Paul Fisk's unbeaten Hythe Town side will be stretched to their outer reaches this weekend when they face Kent League rivals VCD Athletic in FA Cup First Round Qualifying at Reachfields.

Town secured an impressive 1-0 league victory at VCD on Saturday, but with doubts surrounding the fitness of Paul Hyde, Tom Adlington, Mark Bond and John Walker, coupled with the definite absence of Buster Smissen (family commitments), Fisk is expecting a tough test.

"We know the game will be difficult, having only played VCD last weekend," Fisk said. "They will be at the top end of the table come the end of the season and the selection problems we may face can only make the task harder.

"Despite the injuries, we'll be looking to go into the game to win and enjoy ourselves. We won't have the worry of losing league points and hopefully that will allow the players to relax a bit and play under a little less pressure.

"We've had two difficult matches this week, with the Norton game being especially bruising, but I was pleased that we proved we have discipline and that we can cope with playing against different styles of play. We've given the players Thursday (tonight) off training, because of the heavy schedule, so we should be ready to go on Saturday."

Losing Smissen, on a run of four goals in four games, will give either Gary Mickelborough or Joe Neilson the chance to spearhead the attack alongside five-goal top scorer Pat Kingwell. Ben Sly will also be back in contention after missing Tuesday night's win against Norton Sports due to work.