Can West find a way through Yarm & Eaglescliffe and advance in the cup?
West Auckland Town face Yarm & Eaglescliffe, who make their debut in the competition, on 8 August away at Bedford Terrace, which is also the home of their landlords, Billingham Town.
The Eagles typically line up in a 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 wing-back system, prioritising a solid three-man central defence balanced by highly active overlapping wing-backs.
In possession, Yarm & Eaglescliffe FC play with an asymmetric, direct approach focused on utilising dynamic wing-backs, vertical counter-attacks and targeted set-pieces.
They typically structure their attack out of a composed central back three, offering a secure platform to distribute the ball cleanly into the middle and final thirds.
Rather than prioritising slow, passive possession, they focus heavily on rapid vertical transitions, capitalising on spaces left behind by opponents pushing forward.
They rely heavily on direct, driving runs from wide areas – such as Sam Conway on the left – to progress the ball, bypass midfield lines and overload opponent flanks.
Their chance creation leans significantly towards sending dangerous, swinging crosses into the box from active channels and turning dead-ball situations into high-pressure goalmouth scrambles.
Yarm & Eaglescliffe FC play out of possession with a disciplined, compact shape, focusing on defensive organisation, aggressive pressing in specific areas and tight duel-winning in the middle third.
They maintain a tight defensive structure, making it hard for opponents to find space between the midfield and backline.
Midfielders and wing-backs drop deep to congest the final third and neutralise quick counter-attacks.
They work hard in physical duels, looking to win aerial flick-ons and loose balls before opponents can settle.
When controlling the tempo early on, they press high to force hurried clearances, though they rely on converting that pressure into transitions.
To defeat this system, you must exploit the space behind the wing-backs and overload their three central defenders, while also avoiding static play. Ideally, a false 9 should be used, with constant diagonal runs in a 4-3-3 formation.
West must keep an eye out for Eagles target man Tom Atkinson who netted 40 for our opposition in the previous campaign as well as him, you should also be on the look out for Mikey Roberts, Dan McWiliams and experienced goalkeeper Callum Roberts.
The two sides have never met in a senior fixture, with this FA Cup match being the first time the two sides will lock horns.
Yarm & Eaglescliffe are 2025-26 treble winners, having won the Northern League Division One play-off title, Division Two League Cup and the North Riding Senior Cup.
The side showed immense quality in their promotion campaign, pushing eventual title winners Redcar Town to the wire but falling short and winning promotion through the play-offs.
Words by Lewis’ Football Media.
