If we play to our full potential then we've got a chance of winning, says Blair boss Paul Piggott

HOLLANDS & BLAIR boss Paul Piggott says all eleven players will have to play at their best if they are to become the first Kent Invicta League side to lift the Umbro Kent Senior Trophy.



The Gillingham based outfit are presently sitting in fifth-place in the table and travel to Park View Road for Sunday’s final in confidence that they can cause a shock and beat Kent League side Sevenoaks Town in the club’s biggest ever game.

Blair and Cray Valley (Paper Mills) were both reinstated following Erith & Belvedere’s much publicised exit after playing Michael Abnett in their win over Steve Chapman’s side back in January without the necessary international clearance and as a result Erith & Belvedere were thrown out of the final.

Hollands & Blair beat Cray Valley 2-0 last weekend and to take the Deres place in the final.

“It’s the biggest Cup final the club has been in, so we’re more than proud to be in it,” said Piggott, whose side have already beaten West Wickham, Beckenham Town, before losing in extra time to Erith & Belvedere in the semi-final.

“Maybe it (Erith & Belvedere’s elimination) might take a little bit of a shine of the fact that we’ve got through by default as such.  Like we said before, we don’t want to take a gift horse in the mouth. We’ll take the opportunity and make the most of it.”

Reflecting on their victory over Cray Valley last weekend, courtesy of goals from Stuart West and Steve Hafner, Piggott said: “We had to work hard for our win and I thought the boys played well over ninety minutes.

“There was a twenty minute spell in the second half where they got at us and threw everything at us and we stood firm and we deserved our win in the end.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s final, Hollands & Blair are classed as the underdogs, but they are more than capable of winning the silverware for the very first time.

“We’ve got to be, because we’re playing a team from the league above so we are the underdogs,” said Piggott.

“But we’ll go there and the same as any Kent League side we’ve played, we’ll give it a go and give them a game and see what comes of it.”

When asked what his side need to pull off the upset, Piggott replied, “We need all of our players’ to be at their best.  We are low on the ground on numbers and we need everyone to perform. If everyone performs to their full potential, we’ve got a chance.

“I keep telling my players, I think we should be playing at that level anyway, so if we play to their full potential then we’ve got a chance of winning something.”

The Gillingham based outfit were one of the club’s expected to challenge for the inaugural Kent Invicta League title, but their Medway neighbours Bly Spartans are on course of clinching the title in Matt Hume’s final season in charge.

Piggott blamed inconsistency to his side’s downfall in the title race.

He said: “That’s what’s been our trouble this year, we haven’t been consistent enough, not with our performances or our players availability through various reasons and that’s the reason we’ve ended up where we’re ending up.”

The Kent Senior Trophy winners enter the Kent Senior Cup the following season and the prospect of playing the likes of Charlton Athletic, Chatham Town, Dartford and Gillingham, for example, adds to the incentive of winning on Sunday.

Piggott said: “That’s unheard off for a club like ours to be involved in a thing like that, so that is a very big incentive.

“Just to be getting to this Cup Final is a huge step for the club and we won’t look no further than that game at the minute.

“Anyone knows in football on a Cup Final any team can go on and win it.  We’re just glad that our club, who were kicking around on park football ten years’ ago, are able to compete in a Cup Final like this. It’s great for the club and we’re more than looking forward to it.”

Piggott just hopes his side can hold their nerve on the big stage.

“How will it be won?  Whoever will hold their nerve the longest,” said Piggott.

“I should imagine there will be a few nerves out there. It will be the same for the Sevenoaks players. It’s a big Cup Final, so whoever holds their nerves the longest and takes their chances will be the one who wins.”

Piggott, meanwhile, will be forced to reshuffle his pack for the game.

“We’ve got a couple of players suspended, Bryan Greenfield and James Smith are suspended for the game. We’ve got Lee Farrell injured, Lee Preston who is unavailable. I could go on for ever.

“I’ve got some big players missing, but it will give the players who I’m going to select for the squad a chance to prove not only to me but everyone else that they can play at this level.

“You don’t get to Cup Finals like this. Alright, this is a one-off.  You can say we’ve had a bit of luck but we’ve beaten two Kent League sides on the way and got pipped in extra-time to another.

“If you look at ability wise, I think we deserve to be where we are.”

Visit Hollands & Blair’s website: www.hollandsandblair.teamexpert.co.uk

Sevenoaks Town  v  Hollands & Blair
Umbro Kent Senior Trophy Final
Sunday 15^th April 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Park View Road, Welling, Kent DA16 1SY