“FOR the players, coaches, supporters and everyone associated with the club, this is our FA Cup final.”

This poignant statement from Christchurch FC boss Ollie Cherrett resonates as the club attempt to make history and surpass their best ever performance in the competition this weekend.

The amateur football club caused an upset in the previous round, coming from a goal down against Dorchester Town to progress to second qualifying round, equalling the club’s longest run in the competition.

Ollie, who has been in charge at the team for the past five years, said: “The FA Cup is the biggest cup competition in world football. A lot of clubs would dream about being involved in it and we are privileged to be where we are in the competition.

“For a club of our size to be punching above our weight in a national competition like this is amazing for the players and the profile of the club.”

Having beaten Ascot United and Bashley in the preliminary rounds, Christchurch Town will face off against Gloucester City, a side three leagues their superior, at 3pm today at Hurn Bridge.

“We have beaten Dorchester who are two leagues above us and now we have been drawn against a side a league above them and who have aspirations of making it into the Football League,” said Ollie.

He added: “For many of the guys in the team, this will be the biggest game they have ever played but, as a team, we are hoping we can put in a good performance as there is no pressure on us.”

Christchurch has already sold around 200 tickets for this weekend’s game, which will be attended by home supporters only.

“Gloucester City haven’t played a game yet this season but, quality alone, they will be a difficult side to beat and we will need to do everything we can to progress in this competition,” said Ollie.

He added: “We will be lucky to have 300 home supporters at the game on the weekend and they will play an important role.

“For us they are the 12th man but this weekend, we will need them to be the 13th and 14th man as well.

“The game itself is probably one of, if not, the biggest in the club’s history but we want to make sure that we get supporters in the ground safely and help make it a day to remember.

“The club feels immensely privileged to be involved in the competition every season, so hopefully we can put on a show this weekend and make the supporters and everyone at the club proud.”

Before a ball is kicked today, the club has had to ensure that their facilities are up to scratch, which has fallen on the shoulders of club secretary Sian Corbin.

Mr Cherrett said: “Our club secretary has had to do a lot of work to get these games on and ensure that we are meeting the necessary requirements to host games.

“Sian has been going above and beyond her role as a secretary to make this possible, so massive credit goes to her for putting everything in place.

“We want to express how thankful we are to our two main sponsors, our club sponsor In Excess and MA Hart, who have sponsored us for the last two rounds of the competition. Without them we wouldn’t be where we are so a big thank you goes to them.”