BACKING KENT TO WEMBLEY: Borough tell Vickers: Join us in the last sixteen - EXCLUSIVE

GREENWICH BOROUGH manager Phil Miles paid tribute to his side after they reached the LAST SIXTEEN of the FA Carlsberg Vase for the very first time in the club’s history, writes Stephen McCartney.

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat of Spartan South Midlands League side Harefield United sees the Harrow Meadow outfit go into tomorrow’s draw.

Harefield United’s leading goalscorer Sean Sonner glanced a back-header from eight-yards in off the top of the near post to give the Middlesex side the lead after 39 minutes - against the run of play.

But the Kent League side thoroughly deserved their leveller when Joseph Ogoo’s 22-yard free-kick on 67 minutes looped off the wall and into the top far-corner.

And leading striker Badar Mohammed netted a last-gasp injury time winner to seal the fourth round victory, beating Harefield United for the first time at the third time of asking.

“I think we were brilliant from the start to the finish,” Miles said EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk within an hour of their historic win.

“Probably didn’t have that cutting edge but created that clear chance. But I think they scored against the run of play and half-time we just said “keep going”.

“Second half we then stepped up a couple of gears - but what a great time to score.”

Eight nationalities made the make-up of the Greenwich Borough sixteen-man squad on Saturday.

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.

But Miles was pleased with his players’ attitudes in the week leading up to the game.

“We’ve got a mixed race bunch of players, who come from everywhere across the world,” he said.

“They’re all different characters but the one thing they do is they all stick together and when they’re in a battle they sort of come to the fore.

“They could see today that they could win the game and sort of create a bit of history for this football club because this football club has never got to the fifth round.

“Last week we let ourselves down (losing at Sporting Bengal) but the beauty of football is you can go and play another game the following week and today I thought they were immense.”

Miles wants a home tie in the LAST SIXTEEN as other clubs will not relish a trip to their Harrow Meadow ground in Eltham.

“People turn up here and they think “my God, it’s Greenwich Borough!” he said.

“And to be fair you look at it, it’s not the best place in the world but there’s a lot of heart, a lot of fight and a lot of spirit in the people that are down here.

“We’ve worked hard all week, worked really hard this morning to get the game on. We’ve been down here rolling and marking the pitch, a couple of players’ Dads have been down here that have done an immense job helping out and getting things done.

“All round it’s got everybody together and when you’ve got a little bit of spirit in that changing room and the togetherness, you can’t ask for much more. Hopefully you get the results.”

Assistant manager Terry Malin has challenged local rivals VCD Athletic to join them in the LAST SIXTEEN.

Vickers’ game against Ridgeons League leaders Needham Market was postponed on Friday lunchtime due to a waterlogged pitch.

That game is being played at Oakwood, Old Road, Crayford next Saturday, and the Borough management team are expected to take advantage of their blank weekend by seeing their local rivals progress.

When Deal Town clinched the FA Vase at Wembley Stadium back in 2000, they had their local rivals Ramsgate for company right up to the quarter-final stage.

Wouldn’t it be a boost to Kent football if these two clubs within the boundary of the M25 make it through to an all-Kent final in May.

“There’s no point denying it, it’s close,” Malin said of reaching Wembley, when speaking EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“When you set out in this in the preliminary rounds and there’s what, 489 clubs, we’re going to be one of 16, one of 15 sides in it. Us and fifteen others.

“When we started out on this run we were looking at away ties because the pitch is not the greatest.

“We went to Thamesmead and Horley, who have good pitches and to be fair an away draw would be great for us because we can get the ball down and play.

“But now you sort of move into this, you start thinking lets have another home one.

“No-one will want to come here. To be fair we’ve done wonders to get that game on but I still think looking at it now at this stage a home draw would be great.

“But saying that if we get an away draw and we go somewhere where there is a good pitch we have got players with a great ability here you can go away from home and win anywhere.

“At this level, on our day, we can beat anyone. That could work the other way as proved last week. On our day we could lose to anyone!”

Pressure is now on Paul Foley and his Vickers side, leading the Kent League table, to deliver the goods and to keep the all-Kent Wembley final dream alive.

“It would be lovely if they could get through,” said Malin. “At this stage we wouldn’t probably want to play them now.

“If they get through and avoid them that would be lovely.

“I don’t know what odd’s you’ll get for a Greenwich Borough-VCD Athletic final at Wembley? Long odds I would imagine but yes, that would be a bit of a dream.”

VCD Athletic, under the leadership of Martin Ford, reached the last sixteen for the past two seasons, and Malin said: “They’ve got that pedigree, they know what it’s all about.

“If VCD come through with us that’s great. If they don’t come through we’d be quite happy to carry the Kent League banner to the next round.”

With their next FA Vase tie three weeks away, Malin insists players must keep their Kent League form - and their individual performances - on track.

“The league forms important because you can’t just sit back and turn up in February in the last sixteen of the Vase if you haven’t been playing well,” he explained.

“The league form needs to be ticking over. You’ve got to have some sort of form behind you when the next Vase game comes.

“It’s very difficult if you lose three or four league games.”

Looking ahead to the visit of Sevenoaks Town on Tuesday night, Malin wants the Borough players to keep fighting for their shirts.

“That’s our motivation now,” he said. “We should say Tuesday night you’re fighting for your places now for the Vase game in three weeks time.

“It’s a great stick to be able to bash them with because everyone wants to play in the last sixteen of the Vase. The motivation for them is right in front of them.”

Greenwich Borough v Sevenoaks Town
Kent League Premier Division
Tuesday 22^nd January 2008
Kick Off 7:45pm
At Harrow Meadow, Eltham Green Road, Eltham SE9 6BA