Bishop’s Stortford drawn away to Ebbsfleet United in third round of FA Trophy

Fraser Alexander was pleased to see Bishop’s Stortford’s pressing game pay dividends as they made Isuzu FA Trophy progress at the weekend.

The midfielder was involved in two of the goals as the Blues came from behind to win for the first time this season as they beat Hertfordshire rivals St Albans City 3-1 at home in the second round.

The Blues, who are scheduled to visit Banbury United tomorrow night (Tuesday November 21) before travelling to Scarborough Athletic on Saturday (November 25), now have the chance to cause a cup upset after being drawn away to Vanarama National League strugglers Ebbsfleet United in round three.

The Kent side are third from bottom in the division above the Blues and have won only one of their last 13 league outings.

Steve Smith’s men are due to visit the Kuflink Stadium on Saturday December 9.

Mbunya Alemanji scored twice in four minutes either side of half time and Tosin Olufemi netted the third for Stortford as they bounced back from conceding in the eighth minute against the Saints at the weekend.

“I thought we started quite poorly and they were very good in the first 30-35 minutes,” midfielder Alexander told the Blues’ YouTube channel. “They played some nice football and we were dragged out of position a lot.

“But the boys stuck at it and we changed the shape which gave us a better opportunity to win the ball back higher up on the press. We did that for the [first] goal, which was a great goal by Mbunya.

“We came in at half time thinking we had the upper hand and were on the front foot.

“We went out for the second half and started really quickly, got two goals and then it was about seeing the game out and managing it to get the win.”