THE draw for the first qualifying round of the FA Cup has been made.
The road to Wembley starts for the two Warrington teams on Saturday September 5, though in reality the aim will be to win through the four qualifying rounds and land a possibly lucrative first round proper fixture.
It is now 12 years since Warrington Town achieved that feat, famously beating Exeter City 1-0 live on BBC, before bowing out to Gateshead in the second round.
This season their FA Cup journey starts with a trip to the north east to face Shildon, who play two levels below them in the Northern League. The Yellows haven’t won an FA Cup match since beating Morpeth Town in a replay in 2022.
Warrington Rylands will start their FA Cup run with a home match against Hyde United, who have already visited Warrington this season, going down 3-0 in Town’s first home game.
Rylands reached the third qualifying round in two successive seasons in 2023/24 and 2024/25, going down to Macclesfield and Scarborough Athletic respectively.
It is their eighth FA Cup campaign. Rylands defeated Shildon on penalties during their run to Wembley and winning the FA Vase in 2021.
