Greenwich Borough boss Steve Firkins is looking forward to his FA Cup debut

Thursday 12th August 2010

GREENWICH BOROUGH boss Steve Firkins says he is looking forward to taking part in his first ever FA Cup tie on Sunday afternoon, writes Stephen McCartney.

Reigate based South Park arrive at Oakley Road on Sunday for an Extra Preliminary Round tie that will be covered by www.kentishfootball.co.uk and ITV Sport.

“It means a lot to me as I’ve never been involved in it,” Firkins told www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“Obviously I’m like any other football supporter, I watch the FA Cup, but it’s my first actual involvement in the FA Cup so I’m excited about it.

“I’m more excited then the boys are to be honest!”

Firkins admitted he felt he was the butt of a joke when he was told that the game will be filmed by ITV Sport.

“First time, I took it as a wind-up, I was more than certain,” he explained. “I’ve got a couple of pals of mine who like playing practical jokes. I was a little bit wary first off but since speaking to them - and South Park have spoken to the producer (of ITV Sport), it’s a definite.

“It’s a great thing for both clubs, giving us a bit of exposure and especially us after six-years (being suspended from the FA Cup) and as you know our crowds aren’t very good and hopefully it can show what Greenwich Borough Football Club is all about.

“We do play decent football. We’ve got a reputation as a decent footballing side, who try to play football, so hopefully it will open up new avenues for us.”

When asked what he knows about their Surrey opponents, Firkins admitted: “Nothing at all! A friend of mine, who I was with at Croydon some years ago, he’s involved with Leatherhead and their reserve side played South Park a couple of weeks ago, and he gave me a little bit of information.

“But other than that, we’re going in blind really, but we expect a tough game. We expect nothing less from a FA Cup game. They will want to progress due to the obvious financial rewards, which go with the FA Cup and every club at our level is looking for that.

“I feel it’s going to be a very hard game for us.”

Greenwich Borough - who are expecting a larger-than-normal crowd on Sunday - go into the game sitting proudly at the top of the Safety Net Associates Kent League, following their 3-1 opening day win at local rivals Fisher last weekend.

“We started well. We said to the fella’s that we had to start with a high tempo and we did that,” reflected the very pleased boss.

“I said in my programme notes this is the first time that we’ve managed to hit the top spot in the three years we’ve been here, so it’s nice. Now it’s a case where we carry on and to remain in and around that top area.

“We’re more than happy with the way we’ve started. We’ve signed 19 players, we’ve still got a couple of injuries and players who cannot attend through work commitments, so we’ve still got a few to come back.

“I’m happy with the strength of the squad. We feel we’re a little bit stronger this year, squad wise.”

When asked about his team selection for Sunday’s tie, Firkins said, “I’ve got Jason Mabbs, who’s got an ankle problem at the moment, who may be 50-50, but he’s had the problem with that for a year now.

“Adam Wadmore played last Saturday, but he’s still suffering from a slight dead leg and Kenny Jarrett-Elliott has played no part whatsoever in this season due to work commitments. Hopefully if he’s at training tonight he will be available for selection Sunday for the squad.

“We’ve got Tommy Lae, who is one of our forwards, who we signed earlier on in the season, he’s had a ligament problem.

“We’ve got a couple of niggling injuries, which we are cautious about, but I don’t think it will jeopardise the squad in any way. I think we can put out 17 of the 19 fellas that we’ve signed.”

The winners of this tie will welcome Ryman League Division One South side Horsham YMCA in the preliminary round on 28 August.

The club have confirmed admission prices as £6 (adults), £3 (senior citizens) and £1 (children).

www.kentishfootball.co.uk will be covering this game.

Greenwich Borough v South Park

FA Cup (Sponsored by E.ON) Extra Preliminary Round

Sunday 15th August 2010

Kick Off 3:00pm

At 68 Oakley Road, Bromley, Kent BR2 8HQ