BACKING BORO' TO WEMBLEY: Boro' given fire-power boost - EXCLUSIVE

GREENWICH BOROUGH have been given a massive boost ahead of their FA Carlsberg Vase LAST SIXTEEN showdown at Hungerford Town, writes Stephen McCartney.

Leading goalscorers, 24-goal striker Badar Mohammed (groin), and 15-goal midfielder Peter Smith (ankle) both trained at Harrow Meadow tonight.

Mohammed, who was plucked out of the club’s reserve side last season, where he top scored, will play - but the decision on Smith will be made on the eve of the quarter-final clash at Bulpit Lane.

“We’ve had a good session tonight, gone through a lot of things,” said assistant manager Terry Malin, speaking EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“Badar and Peter Smith have trained, hopefully they’ll be allright. Badar, we think, he should play, he’s 80-20. Peter Smith was trained hard tonight.

“We’re not prepared to travel down there with ifs and buts, we’ve trained Peter quite hard tonight and we’ll see how he is in the morning.

“We’ll know tomorrow for definitely. If he suffers any reaction he won’t play. Other than that, everyone’s in fine fettle.”

Assistant manager Terry Malin brings an inside view of some of the Borough’s squad aiming to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Carlsberg Vase.

Michael Holder: I do believe he’s played over 150 games for the club. He has been at Fisher before. He thinks he is a better outfield player than goalkeeper as he’s proving at training tonight - but we'll stick him in goal.

Harry Vitalien: He’s French, don’t know much about him but he played for a second division club in France, we have Googled him. We got him from Dulwich Hamlet, he’s a very quiet Frenchman who doesn’t speak any English - Wilfred Gnaly can translate. He’s a cultured left-back I would say.

Dave Waters: A solid centre-half, captain of the side, a great leader. He leads from the front, heart on his sleeve, leads the team very well. I’d like to be in the trenches with him.

Danny Moore: Signed from Ramsgate last December. He can play numerous positions, sweeper, left-back, left-side of midfield. He’s quite a cultured player, occasionally.

Jon Samuels: Mad Nigerian! Absolutely off his trolley, but a lovely fella. A great defender with occasional lapses of concentration.

Ibrahim Kallon: He’s only 19, very promising. He will probably end up centre midfield but at the moment he’s playing right-back. He’s from Sierra Leone.

Lewis Ambrose: Son of Leroy Ambrose, the old Charlton player. A wide midfield player. He’s just come into the side, quite outward going but once he finds his feet he’ll be quite loud. Been playing for the reserves, just come into the first team squad in the last couple of months.

Joseph Agoo: Scored the free-kick to level against Harefield United in the last round. I do believe he’s from Gambia. A very quiet boy but I would say he’s got a very good future, bags of pace and enthusiasm. A great engine, will run through a brick wall for you.

Wilfred Gnaly: He’s our Frenchman and he translates for most people. He can speak French and most other languages. He’s only 23, a young boy who plays a central midfield holding role. Superb, a great engine, great passer, breaks up other side’s attacks and starts us playing. He’s had a great season. A very deep thinker about football.

Peter Smith: Goalscoring midfielder, absolutely mad as a march hare - off his trolley! He’s a lovely boy, a great player, scores goals for fun from midfield. Full of enthusiasm and strangeness! If you play him in midfield he wants to play up front and vice-versa. Off his nut but he’s scored a lot of goals for us this year.

Hussain Budak: Centre midfield. I think he’s Turkish. Playmaker with loads of potential, yet to fulfil it. On his day,  I haven’t seen a better passer in this league but sometimes he over complicates things but on his day he can knock a great ball. He’s a bit inconsistent but he’s getting there through hard work.

Ben Yiadom: An English, little pocket, five footed dynamo. I would say, in my opinion, there’s not much better in this league. Great one touch, great long and short passer. Just a great player. When he’s in the team we’re a better side.

Badar Mohammed: Top scorer from Yemen. Has come on leaps and bounds. This time last year he was top scorer for the reserves and since he’s come into the first team he hasn’t stopped scoring. Now knows where he needs to be on the pitch and popped up to score the winner against Harefield.

BACKING BOROUGH TO WEMBLEY:

Second Qualifying Round:
Won 2-1 away to Horley Town - Moncrief, Mohammed

First Round:
Won 7-0 at home to Chichester City United - Mohammed 3, Grant 3, Yiadom

Second Round:
Won 2-0 at Kent League rivals Thamesmead Town - Grant, Smith

Third Round
Won 2-1 at home to Wembley - Mohammed, Smith

Fourth Round:
Won 2-1 at home to Harefield United - Agoo, Mohammed
Middlesex side Harefield United grabbed the lead, against the run of play, when Sean Sonner headed home his 27^th goal of the season after 39 minutes, but a deflected free-kick from Ghanaian winger Joseph Ogoo and a last-gasp winner from Yemon-born striker Badar Mohammed sealed a deserved 2-1 win in front of the club’s largest crowd of the season.

BOROUGH’S GLOBAL MIX

EIGHT nationalities made the make-up of the Greenwich Borough sixteen-men squad that knocked Harefield United out in the last round.

Jon Samuels (Nigerian), Harry Vitalien and Wilfred Gnaly (French), Joseph Ogoo (Ghanaian), Ivo Rita (Portuguese), Badar Mohammed (Yemon), Hussain Budek (Turkish) and Ibraham Kallon (Sierra Leone) - the others being English, of course.

COVERAGE

Matt Gerrard from BBC Radio Kent will be bringing coverage of this game on 96.7FM

www.kentishfootball.co.uk will bring its usual in-depth report and reaction during the course of the weekend

Hungerford Town v Greenwich Borough
FA Carlsberg Vase Fifth Round (LAST SIXTEEN)
Saturday 9^th February 2008
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Bulpit Lane, Hungerford, Berkshire RG17 0AY