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Gillingham will host National League side Woking in the FA Cup first round

Gillingham will face non-league opposition in the opening round of the FA Cup - which could mean the return to Priestfield of an old favourite.

The Gills have been handed a home tie against National League side Woking, who have former Gills winger Matt Jarvis in their ranks.

Gillingham took Sunderland to a replay in the first round of the FA Cup last season, beating them at Priestfield in the second meeting
Gillingham took Sunderland to a replay in the first round of the FA Cup last season, beating them at Priestfield in the second meeting

Jarvis, now 34, trained with the Gills last season while looking for a club before he moved to Woking.

He tweeted: "Amazing draw! Can’t wait to go back! Just wish the fans were there!" His last match against the Gills was for Walsall and he played well in a 3-0 win .

The former England man - who started his successful career at Priestfield - provided the assist for one of the goals at the weekend as Woking beat Aldershot in the fourth qualifying round, to progress to the first round proper. They reached the third round two years ago.

The Cards made headlines in 1991 with a third round giant-killing win over West Brom, beating the then second-tier side 4-2.

The Gills avoided Kent sides Tonbridge Angels - who will host Bradford City - Bromley and Cray Valley.

Gillingham reached the third round last season, seeing off Sunderland and Doncaster Rovers, before suffering a 2-0 home defeat to West Ham in the third round.

Pablo Zabaleta opened the scoring for the Hammers at Priestfield before a stoppage-time striker from Pablo Fornals sealed the win for the Premier League side.

Matt Jarvis impressed against the Gills when he last played against them for Walsall
Matt Jarvis impressed against the Gills when he last played against them for Walsall

First round games are due to be played on the weekend commencing November 7.

Gills boss Steve Evans has not been interested in either the League Cup or EFL Trophy this season but the FA Cup remains a special competition.

He said: “The FA Cup is a magical competition and I have been fortunate to take teams to the fifth round on a few occasion and been to Old Trafford infront of a full house.

“That is always in the back of your mind, those days are worth fighting for when you can play in the qualifying rounds infront of a few hundred people (while manager of Crawley) and then infront of Sir Alex Ferguson drinking my wine!”

Gillingham have progressed past the first round in the last three seasons but prior to that suffered humiliation at the hands of non-league Brackley Town - the second time in four years the Northamptonshire side had beaten the Gills.

First round defeats to Bristol City (2014/15) and Stevenage (2015/16) were sandwiched inbetween. The Gills at least managed to avoid Brackley this time around.

More: FA Cup first round draw details

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