BUCKLAND Athletic look forward to a blockbuster bout on Saturday as Somerset-based Frome Town visit Homers Heath for the Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round.

Having suffered their first loss of the season to Saltash United last Saturday, the Bucks got back to winning ways with a 4-0 thrashing of Ilfracombe Town.

Tuesday night’s clash saw its first goal on 28 minutes when talisman Ryan Bush pounced on a poor pass across the Ilfracombe backline, meandered round both the remaining centre-back and the goalkeeper and duly tucked home into a vacant net.

Buckland doubled their advantage just past the hour mark when Scott Crocker was brought down in the penalty area. Owen Stockton stepped up for the subsequent spot kick a hammered it straight down the middle.

Andy Collings saved an Ilfracombe penalty on 75 minutes, and just moments later Josh Webber added a third after a wicked ball from Cieran Bridger split the defence wide open. Webber, in acres of space, cleverly dinked the ball over the onrushing Lloyd Marshall.

Webber chalked up his second of the night - and third of the season - six minutes from time. JJ Evans’ ball through capitalised on a disorganised defensive line and Webber was on hand to turn the ball onto his left foot and rifle the win-sealing strike underneath Marshall.

Southern League Division One South side Frome are yet to taste defeat this term. In fact, it has been more than six months since they last left a regulation league fixture with nothing. Frome’s last defeat came in the play-off semi-finals, when, after finishing second in the league, they were comprehensively beaten by Bristol Manor Farm.

The Robins have begun this season in as good a fashion as they finished the last, with a 1-0 opening-day win over Evesham United followed up by a ding-dong 3-3 draw with Willand Rovers. Frome beat National League South outfit Oxford City on their way to the Third Qualifier Round last season, but that was where their run came to an ugly end as Bath City, also of the National League South, hammered them 5-0.

Buckland have quite the test on their hands.

Looking ahead to the game, Buckland boss Dan Hart said: ‘On a personal level, I’m really excited to manage in the FA Cup. I missed the Exmouth game and I want to be challenged and test my ideas against teams like this.

‘We know a limited amount about Frome through word of mouth and we are in for a different challenge and a different test of character from the one against Exmouth.

‘We are confident going into it,’ Hart explained. ‘We are at home, Rob Farkins is back and the group is really gelling and coming together nicely.

‘We want to learn the capacity of how far we can go as a team. Playing against higher-level players and managers gives us an opportunity to see how we could handle playing at a higher level ourselves.’