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Plymouth Parkway players dream of glamorous FA Cup tie
Will Sullivan celebrates scoring for Plymouth Parkway
Will Sullivan (centre) scored for Plymouth Parkway when they played city rivals Plymouth Argyle in pre-season

Plymouth Parkway's players hope they can earn the chance to test themselves against a League One side in the second round of the FA Cup.

The seventh-tier team face Southern League Premier Division South rivals Berkhamsted in a sold-out first round tie at their Bolitho Park home on Monday.

The game, which is live on television, will kick-off following the second round draw, so both sets of players will know who they will come up against if they win.

"I've never had this before, having TNT there is amazing and also knowing who you've got before, I think, gives you an extra boost coming into the game," midfielder Will Sullivan told BBC Radio Devon.

"My mum's from Leicester so I would say Leicester, I'd take them at home again at home, keep it at Bolitho

"Them or (Plymouth) Argyle, because I was at Argyle so it'd be nice to play them and get one over them."

Parkway have made a great start to the season and are fourth in their division, 11 points above Berkhamstead, who are 12th.

The Devon side had a morale-boosting 3-1 win over league leaders Uxbridge in midweek and are just three points off the top of the table.

"I believe we've got a massive, massive chance," adds Sullivan.

"Other than the top teams, there's about four top teams, I think this is one of the best draws you could get."

Sullivan is one of a number of former Plymouth Argyle academy players now plying their trade than two and a half miles up the road from Home Park.

His cousin Joel was also part of the set up at the League One side before being released at the age of 18, having captained the Pilgrims' academy side.

"I feel like I've bounced back well and find myself at Parkway and maybe even facing Argyle if we win in the next round," Joel says.

"I actually went down to the club with everyone else for the draw and you speak to people at the club, they're all talking about your Leicesters, your Sheffield Wednesdays because obviously the League One and League Two teams came in for the first round," he adds.

"So we had sheets of paper out with all the numbers of the different teams, what ball they were, we were all looking at Leicester's number, Sheffield Wednesday's number.

"When Berkhamstead's came out everyone was a bit disappointed at first, but then that sort of flipped thinking well actually it is a winnable game.

"Not doing any disservice to Berkhamstead themselves but we'd have to back ourselves, we're at home, it's a team in our league and we believe we can beat anyone in the league on our day."

Jensen Ireland goes up against Plymouth Argyle's Freddie Issaka
Jensen Ireland (right) has provided seven assists for Plymouth Parkway this season

Parkway's FA Cup journey has been a money-spinner for a club that is the subject of interest from Kuwaiti investors.

They have already earned £20,625 from coming through four rounds of qualifying and will pocket £50,000 for having Monday night's game screened live on TV.

If they are knocked out they will have the consolation of £15,800, but should they win they would collect £47,000 for reaching round two and guarantee at least another £21,200 from a further tie.

"Everyone will be nervous," adds defender Jensen Ireland, who has not played in front of a full house at Bolitho Park since former club Argyle visited in pre-season.

"There will be a lot of atmosphere, there will be obviously cameras around, so it will be a different feel to the Argyle game, but it's something that I'm ready for and so excited for.

"I think both teams will just treat it as a normal league game in fact, it's just a 90 minute game, the same as every game.

"It's a team we would play in the league, so I think it's a winnable game for both teams."

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