trip to the North East will be nothing new to Hemsworth, having visited Hebburn Town last season and Sunderland RCA the season before, although they were on the losing side on both occasions and will be hoping it will be third time lucky this time around.

The West Yorkshire side will have the advantage of not having played since last weekend. Both teams played the opening game of their league seasons last Saturday, with Hemsworth drawing 2-2 at Bottesford Town thanks to a last-minute equaliser, while Redcar beat Northallerton Town 2-1 at Green Lane.

Redcar, however, also had a game in midweek, with a visit to North Shields, one of the more fancied sides in the Northern League this season.

The extra game might not be considered a disadvantage. Having gone so long without playing due to the curtailment of last season, getting minutes into the players’ legs could be seen as a bonus, although the 100-mile round trip to North Shields is something they could have probably done without.

The 7-0 scoreline is also something Redcar could have done without with the confidence gained against Northallerton last weekend now likely gone.

The sides go into this game knowing their prize will be an away game in the next round, either to Seaham Red Star or Crook Town. For Redcar, either would mean a relatively short journey to face a side in the same league as them, for Hemsworth meanwhile, it would mean yet another trip to the North East.

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