Poppies handed home tie in the FA Cup

The draw for the second qualifying round of the FA Cup has been made

Kettering Town have been handed a home draw in the second qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup.

The draw was made at lunchtime today (Friday) and the Poppies will entertain National League South side Chelmsford City at Latimer Park in what is scheduled to be the opening game of the season for both clubs.

As it stands, the tie will be held behind closed doors although that is still subject to the National League securing government funding to allow the season to get started without fans due to the restrictions that were brought in this week and resulted in the plans to allow fans into elite sports stadia being paused.

The all-Step 2 clash represents a tough draw for the Poppies as Chelmsford were sitting in 10th place in the National League South table when last season was ended early due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tie will be played to a finish on the day with a penalty shoot-out being used to decide things if it finishes level after 90 minutes.

The winners will scoop £3,375 from the FA's prize fund while the losers will receive £1,125.