Away tie at Canvey Island in quarter-finals whilst Hornhchurch set to face Heybridge Swifts if they get past Concord Rangers.

CARL GRIFFITHS rates Aveley’s chances of progressing to the final four of the Essex Senior Cup after pulling out an away tie to league rivals Canvey Island.

Griffiths drew the home team’s out in the draw for the quarter-final held on Wednesday and although disappointed to not to pull out former club Heybridge Swifts he remains in confident mood.

“There’s some interesting ties,” said Griffiths.

“We could have done with a nice home draw but that’s not to be! I’d have liked to have played Heybridge away as I was there as a player but we’ll go to Canvey midweek and I think we’ve still got to play them twice in the league.”

Elsewhere in the draw, AFC Hornchurch will make the trip to Heybridge Swifts, so long as they can get past Concord Rangers, with the date for that fourth round match yet to be decided after being postponed on Tuesday.

But the former Leyton Orient striker still believes his main aim is to save the Mill Field outfit from relegation, and hopes they can build on the 2-0 win over Conference South side Braintree Town in the last round of the competition.

“Our main target is to finish fifth from bottom – anywhere else is a bonus,” said Griffiths.

“It’s going to be tough but we knew that when we took over. We’ve been there a month and had two league games, which doesn’t help us, but there’s no excuses.

“We’ve just got to build on the win against Braintree and hopefully that will bring a bit of confidence.”

He’ll hope to get back into Ryman Premier action, having his start to life as Aveley boss scuppered by the weather, with only three games since he was appointed in November.

They make the short trip to Bridge Avenue for a clash with AFC Hornchurch on Monday.

Quarter-Finals (on or before 29th January): Heybridge Swifts vs Concord Rangers or AFC Hornchurch; Billericay Town or East Thurrock United vs Great Wakering Rovers; Canvey Island vs Aveley; Grays Athletic vs Chelmsford City or Southend United.