St George’s Colts coach Jarreau Hayward says his team are ready for their FA Cup first-round clash with Boulevard Blazers at Goose Gosling Field tonight (9.15pm).

Premier Division outfit St George’s are the favourites for the match against their First Division opponents and will be keen to build on a solid run in the competition last season when they reached the semi-final.

“The FA Cup is a special cup and we’re looking forward to the tie,” Hayward told The Royal Gazette.

“I am really proud of what Ian Coke [Boulevard player-coach] is doing there. We got our ‘B’ Licence together, so I know he is doing an awesome job up there and I am really proud of him for taking on that challenge.

“We are looking forward to the challenge ourselves and looking forward to Thursday night to see what happens.”

Hayward’s team have gone nearly three months without a win, but three successive draws in the league, including a 3-3 stalemate against title contenders North Village at Bernard Park on Sunday, suggests their fortunes have taken a turn for the better.

“We are just looking to continue to progress in our season,” Hayward added.

“I think that the season has been a crockpot season for us but we are slowly but surely starting to get healthy and gel together, so hopefully Thursday night is another step in our progress.

“We know it will be a challenging game, and we look forward to it.”

Five-times FA Cup winners Boulevard will also be keen to get back to winning ways after suffering a 3-2 league loss against Southampton Rangers in their previous outing, which put a dent in their bid for promotion to the top tier next season.