I'm quietly confident we can pull it off, says Ford

Wednesday 07th October 2009

WELLING UNITED boss Andy Ford insists his side will give a much better account of themselves during their FA Cup clash at Dover Athletic on Saturday, writes Stephen McCartney.

Injury-hit Wings suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Crabble when the two sides met in Blue Square South back in August, but Ford, speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk, says he is confident that his side will become the first side to take something from fortress Crabble.

“Looking forward to it,” said Ford. “From a local point of view it’s good and the FA Cup is obviously important to both clubs.

“We go there a little bit better than we were there originally so hopefully that will give us a better chance of getting through to the next round.

“We’ve just got to go down there and approach it the best we can and hopefully we can put in a good performance. I think they’re beatable.”

Dover’s two league defeats have come on the road - at Havant & Waterlooville and Worcester City - and Whites boss Andy Hessenthaler has yet suffered back-to-back defeats during his time as manager and they go into the game in second place in the table, losing top spot to Newport County last weekend.

But Ford, whose side are just two places above the relegation zone, is confident that his men will relish the atmosphere of an expected 1,500+ crowd in White Cliffs Country.

“I don’t go on other people’s records or anything,” said Ford. “It’s just about us really. I’m not interested in Dover’s records, or what they’ve done or achieved, it’s just down to us at the end of the day.

“I feel quietly confident that we can pull it off.”

He added: “All local derbies are good, it adds a little bit of spice on it, doesn’t it? It doesn’t take much motivating to get the players up for it.”

Ford revealed that Loui Fazakerley (knee) and James Lawson (going in for an operation to rebuild his knee tomorrow) have been ruled out.”

Visit Welling United’s website: www.wellingunited.com

Visit Dover Athletic’s website: www.doverathletic.com

COVERAGE: Join Matt Gerrard on BBC Radio Kent 96.7fm/104.2fm or www.bbc.co.uk/kent

Dover Athletic v Welling United

FA Cup (Sponsored by E.ON) Third Qualifying Round

Saturday 10th October 2009

Kick Off 3:00pm

At Crabble Athletic Ground, Lewisham Road, River, Dover, Kent CT17 0JB