WIVENHOE Town will get a third crack at rivals Halstead Town in the first round of the Essex Senior Cup after the sides were paired together having already met twice in the FA Cup during August, the Rosemary Lane outfit eventually coming out on top after two intriguing contests.

WIVENHOE Town will get a third crack at rivals Halstead Town in the first round of the Essex Senior Cup after the sides were paired together having already met twice in the FA Cup during August, the Rosemary Lane outfit eventually coming out on top after two intriguing contests.

The Dragons were sent spinning out of the E.On-supported competition in the extra preliminary round, giving way by four goals to one at the second attempt after the sides initially met on the 15th at Halstead, yielding a 1-1 draw. Wivenhoe will now be keen to extract revenge having been drawn with their north Essex neighbours in the First Round of the County Cup at BBC Essex's New London Road headquarters.

Forty-three clubs aim to get their hands on the coveted silverware this season and follow in the footsteps of last season's winners, the Clarets. All sides from the Ridgeons Eastern Counties and Essex Senior Leagues will compete in the opening two stages, with 13 sides receiving a bye to Round Two according to their final league positioning in 2008/09. In addition, City and the other 23 teams from the Coca-Cola Football League, Blue Square Premier and South and the Ryman League receive a bye to Round Three later in the year.

BBC Essex are proud to continue their support of the competition this season, as well as that of the Saturday Premier, Sunday Premier and Women's Cups, all of which have their own draws broadcast from the quarter-finals onwards. Drawing the home teams from the bag was Breakfast Show Presenter, Ray Clark, while chief executive Phil Sammons represented the Essex County FA by pulling out the away sides.

The proceedings mark the beginning of the release of Essex's County Cup Draws from the Senior Cup through to the Saturday and Sunday men's, youth and women's competitions, as well as the brand new girls' cups. Details of these competitions will be available to view on www.essexfa.com very soon, alongside information relating to the brand new schools' cup fixtures.

First round (to be completed on or before Saturday, September 12): Wivenhoe Town v Halstead Town, London APSA v FC Clacton, Saffron Walden Town v Harwich & Parkeston.

Second round (to be completed on or before Saturday, October 10): Bowers & Pitsea v Stansted, Stanway Rovers v Barking, Hullbridge Sports v Tiptree Utd, London APSA or FC Clacton v Basildon Utd, Saffron Walden Town or Harwich & Parkeston v Takeley, Burnham Ramblers v Eton Manor, Witham Town v Wivenhoe Town or Halstead Town, Southend Manor v Barkingside.