Ebbsfleet United will travel to Leyton Orient in the Emirates FA Cup First Round in what is a repeat of our tie from 1993/94
Having been the first name out of the hat in the previous round, Fleet fans were left waiting until almost the very end of the draw to find out their destination for November 6th.
And it’s our former National League rivals Leyton Orient who will bar our path to any Second Round tie, the O’s now of course back in League Two.
We first met Orient as a Southern League Southern Division club back in 1993, the O’s then in the old Division Two (third tier). Steve Portway famously gave the Fleet the lead in that one but the home side fought back to sneak victory by 2-1.
More recently, the clubs have met four times in the National League with Fleet undefeated in those – winning the two home games and drawing both away matches.
Leyton Orient, managed by Kenny Jackett, are currently just inside the play-off positions in seventh place in League Two with an average attendance of around 5,000. They will be seeking to make Round Two for the first time since 2015/16, while for the Fleet we go back to 2003/04 since our last appearance at that stage.
