Lancaster City hope to progress in FA Cup against Marske United

Lancaster City will be looking to make it to the Third Qualifying Round of the Emirates FA Cup this weekend.

The Dolly Blues take on fellow NPL Premier Division side Marske United in the Second Qualifying Round at home on Saturday (September 16) and will want to build on their progression in another competition earlier this week.

They beat National League side AFC Fylde 2-1 in the First Round of the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy, thanks to a double from Paul Jarvis.

The result extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to seven games.

New signing from Oldham Athletic Trey Turner made his debut for Lancaster during that game and impressed, as did two young players who got given an opportunity: Jenson Butterworth and Robbie Deighan.

On Wednesday, City announced that defender Calen Gallagher-Allison had re-signed for them, just months after he left to join NPL Division One West club Bootle.

Gallagher-Allison was an important part of the side last season, as was every defender Lancaster had in their ranks, and his return will give Mark Fell’s team yet more quality at the back.

The Dollies beat NPL Division One West side Witton Albion in the First Qualifying Round to progress to this stage of the FA Cup.

Saturday’s opponents, Marske United, beat Ossett United of the NPL Division One East in the last round.

However, the Seasiders haven’t had a great start in the league, currently occupying 21st place after just one win, the rest of their games ending in defeat.

Their most recent result was their worst of the season, a 5-0 thumping at Matlock Town.

However, Marske fans did have a reason to be optimistic last week, as 28-year-old winger Curtis Round re-signed for the club.

Round, who was a fan favourite during his first spell at the club between 2016 and 2022, scored 53 goals during that time, making over 250 appearances.

Speaking to Beyond Radio, Lancaster City assistant manager Graham Lancashire briefly previewed Saturday’s game.

“We obviously want to win and progress - it’s the FA Cup, it’s the big cup tie," he said.

"We’ve done our homework, we’ll do what we can and make sure everything is right for the game on Saturday.”

Lancashire has fond memories of the competition, having scored for Burnley in the 1991/92 Second Round match against Rotherham United. 

David Norris was also part of the 2007/08 Plymouth Argyle team that made it to the quarter final of the cup,

Lancaster City v Marske United in the FA Cup Second Qualifying Round kicks off at 3pm at The Giant Axe.