IF Worcester City thought the FA Cup had been kind to them, then the FA Trophy draw has been anything but.

A trip to Blyth Spartans in the third qualifying round is about as tough as it gets at this stage with the Conference clubs not entering the competition until the next round.

Blyth are third in Nationwide North and have lost just once in the league since being beaten 3-2 by City at St George's Lane in September.

To make matters worse, the Spartans are a mere 256 miles at the other end of England, 20 miles further than the journey to Workington.

They say luck tends to even itself out over the course of a season. Well, if that's the case, this draw more than balances out the three home ties City got in the FA Cup against Romulus, Hemel Hempstead and Basingstoke.

"I am looking forward to it already," City chairman Dave Boddy joked. "It's unbelievable.

"It's a difficult draw and it's a difficult place to go to. I can't imagine there are any more difficult draws in the hat than that but we have been blessed with good draws so far this season."

The match on Saturday, November 25, will be the first of two visits to the North East coast for City in a little over two months. The sides are also scheduled to meet at Croft Park for a Nationwide North fixture on January 27.

Given the logistics involved, Worcester are almost certain to need an overnight stop and that could well make a big dent in the £3,000 prize money should Worcester win the contest.

Boddy added: "It's a difficult draw in as much as they are in our league and it's a hell of a distance to go. It's an overnight stop."

But the tie still represents an opportunity for Andy Preece's side to advance and try to make some amends for the penalty shoot-out heartbreak suffered at Basing-stoke Town last week.

City have the upper hand following their league victory against Blyth on September 23, inspired by a terrific second-half comeback with two goals from Mark Danks and a fine strike by Justin Thomp-son.

They are also lifted by their away record, which received a boost in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Hyde United.

"There's a chance of progressing," the chairman said. "We know we play better away from home.

"I thought we played well on Saturday. We had lots of chances but just couldn't score."

Worcester, though, almost paid the price for several wasted chances when Gareth Seddon hit the post for the hosts in the second minute of injury-time.

Boddy added: "That would have been an absolute disaster if that had gone in."