Last updated 13:10, Thursday, 27 November 2008

Grays continue to seek solace in the FA Cup as their struggles away from the competition show no sign of easing.

That goal: Grays' players celebrate scoring at Brunton Park to force the replay

Their woes near the foot of Blue Square Premier deepened on Saturday when they lost 2-0 at bottom side Lewes.

Three days later, they were turfed out of the Setanta Shield when Blue Square South outfit Chelmsford City won 4-2 at the New Recreation Ground.

Wayne Burnett’s side, have, however, shown few signs of carrying any baggage into their FA Cup clashes with United.

Of the two sides, they can hold the greater frustration that the tie has yet to be resolved, after pushing Carlisle all the way in the 1-1 draw at Brunton Park and then taking the lead in last Tuesday’s replay before the floodlights failed at their stadium.

Their defeat to Chelmsford two days ago was also a rearranged tie after an earlier floodlight failure.

And while Saturday’s 1pm kick-off against United should mean the lights do not come into play this time, their vice-chairman insists they have solved the problems once and for all.

“We’ve had them taken apart and rebuilt to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” said Kev Lamb.

“The two problems were completely separate and the faulty parts have been replaced. We’ve had a request from the FA to explain things but we’re not expecting any further action and in fairness to Carlisle they’ve been great about it.”

Burnett’s line-up on Saturday should be similar to the side that started in last Tuesday’s abandoned game, with their goalscorer that night, Sam Sloma, hoping to find a goal that counts for something this time around.

The pace of Andre McCollin and Ishmael Welsh will again pose problems for Greg Abbott’s back line, providing the former shrugs off an injury, with Stuart Thurgood exerting influence from midfield.

Probable starting XI: Button, Gier, Stuart, Dayes, Sloma, Wilnis, Cogan, Thurgood, Welsh, McCollin, Ashton.