Cosgrove wants steel from his side to avoid third straight cup exit

CHRIS COSGROVE faces a fight on his hands to ensure his Erith & Belvedere side don’t crash out of three cups in six days, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Deres joint-boss has seen his side exit both the FA Cup and the Bulmers Cider Kent League Cup this week and he is desperate to avoid an exit in the FA Carlsberg Vase this Saturday.

They were by far the better footballing side against Ryman One South side Godalming Town in their FA Cup second qualifying round last Sunday.

But the direct visitors came away from the Park View Road clash with a 2-0 victory, courtesy of goals from Carl Hutchings and Graeme Purdy.

And last night, in the Bulmers Cider Kent League Cup, it was Tunbridge Wells that booked a home clash with VCD Athletic, winning 6-4 after extra time, at Culverden Stadium.

The Deres, who rested their main strike force of Nick Smith and Aiden Pursglove, were reduced to nine-men as they had Paul Gross and Joe Penny both sent off during normal time.

And fans were pleased with their battling qualities with reduced numbers, despite losing the ten-goal thriller and falling to their second successive defeat.

But Cosgrove is desperate to avoid a third-successive cup defeat when he takes his side to Merland Rise in the first round of the FA Carlsberg Vase on Saturday.

Banstead Athletic, who are managed by former Dover Athletic striker David Leworthy, are ninth in the Combined Counties League table with a record of four wins and one draw from their first eight league games.

And the A’s were dumped out of the League Cup last night, losing 4-1 on penalties to Bedfont at Merland Rise, after the game finished 2-2 after extra time.

Bedfont had the better of play of the second round clash and went ahead in the 37^th minute through a Ben Foushene strike. But Banstead forced extra time when new signing Reggie Savage scored with six minutes left.

Banstead took the lead in the 104^th minute when Daniel Badu was brought down in the box and leading scorer Kev Terry stepped up to slot a casual penalty into the Bedfont net.

But despite taking control for the remainder of the game, Banstead couldn’t find the killer third and were made to pay when in the final minute Bedfont defender Marc Ryan headed home a corner to take the game to penalties.

Leworthy, who was a hero during his time here in Kent with Dover Athletic, rued those missed opportunities as Bedfont went on to win 4-1 on penalties.

Cosgrove, speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk following his side’s FA Cup exit last Sunday, was wary that his side could be dumped out of three Cup competitions in the space of six days.

“I know this time next week we could be out of three cups - that’s a true possibility,” he said.

“There is also a possibility we can go through in one Cup.

“This year the league is our aim, the cups are fun. If we win a cup, it’s great, it’s fun, but the league is our aim.

“The league’s our bread and butter. We set out to get as high in the league as possible and that’s still our aim. We’re not doing bad in the league.”

But despite losing their last two cup games, Cosgrove remains upbeat ahead of their trip to Banstead Athletic and is looking for an extended run in the FA Carlsberg Vase this term.

“It’s going to be a big attitude thing to see how we do bounce back from this, if we can bounce back,” said Cosgrove.

“It’s going to be a big test of our character. There’s two things. We can either feel sorry for ourselves and lose, or we can come out fighting, battle on all fronts and show a bit of steel (that) I hope this team has got.

“I feel we’ll respond from this. I’m not going to feel sorry for myself. If I lose a game I’m a realist. We go back on the boat and start rowing.

“We’re going to give it our best shot until I’m not here no more, which I hope we’ll be a long time. I’m going to be here for a long time and take this club onto better things.”

Visit Erith & Belvedere’s website: www.erithandbelvederefc.co.uk

Banstead Athletic v Erith & Belvedere
FA Carlsberg Vase First Round
Saturday 4^th October 2008
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Merland Rise, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 5JG