Matchday Preview – Swindon Supermarine – FA Cup 2nd Round Qualifying

By Duncan Gardner

We are in FA cup action this weekend but if this was a league game it would be a fight for points between the two early pacesetters!

Yes it’s the top 2 in the southern league southern division who face off against each other – both teams boasting 100% records from 5 league games.

Back to the cup though and our hosts have reached this stage having dispatched Tuffley, Didcot and then Winslow (after a replay). The Terras have only had to negotiate two rounds against Somerset sides Shepton Mallet and then Bath City.

Supermarine’s manager Bobby Wilkinson will be very familiar to Terras fans as he was at the Bob Lucas helm for 18 months until March 2024. He also managed two teams in games against the Terras – eight times for Hungerford before his Weymouth tenure and once for Hemel Hempstead following his departure. In all games he enjoyed 4 wins over the Terras with the same number of losses and a draw.

Our team record against his current charges totals 3 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss – the defeat coming in this exact round of this competition in 2010 – a 0-3 reverse in Wiltshire. All other games were in the league over the years between 2010 & 2019 apart from our most recent encounter – a 2-1 friendly win in the summer of 2023. Ironically Bobby Wilkinson was the Terras gaffer that day!

If travelling Terras are looking for good omens then they need to look no further than our recent performances at this 2nd qualifying round of the cup – we’ve progressed on each of the last 8 occasions – Basingstoke the last team to knock us out in 2012.

Returning the focus to this weekend and we will be looking to progress through three rounds of this competition for the first time since 2022/23 – when Wilkinson was in charge!

Can the Terras take us flying into the next round against Supermarine?