Godmanchester Rovers will go into FA Vase battle buoyed by victories in two different competitions in recent days.

Rovers snapped a three-match losing run in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division last Saturday when triumphing 2-1 at Walsham-le-Willows.

That welcome success followed hot on the heels of a smooth League Challenge Cup victory in midweek when Drake’s men eased past lower-level Braintree Town Reserves by a 5-0 scoreline.

They are a pair of results which have put Rovers in good heart ahead of the visit from Deeping Rangers in the second round of the national competition this Saturday.

It is a Vase tie which pits Drake’s side against a Rangers outfit challenging for the United Counties League Premier Division title after finishing as runners-up last season.

And while Drake admits his men will start as underdogs, he has challenged them to shine in a David Wilson Homes Ground game worth £900 to the winners.

“There no doubt we’re underdogs as far as I’m concerned,” said Drake. “But I don’t mind that at all – it takes the pressure off my lads.

“Our aim is to give a very good account of ourselves in a competition which means a lot to everyone at the club.

“We had a terrific result away at Hanley in the last round and hopefully we can manage another one.

“We hadn’t been on the greatest of runs, but we’ve put that right with a couple of wins in recent days.

“The cup game served it’s purpose as it gave us the opportunity to experiment on a few things and we deserved the league win for our commitment and hard work alone. We always showed belief that the second goal would come and it did.”

Matty Allan was Rovers’ match-winner as they came from behind to pocket the points at Walsham-le-Willows. He equalised on the stroke of half-time and then fired the decisive goal late on.

Allan was also among the scorers last Wednesday when Rovers made smooth progress in the Thurlow Nunn League Challenge Cup.

They beat lower-level Braintree Town Reserves 5-0 at the David Wilson Homes Ground. Micky Hyem and Arran Mackay struck in the first half with Zac Knight-Percival, Allan and Jos Gwynne getting in on the act after the break.

Rovers’ reward is a trip to Histon in the next round.