THERE will be some eye-catching matches during the early rounds of next season's FA Cup, FA Trophy and FA Vase competitions.
The draws for the initial stages were made on Friday and have thrown up some intriguing derbies - including a couple of meetings for Bostik League pair Witham Town and Coggeshall Town.
The latter, promoted last season and playing in the competition for the first time in their history, will play host for an FA Cup extra preliminary round tie on August 11.
And by a strange coincidence, the sides will meet again in the extra preliminary round of the Trophy - except this time at Witham's Village Glass Stadium.
Other ties of note include the FA Cup extra preliminary round tie between Wivenhoe Town and Brantham Athletic while Heybridge Swifts could host neighbours Burnham Ramblers in the preliminary round - if Ramblers get past West Essex.
Elsewhere in the FA Cup, FC Clacton begin with a trip to Kirkley and Pakefield while Stanway Rovers - now of the Essex Senior League - have been drawn away to Tower Hamlets.
If Clacton progress, they will be at home to Ware in the preliminary round while Stanway - if they eliminate Tower Hamlets - would be away to Haringey Borough.
The winners of the Wivenhoe-Brantham tie will host Hertfordshire's Welwyn Garden City, Heybridge or Burnham will be at home to West Essex and Maldon and Tiptree will travel to either Haverhill Rovers or Haverhill Borough.
In addition to the Witham-Coggeshall Trophy tie, Swifts have been handed a trip to Ashford Town, of Middlesex.
In the preliminary round, the winners of that showdown will be away to Westfield.
Witham or Coggeshall will be away to AFC Dunstable while Maldon - given a bye in the first round - will be away to Uxbridge or Chalfont St Peter.
The draw has also been made for the FA Vase.
In the first qualifying round on September 1, it's Newbury Forest v Wivenhoe, Stanway v White Ensign, Holland FC v Cornard United, Stansted v Brantham and Enfield Borough v Halstead.
In the second qualifying round on September 15, it's Coggeshall v Sawbridgeworth Town, Little Oakley v St Margarets or Hadleigh United, Clapton or Woodford Town v Newbury Forest or Wivenhoe, Codicote v Holland or Cornard, Stansted or Brantham v Walthamstow or Takeley, Hoddesdon Town v Clacton, Baldock Town or Long Melford v Stanway or White Ensign, Enfield Borough or Halstead v Sporting Bengal United.
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