Faversham boss Ray Turner won’t let the prospect of a bumper FA Cup derby tie distract his side as they return to Bostik South action this weekend.

The Lilywhites beat Croydon at the second attempt in a Tuesday night preliminary round replay to claim the £1,925 prize-money and book a home date with Tonbridge in the first qualifying round on September 2, courtesy of a late own-goal by the Croydon keeper in a 2-1 win.

Turner said: “We couldn’t have had a much tougher draw but saying that, it looks like one of the best draws in the round.

“It’s a derby game against a side I don’t remember us ever playing in a major competition since the club were reformed.

“It’s one everyone can look forward to and one that will hopefully attract a big crowd.

“There will be no expectation on us, unlike in the last round, and it’s a chance for us to test ourselves against one of the best sides in the league above.”

Turner is hoping for another bumper crowd of 400+ when his old club Herne Bay visit on Monday afternoon for another derby.

He said: “We’ve had a couple of good crowds at home so far but they have both been evening games so it’s hard to judge.

“Hopefully, the weather will be good and we can look forward to a big crowd for what should be a good game.

“We have got to learn lessons from the Ramsgate game when they came out of the blocks at us fast.”

Turner is hoping striker Mark Lovell will be fit to face the side for whom he was so prolific last season but revealed he might sit out Town’s trip to Surrey to face Walton Casuals on Saturday (3pm).

Turner said: “We’re trying to nurse him through a bit at the moment.

“He tore his calf last season and has a bit of a problem with it now. I’ll probably leave him out on Saturday in an attempt to try and get him OK to play on Monday.”

Turner added: “It won’t be easy in the slighest up there though.

“Walton Casuals are slowly building a decent outfit there and I’m surprised they haven’t started faster than they have.

“We have generally done all right against them in recent years but the pragmatist in me would say a draw up there would be OK, so long as we then win on Monday.”

Turner is giving his squad a night off training on Thursday in anticipation of their bank holiday matches.