Having already disposed of Welling and Forest Green, Fleet were paired with Conference side Braintree Town in the Third Round of the FA Trophy – but this time away from home.
The draw, made on Monday morning, sees the two clubs paired for the first time in a Trophy tie. Fleet’s last visit to the Iron was a 3-1 Easter Monday defeat in 2013 and the Essex club were, of course, champions of Conference South in the season Fleet won promotion via the play-offs.
This will be the clubs’ 16th meeting, with Fleet having won eight to Braintree’s four. The Fleet also have the upper hand in cup competitions having beaten Braintree in the FA Cup in 1997 and again in the Full Members Cup two years later.
Braintree have beaten AFC Sudbury and Gosport Borough in this year’s competition so far and lie in mid-table in the Conference this season. Jamie Day has already achieved a double over them in 2014/15, having won 2-1 and 1-0 in league games with Welling United.
The match will take place on Saturday, January 24, at the Miles Smith Stadium. The away draw means Fleet will face five away games in succession unless one of our two outstanding league games is rescheduled.
