Porter's Point of View

This is the biggest game for the club for I don’t know how long and certainly it is the most important that myself, my coaching team and the players have been involved in here at Reachfields. I can’t wait for it to get going. Our reward from the Concord game was a home tie and, after seeing Staines – Martin Chandler went up there on Saturday – we are confident we can cause an upset. Don’t get me wrong, it will take a tremendous effort and they are clearly a decent side, but we are buzzing as a team, have no pressure on us and can go out there and see if we can pull off an amazing result. We have the chance to create a bit of history and we should enjoy it – when will such a chance come round again? As a youngster, I used to watch the FA Cup, watch the giant-killings by non-league clubs. Staines have done their own giant-killing in their time, can we do to them what they have done to others? It has been a big build-up, with lots of publicity and media interest, but we won't do anything differently, we trained hard on Tuesday and will again on the astro on Thursday. We reached where we are by doing the basics well and there is no reason to change our preparations now. 

In between there was Saturday’s match against Corinthian. I would have liked to have finished the game with a second goal but Corinthian always keep going and their keeper played well. It was good to have a game like this, rather than a tough league match. We’ve seen before how the distractions of the cup can cause a wobble in the league. As it was, we were able to look after some of the first team players, give them a rest. It was pleasing to keep the winning run going and it was a useful exercise, bearing in mind what we are looking for from the rest of the season and the undoubted need for depth in the squad. We keep emphasising that the league is the priority but the cup is a great diversion, there is still plenty of time to focus on promotion, so now we should enjoy the experience. You do all the hard work to enjoy your football and savour days like Saturday - Scott.