ACCRINGTON Stanley captain Luke Joyce has backed the Reds to cause a cup upset after the draw for the first round of the FA Cup was less than kind to them.

Stanley will have to travel to League One high-flyers Notts County after the draw was made live at St George’s Park on Monday night.

Midfielder Joyce admitted it wasn’t the best of draws for Stanley, but he has found the net at Meadow Lane in the cup in the past.

The 27-year-old has only scored eight times for the Reds, but one of those came when Stanley met the Magpies in the first round of the FA Cup three years ago.

“It did come in the 4-1 defeat when we played them in the first round of the FA Cup in 2011 but at least I have scored at Meadow Lane,” Joyce told the official Accrington Stanley website.

Phil Neville drew Stanley out of the hat to send them to the East Midlands, and although Joyce would rather his side were at home, he is looking forward to the test against the team currently in third position in League One, on a five-game winning streak.

“While you want a home draw, and a few of us were cursing Phil Neville, it’s a good game for us to test ourselves,” said Joyce. “We did win at Notts County in 2011 in the league so we can take some heart from that – we were one of the few teams to beat them then.”

Stanley have progressed beyond the first round three times in the past five seasons, including making the fourth round, and a tie against Fulham, in 2009/10.

The FA Cup defeat at Notts County in 2011 came after Andy Procter was sent off on the hour and Joyce scored n the 85th minute.

“We will do our best and we will be aiming to shock them,” said Joyce.

“There is no reason why we can’t cause a cup upset.”

The game will be played across the weekend of November 7 to 10.