Walsham-le-Willows head into last 32 FA Vase tie with Whitstable Town looking to embrace underdog spirit in bid for club history
Walsham-le-Willows head into tomorrow’s Isuzu FA Vase fourth round (last 32) round tie at home to Whitstable Town (3pm) looking to embrace the underdog spirit to eclipse last season’s record run in the competition.
The Oystermen will make the 135-mile journey to the mid Suffolk village with an expected 150 fans from a town that has a population of 32,000-plus looking to make it feel like their home game.
But Walsham joint manager Ian Hubbard has plenty of faith that his play-off chasing Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division side (7th) can rise to the occasion on their own turf to make it another unforgettable evening in their Walsham-le-Willows Sports Club clubhouse.
“They get crowds of 400 or 500 a week at home, so they’re quite a big club and they’re probably going to go into it thinking they’re favourites, which they probably are, and we’re quite happy to be the underdogs,” he said. “But we’ve got them at our place, which is a big thing as it’s quite a long way, even though they’re talking about having over 100 people come up to watch us; it’s a great fixture.”
Along with joint manager Chay Budd and coach and former boss Trevor Newman, they will not be left being accused of not doing their homework on their Southern Counties East Football League opponents.
“We’ve obviously been doing quite a bit of investigation trying to find out about Whitstable,” Hubbard said.
“Despite it being quite a long way away we did get a chance to go and watch them on the 28th (December) against Faversham (4-3 away defeat to league leaders).
“If you listen to their interview after the game, they’re looking forward to the tie.
“They think it’s a game that they could obviously progress in and likewise, we feel the same.
“They’re a mid-table side who have won eight and lost eight and we’re certainly a side that on any day can take on anyone at step 5 so we’re relishing the challenge.”
Both sides can boast decent form going into a tie which will see the winners pick up £1,875 from the competition’s prize fund on their way to the last 16, Whistable kept ticking over with a 2-0 home win against Stansfeld on Saturday while Walsham’s postponement means they have not played since a 5-1 win at basement side Long Melford on Boxing Day.
The Willows have been boosted going into the game knowing homegrown talent Kieran Twinn – whose nine goals is only one behind Ethan Garcia in their charts – will be available to lead the attack and not miss the tie through suspension as first feared. The Mildenhall Town promotion winner picked up his second yellow card of the game toward the end of the 2-1 home victory against Brantham Athletic in the previous round.
Hubbard explained: “If he wouldn’t have got sent off (just booked), he would have definitely have missed this tie.But because he got sent off, he served his ban by missing the Dereham game (1-0 win, December 21), so he’s available which is a massive boost.”
Aside from long-term injury victims Charlie Norman and Matt Glover, Walsham go into the tie at full strength.
With a big crowd anticipated, should the pitch pass a likely early morning inspection, Hubbard asked people to arrive early and revealed nearby business Ashwell Construction has offered an overflow car park.
