Magic of the cup may spell trouble for Exeter at Warrington

Normally, hearing that Warrington’s cup match will be shown live on TV at the weekend would mean the Wolves had drawn a plum Challenge Cup tie against Leeds or St Helens.

This time, the ball in question will be of a more rounded variety, and the venue will be slightly more quaint than the 15,000 capacity Halliwell Jones Stadium.

As Warrington Town prepare to create history in their first FA Cup proper tie against Exeter on Friday night, we give you four things you may not have know about the side gunning for a Grecians scalp.

Sibling rivalry

With his brother Peter already guiding a side to a spot at Wembley (albeit through the league play-offs), Warrington manager Shaun Reid will be keen to take his Northern Premier Division minnows as far as possible.

Reid has been in charge at the Cheshire club since March 2012, and guided the Yellows to a play-off spot during his first full season in charge. He certainly has the pedigree to do well at the club.

Solid as a rock

Key to their run through the myriad of qualifying games en route to Friday’s tie has been the side’s solidity at the back in front of their own fans.

In their last nine FA Cup ties at Cantilever Park, they have conceded just four goals. And with three of those at the hands of Ossett Town in the 2^nd qualifying round replay last season, they really do thrive on their own turf.

A Warrington clean sheet on Friday is 13/2 for those interested.

They’ve already moulded an FA Cup (and World Cup) winner

That’s right, back when the club were known as Stockton Heath Albion (their original name), a teenager named Roger Hunt joined the team.

After impressing in the Mid Cheshire League, Hunt was snapped up by Liverpool where he went on to taste FA Cup glory in 1965.

His biggest honour though was featuring for England in all six of their games en route to lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy at Wembley.

Could we see a star of the future under the floodlights on Friday?

Cantilever Park will be bouncing

On the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, the Yellows have experienced the kind of demand for tickets you would expect for such a tie.

The car-park has had emergency work done to stop the TV trucks from sinking in the mud, and fans have queued up outside the ground for the hottest ticket in town.

With an average attendance of just under 200, it will be a slightly different atmosphere than the players are used to when a sell-out crowd of 2,500 look on hoping the ‘magic of the cup’ is present in front of the BBC cameras.

The hosts are 7/1 to cause a major upset, with the draw at 7/2 and an Exeter win at 2/5.

All odds and markets correct as of the date of publishing

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