I've got a bit of a FA Vase expectation to live up to, says VCD Athletic boss Ricky Bennett

VCD ATHLETIC boss Ricky Bennett says he wants to lead the Crayford based club as far as he can in this season’s FA Carlsberg Vase, writes Stephen McCartney.


Vickers make the trip down to Hampshire to play unknown quantity Blackfield & Langley, a side that are in seventeenth place in the top-flight of the Wessex League, in the Second Round of the competition tomorrow.

Bennett, 42, said that he went to watch his opponents’ 5-0 home defeat to Horndean on 1 November and has kept logging on to the club’s website for as much information he can forge going into the game.

“I went to watch them a couple of weeks’ ago and the lost 5-0 on the night,” said Bennett, who added, “Nice place, lovely pitch, it will suit us, nice big pitch. 

“Other than that I’ve never heard of them before.  I’ve looked upon their website obviously.  I’ve looked at their league form – they’ve played less games than most and are in the bottom half of their league.  They’ve had some good results against some of the higher placed teams so I’m not really sure about them to be honest.”

Bennett added: “According to their website after that game they had a side that had seven changes.  What do you take from it and since then some of the games they’ve had, they’ve had different players’ as well!

“It’s a tough one but as it’s so far I can’t get there to watch them.”

Bennett said he would like to guide the club into the national stage of the competition.

He said: “We’re going to go there looking to win no question.  The real nitty-gritty comes at the turn of the year in the Vase.  We’ve got this (round) and another round in December.  Get through those then who knows?

“It’s a great competition to be in but you have to take one step as you can.  We’ve got to be fully focused and look to do a job tomorrow.

“The club have had a good run in the Vase in previous years’ so I’ve got a bit of expectation to live up to I suppose and I’ll try and get them as far as they’ve been.  It’s doo-able but it all depends on the luck of the draw, form and such and such, you know how it is.”

Visit VCD Athletic’s website: www.vcdathletic.co.uk  

Blackfield & Langley  v  VCD Athletic
The FA Carlsberg Vase Second Round
Saturday 19^th November 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Gang Warily Community and Recreation Centre, Newlands Road, Fawley, Hampshire SO45 1GA