Bolton have been handed a home draw in the first round of the FA Cup, where they will take on National League side Stockport County.
The tie will be played on the weekend of the 6th/7th November – probably on a Saturday but there is a small chance it could be moved for broadcasting purposes. I can’t see this being anything other than a Saturday 3pm or Sunday afternoon game though.
Wanderers will be looking to progress through a round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2019 – when they beat Walsall in the third round before losing to Bristol City. In the following two seasons, we have suffered first round defeats to Plymouth the following season, then Crewe last season.
Stockport are currently 10th in the National League having won five of their 10 matches so far this season, and have now been in non-league for 10 years. Simon Rusk is their manager now, having taken over in January, while they have an ex-Bolton player in Tom Walker.
It should be a decent tie, a sort of local game at home to a team who we should beat in theory. The last time we hosted them was in April 2001, a 1-1 draw en route to getting promoted to the Premier League, but we have to go back to April 1993 for our last home win over them. Our last competitive meeting of any sort was in the FA Cup though, where we won 4-1 at Edgeley Park in 2002.