FALMOUTH Town manager Andrew Westgarth said he felt 'deflated' after his side were pitted against local rivals Helston Athletic in Monday's draw for the first round proper of the FA Vase.

The tie will be played at Kellaway Park on Saturday, October 12.

Although the two sides have met regularly in the South West Peninsula League over the past few seasons, it will be the first time that the two local rivals have met in a national cup competition.

"I'm slightly deflated if I'm being honest," Westgarth said. "I think from the adulation of Saturday's win and the great performance that we put in and the excitement of looking forward to the draw, to get your local rivals, the closest team you could possibly get away from home.

"We've played Helston three times in a row in the cup, all we need now is to get St Austell in the cup and it's like every season is the exactly the same."

The Town boss is alluding to the fact that, in addition to their two SWPL Premier games a year, Town have faced Helston in three of the last four editions of the Walter C Parson League Cup.

They have also met in the Dave Gardner Memorial Tournament every summer, meaning next month's Vase tie will be the 18th meeting between the teams since the summer of 2015.

Town have also been drawn with St Austell four times in cup competitions in the last two years, making a total of eight matches between the two teams over the last two seasons.

Westgarth supported the idea of having teams from the same league being kept apart in the early rounds of the competition.

"Have a rule: keep it local, but you can't play a team from your own league," he said. "It's better for everyone, surely. I'm sure the Devon sides and the Somerset and Dorset sides don't want to play each other either.

"I think all of the boys are a little bit deflated to be honest with you. It's not the draw that anybody wanted and I'm sure Helston are in exactly the same position as us.

"I suppose once the initial shock has worn off it could be a mouthwatering tie."

The Blues have prevailed in the teams’ last four meetings, with the most recent coming just two weeks ago when Helston won 2-1 at Bickland Park in the league.

Town booked their place in the first round draw for the second season running with a 3-1 victory at another Cornish club, St Blazey, on Saturday.

Blazey themselves had played another Duchy side, Godolphin Atlantic (Newquay), in the previous round.