Cambridge City manager Jamie Cureton backs his players to cause another FA Trophy upset against Royston Town

Cambridge City manager Jamie Cureton has backed his side to go toe-to-toe with higher-league Royston Town in the FA Trophy on Saturday (23 October).

The Lilywhites have already beaten Step 3 opposition to reach the first round proper of the nationwide competition when they defeated AFC Sudbury 1-0 away from home earlier this month.

And while the neutral will once again have them down as the underdogs, Cureton is confident that his group of players can be a match for the visiting Crows.

“It’s a good draw for us. We showed against Sudbury what we’re capable of in big games,” he said.

“We’ve got a group where many of the players have played at that level and they could probably play that level now – we’re fortunate to have them.

“We’ll be well prepared. I’d back us to give a good account of ourselves and if we do that then we can win the game.

“They’re obviously a good side in the league above, but so were Sudbury.

“We’ll need to be at our best but I give us every chance of getting into the next round.”

City will go into their clash with Royston having suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Felixstowe & Walton United on Tuesday night.

That match marked a second appearance for new addition Marcel Lewis, who started out in the academy at Cambridge United before making the switch to the youth set-up at Chelsea.

He subsequently signed a two-year professional deal with Burnley but found himself without a club in the summer.

The Cambridge-born attacker has recently been training with National League South outfit Chelmsford, but he has now linked up with City.

Cureton said: “When people look at his background and where he’s been they’re probably asking why is he with us?

“Chelmsford have been impressed with him in training but they haven’t signed him. We’ve got a good relationship with them and they reached out to us about signing Marcel.

“He took a little bit of convincing because I think he wanted to play at a higher level, but he’s come in and done very well.

“He’s technically very good, you can tell that he knows the game and that he’s been taught well.

“He obviously hasn’t played a lot but he was always a threat on Saturday and he took his goal really well.”

Lewis’ arrival has helped to offset the absence of Jack Thompson, who will be sidelined for a number of weeks with a hamstring injury.