THE Cherries boss Steve Cuss is relishing the opportunity to travel to Ipswich in the FA Cup as his part-time squad will face the full-time Tractor Girls.

AFC Bournemouth comfortably beat AFC Portchester 4-0 in the second round of the cup and reached the third round for just the second time in their history.

But they face a stern test in Ipswich, who are top of the league above the Cherries, the National League Southern Premier Division.

The two sides have near identical records in their respective leagues, with Ipswich also unbeaten in the league, although they have drawn two of their ten games while Bournemouth have won each of their nine games.

But both teams have been free scoring as well as tight at the back – Bournemouth have scored 49 and conceded just two, while Ipswich have netted 47 and conceded five.

Reflecting on the previous round, Cuss told the Daily Echo: “I thought it was a really, really tough game for us.

“Porchester had done really well to get that far in the FA Cup and it was obviously a big game for them. It was a good crowd and really difficult conditions to play in.

“We had the unfortunate incident with the red card in the first half and it was a tricky tie but I thought we showed real moments of quality early in the second half and that was ultimately enough for us to win the game.

“So, absolutely delighted to get through and into the next round.”

The Cherries led through Molly Barron-Clark but were rocked back by Amber Treweek’s red card in the first half.

But two quick fire goals at the start of the second half from Chloe Gilroy and Gemma McGuinness put them in control, before McGuinness added her second to send them through to the next round.

On the prospect of facing Ipswich, Cuss said: “I've been following Ipswich a little bit because we played him in pre-season and I was hugely impressed with them in pre-season and following their pathway, their journey a little bit.

“When we pulled them out I knew exactly what kind of challenge it was going to be.

“It's going to be a huge challenge for us there. They’re top of the league above which is an incredible achievement for them at this stage of the season, to be undefeated in that league.

“I think the other big factor is obviously we're a part-time side and they're full-time, so there's a real FA Cup draw about it.

“We'll be the underdogs going up there, but you know, we're enjoying a good season, scoring lots of goals and winning games, so it's one that we can look forward to.”