DARREN Manning believes Hullbridge Sports can pull off another Essex Senior Cup upset.

The Essex Senior League table-toppers will welcome Isthmian North high-flyers Coggeshall Town to the Ryan’s Heating Stadium tonight.

And, having already eliminated Isthmian North opposition in the form of Witham Town in the third round, Manning is eager for Hullbridge to be one of the last eight clubs remaining in the competition.

“The boys are excited because getting through to the quarter-finals of the competition would be a big achievement for a club like us,” said Manning.

“It would be nice for us to get through and have the possibility of getting a big tie in the next round.

“We will need to be at our best because Coggeshall are a good side, but we have already knocked Witham out of the competition and we’re in a good place at the moment.”

The fourth round tie was due to be played seven days ago, but a waterlogged pitch resulted in the encounter being postponed.

Sports’ FA Vase third round clash with Newport Pagnell Town also fell afoul of the weather and has been pushed back until Saturday, with the winner travelling to Canterbury City in the next stage.

And although Manning hopes the back-to-back called off encounters will not count against Hullbridge, he is aware that further postponements could result in a fixture pile-up.

“I know what it’s like at Hullbridge with the amount of postponements we normally get over the course of a season,” added Manning.

“You will always get postponements at Hullbridge, but these are the first two matches to have been called off so far this season.

“We have to hope the fixtures don’t get piled on top of each other but, at the end of the day, everyone has got to play the same number of games.”

And Manning believes tonight’s Essex Senior Cup tie could show how far the club has progressed since he took over as manager last year.

Manning admitted: “This is a nice marker for us to see how far we have come.

“Coggeshall are in the Isthmian North and that is where we want to be next season.

“They are a good side and I know a lot of their players.

“I’m expecting them to make a couple of changes as they are looking for promotion, but we will be making changes ourselves as well.”