Ashford United set to play 16-year-old goalkeeper Scott Podger-King in the FA Cup as on-loan Gillingham man Taite Holtam serves suspension

Ashford United look set to field 16-year-old goalkeeper Scott Podger-King in the FA Cup this weekend.

Manager Lloyd Hume is ready to put his faith in Podger-King as on-loan Gillingham man Taite Holtam is suspended.

Holtam was sent off in the Nuts & Bolts’ 4-0 Isthmian South East defeat at Sheppey last weekend and serves a one-game ban.

He featured in Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw against Sevenoaks - a game Ashford led 2-0 through Louis Collins and Harrison Hume - but misses the FA Cup preliminary round tie at home to Holmesdale on Saturday.

With summer signing Harley Earle having left the club, Podger-King is lined up to feature against the Southern Counties East Premier Division outfit.

“We’re in a situation where we’ve got an FA Cup draw at home and our No.2 keeper, as good as he is in terms of prospects, is a 16-year-old and only turned 16 at the end of July,” said Hume.

“But I’m confident in Scott that he can do a job for us.

“That’s why he’s our No.2 keeper, that’s what he’s there for, and I’m sure he’ll be confident in himself as well.”

Ashford, who won 1-0 at Haywards Heath in the extra preliminary round, will once again need to be on their game against lower-division opponents.

“You’ve seen it a million times,” said Hume.

“They’re the league below us, we’re a big draw in terms of we’ve got a nice ground, everyone knows we’ve got ambitions this year and we’ve signed some good players, so we’re a scalp for any team in the league below. We’ve got to be aware of that.

“We were at Haywards Heath, that was a really tough game, and we’ve got to be up for the Holmesdale game as well.”

Suspended goalkeeper Holtam, who’s already made his first-team debut for Gillingham, is on a season-long loan at Ashford.

Hume took the chance