The Isuzu FA Trophy begins for some of our Isthmian League clubs this weekend, and at Woodstock Park, Sittingbourne welcome Ashford Town from Middlesex with boss Ryan Maxwell looking forward to the possibilities of heading down the Road to Wembley.

Maxwell speaking to KSN this week said, “It’s the “FA Cup for Non-League clubs isn’t it? I think people hold this competition in very high regard and it’s a competition that every Non-League player wants to do well in; it’s personal for the players, it’s great for the Club and I think that when we look at it, it’s one that we think that we’ve got a decent chance to surprise a few teams.” 

“That said, we have a very tough game ahead of us, but we’re confident, the staff are looking forward to it and we want to get a run in it. It is a big competition for all Non-League clubs, but especially for the “smaller” clubs like ourselves.” 

Reflecting on last weekend’s win over the “other” Ashford in the DFDS Kent Senior Cup, the Brickies boss admitted, “Obviously it’s not the biggest cup in the world, but had to be treated with respect. We were able to rest some players whilst giving others much needed minutes. We changed the squad around, but it was still a very valuable game for us.

“It was great to see Chris Harris play his first competitive game for the Club and get valuable minutes towards the end. He scored a nice goal towards the end and made a big impact, showing you what we’ve already missed at times.

“Great to see Javaun (Splatt) get seventy minutes under his belt and I think we can all see he’s a talented boy who needs to get fitter. Others needed the minutes too, the game served a purpose but was a competitive match, and I want to win! To be fair to “our” Ashford, they fielded pretty much their strongest side and so it was a good game.” 

“For the first time, I thought we were the team who didn’t play particularly well and won and that’s the first time that’s happened. So that’s a good sign that we stuck in at it and scored two late goals to win the tie. Lots to work on and it was a very important game for people who needed valuable minutes!” 

“The boys who played last week knew that it was an opportunity for them to really get into my thoughts and give me a really difficult decision to make this week, it’s a squad game and you’ve got to work hard to stay in this squad and some have given me a headache this week, there’s no doubt about that in different things.

“We were able to have a look at different things, very pleased for a number of reasons, didn’t play well at times, but I felt it was a game where we learned a lot and we showed that if we don’t play particularly great, we can still win a game of football” 

The Brickies will go into the tie after having a midweek off and Maxwell will be hoping to have a near full strength squad to choose from. 

Images courtesy of Paul Golding