After Tuesday’s 4-0 drubbing of Phoenix Sports in the Woodstock rain all Sittingbourne eyes are now trained on Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup Second Qualifying round tie at SCEFL Premier Lordswood.
Whilst the Lords are making their first ever visit to this stage of the oldest Cup Competition in the World, the Brickies themselves are looking for a place in the Third Qualifying Round for the first time since 2013 and just the second time this Century.
If a side needed a warm-up, then the Brickies got it on a cold soggy Tuesday night heaping more misery on Phoenix. Ryan Kingsford put the Brickies ahead after he and Jay Beckford split the visitors offside trap brilliantly and within ninety seconds top scorer Mitch May slotted the ball past the advancing Rob Budd in the visitor’s goal and the home side had the lead they fully deserved.
As the rain continued after the break so did the home sides dominance and it was little surprise when Henry Sinai made it three with a good finish. Skipper Liam Smith then added a fourth with a thumping header that gave the keeper no chance who five minutes earlier had made a super save to keep out Richie Hammill’s drive.
The visitors were unlucky in stoppage time not to pull one back as Kaeden Jeffrey’s glancing header from Leighton Murray’s cross hit the bar but by then it was far too little far too late for Phoenix.
The Brickies have now moved their focus to the weekend and the Emirates FA Cup as coach Billy McMahon said after the final whistle, “We didn’t really do well in the Cup last year losing to Jersey Bulls in the first round and it was something that really bugged us last year as we started slowly, but this year we really have started on the front foot!”
Sittingbourne travel to Medway and Martyn Grove on Saturday after winning three out of four in the League and having won at Farnham Town and Dover Athletic on their way to Lordswood. McMahon is keen for that run to continue.
He added: “We were desperate to get a good Cup run for the board, the supporters, financially of course it helps. We won at Farnham, which was a hard draw, and we won there, and then we got Dover and what happened at the end of the home tie and the two late goals we conceded meant we had to go there on the Tuesday and do what we did!”
“I think Saturday will be a just reward for the effort that the boys have put in, the support that the fans have given us, and I cannot wait for Saturday lunchtime.
“Personally, I have played on the BBC twice against Football League teams before as a player, but this will be something special. It is a fantastic opportunity for the boys; it is a wonderful opportunity for the Club and will put the Club on the map I suppose as I know it is nearly a decade since Sittingbourne got this far.
“We just do not want to go there, and it is like we are on the BBC, we have done it! We want to go again; we want to keep going and see how far we can go! And for me this group and the way that they conduct themselves week on week is a real credit to them!”
“We will have to pick the right squad to get us over the line, we have a good depth now and may even have a few back for the weekend but I am sure that the fans will expect us to win especially after our win in pre-season, but that result for me has gone out of the window and will mean nothing on Saturday!
“We will not take Lordswood lightly, we will give them as we give everyone, the respect that they deserve we will focus on them in training and prepare ourselves for the game and hopefully get a little bit of luck from the man above and a little bit of the rub of the green and we can make it into the next round!”
Image courtesy of Paul Golding