Great FA Trophy draw for Peterborough Sports after outstanding weekend performance, but Tuesday League game is off

The city side’s reward for a 3-0 fourth round win at Horsham on Saturday is a home game against Kidderminster Harriers who currently sit bottom of the National League.

The tie will take place at PIMS Park on Saturday, February 10 when Sports will attempt to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in the club’s history.

Sports were due to return to National League North action at home to Farsley Celtic on Tuesday, but that game was postponed after a pitch inspection this morning.

"It’s a great draw for us,” Sports joint-manager Michael Gash, a former Kidderminster player who helped them knock Posh out of the FA Cup in 2014, said. “It’s actually one of the hardest draws we could have received as there are more clubs left from outside the National League than from in it, but it’s a game we will look forward to for sure.

"We deserve the chance as the lads were outstanding at Horsham. They play in a lower division than us, but they've had some excellent results this season. It was on a 4G pitch as well, but once we adapted to their expansive system after about five minutes we were pretty comfortable.

"We played some excellent football and thoroughly deserved the result.”

Horsham v Sports report

Club stalwart Mark Jones scored all the Sports goals which delighted Gash as did the return, earlier than expected, of central defender Ryan Fryatt, an enforced selection after Lincoln City recalled on-loan defender Hayden Cann on the eve of the match.

"It was a great all-round display,” Gash added. “But we were all delighted for Mark. He’s Sports through and through. If he’s playing, injured, on the bench or suspended he’s always there supporting the lads.

“Ryan is similar. He’s been a long time injured, but whenever you need anything from him he’s ready to give it. We weren’t expecting him to start this game, but he was excellent. I played alongside him at the back and he’s just a great talker and organiser.

"Hayden was outstanding for us. It’s very disappointing to lose him, but his aim is to play for Lincoln so he has to play where they want and we have no qualms about that at all.

"He’s going to the Irish League and a couple of Lincoln players have returned from there and got into the first team so you can see the attraction, although he’d get just as much exposure playing in our league.”

The weekend National League results didn’t hurt Sports. They dropped one place, but they are seven points and six places clear of the relegation zone and now have games in hand over everyone in the bottom half of the table.

"We wanted to play tomorrow as we have good momentum,” Gash said. “But we had to inspect early so we could stop Farsley travelling if we had to.

"It’s exciting to have a good FA Trophy run, but our fixtures will soon start to stack up. We already have seven games in February.”

Sports’ next scheduled National League fixture is at Scarborough Athletic on Saturday (January 20).