I suppose we are cast as the underdogs again tomorrow. Anyway here's hoping for a good performance and of course a victory. Best of luck lads and don't forget to smile for the camera!

From the FA Web site (here's hoping I'm not breaching any copyright laws)

Neville Roach is confident that the added of pressure of appearing on FATV again will not affect his Hartley Wintney side when they take on Whitehawk in The FA Cup Preliminary Round on Saturday.

Hartley's Extra Preliminary Round win over Molesey was captured by The FA’s cameras last week and Roach believes the added attention has inspired his charges.

"It was a massive day, all the boys are buzzing from it, the whole club is," explained Roach. "We were really looking forward to it, it's the big one.

"The coverage on the website was really good and the boys loved it. There was no pressure, it was just a chance for everyone to go out there and enjoy themselves. It was a great result and a great day for the team and the club.”

The next task in hand for the Combined Counties Division One side is the visit of Whitehawk, who play their football two tiers higher in the Isthmian League Division One South. The Hampshire side go into the game without the sort of budget Whitehawk have at their disposal but also without the burden of being the favourites.

"I know that they're two leagues above us, with a lot of experience and a big budget but that's all I know," added Roach. "It will be harder than Molesey because they will have more experience.

"There is no pressure on our boys, we're just going to go out there and do what we can."

One thing that Hartley's Cup progress has done is increase interest in the club and Roach is hopeful that their giant-killing feats might draw even more support for his side.

Roach said: "I think it's brought a lot of attention to the club. Nobody knew about us but hopefully now people will stand up and think, 'oh a little village club with a lot of ambition' and hopefully we can let people know what we're about."

Whitehawk, the current Sussex County Division One champions, will pose a significant threat and their manager Darren Freeman believes the club's long term plans for success will play a vital part in this fixture.

"We believe in doing things in the right way here with our youth teams and we are always trying to bring players through," said Freeman.

"We have two former Crystal Palace trainees here, Jeryl Hughes and Jamie Brotherton, that have brought a lot of quality to the club and I believe that they will make the step back up, hopefully with us."

Despite Whitehawk's strength, Freeman will approach the game like any other and he knows what he will have to do to get a result and what it means.

"We have got to prepare right and make sure the occasion does not get to the lads," added the Hawks manager. "It's all about the day itself and preparing right. We certainly won’t be taking anything for granted.

"It's a great Cup and after just a couple of rounds there is a chance you could be playing a big team.

"The club also has a lot of great people working very hard off the pitch and we all want this club to be successful."

Superb performance lads, especially first half and rode our luck but did enough second half to win it. I heard their equaliser came in the 98th minute. Pressure on the ref by the higher league opposition probably got them off the hook by getting the extra few minutes added. But no point and no need to ponder on that. As players you'll all be able to look back on that game with pride, and we'll never get tired of watching Mario's and Sim's goals, both peaches. You made us all proud lads AND you're still in the Cup. Whatever happens next, you've really played your part in this season's FA Cup.

Don't ponder on the negative at the very end. Seeing that performance for me says a huge amount for what Nev, Michael and Mick have achieved in such short time with a side that's still getting to know eachother in many cases. Great stuff. Heads up, be proud of that today.

Hopefully I'll find the link to the FA's video and have that on here soon.

SUMMARY
For those who weren't there, Hartley had far the best of the first half, with Mario Nurse and then Simeon Howell scoring shortly before the break to put us 2 up, both terrific efforts but Sim's was one of those as a player you'd dream to score in a 'televised' FA Cup tie; half volley from a long way out that dipped over the keeper. We deserved to go in 2 up.

Whitehawk joined the game in the second half and scored within the first few minutes of the restart, but then created and missed a few other very good chances, and it seemed it would be Hartley's day. The ref found 8 minutes of injury time from somewhere - he'll no doubt say there were X number of substitutions and whatever, but there were no lengthy injuries or other stoppages I can recall. But mustn't let that spoil what was a superb day for the club.

Video of the game at home to Whitehawk from FATV. Should load below if you have a compatible web browser.

Whats happened to the vid?

What's happening to it your end Shinner? Seems OK from here, except they've added an ad on the front of it that plays back cherky for me.