We don't want to be on the end of a FA Trophy shock, says Margate boss Simon Osborn

MARGATE joint-manager Simon Osborn says he does not want to be grabbing the headlines of being on the end of a FA Trophy shock tomorrow.



The Gate welcome Clevedon Town to Hartsdown Park in the Second Qualifying Round.

The Somerset based outfit – who have former Ramsgate player Edd Vahid in their starting eleven – are struggling in the bottom four of the Calor (Southern League) Division One South & West table, having collected two wins and two draws from their opening nine league games.

Margate go into the game sitting in 12^th place in the Ryman Premier League table with six wins and three draws from their fourteen league outings.

“Like any cup competition, it’s going to be difficult,” warned Osborn, speaking on the eve of the game.

“It’s not going to be an easy game. We don’t know a great deal about them. We’ve made a couple of phone calls from people I know that way and they’re struggling a little bit in the league but these competitions are one-offs and we have to go with the right attitude and the right mentality to put in a performance.

“If we do that we’re going to be classed as the favourites, being at home against a team in a lower division, although being in a different area.

 “That’s something that we have to take on board and go out there and produce that performance and win the game.”

Osborn would certainly want to avoid drawing tomorrow’s game and having to make the long trip to Somerset on Monday for the replay.

“Being at home is a massive draw for us.  It would have been a long journey down to there,” he said.

“We’ll take that on board. We’ve got to go out there – at home – take the game to Clevedon and get the right result.”

Osborn says he wants his side to avoid slipping up on a potential banana skin.

He said: “You look at the league difference and you look at the form, of course you put us as favourites. We’ve also got home advantage so it all does fall in our favour.

“But the one thing we can’t expect is to just turn up and win the game. In football we know there’s always a shock around the corner and we don’t want it to be us come tomorrow evening.”

Margate were defeated 3-0 away to Lewes in their last league game last weekend.

Reflecting on their fifth league defeat of the season, the former Crystal Palace and Gillingham midfielder said: “We gave away an early goal and then unfortunately we were on the wrong end of a poor decision with Joe Vines’ sending off.  It put us down to ten men and to be honest with you we never really got back in the game after that.

“We never really got back in the game after that and they were comfortable in the end and they were deserved winners.

“All in all it may have been a better spectacle, a better game, if we had stayed at eleven men but that was fortunate.

“I don’t think it was a sending off. I’ve talked to people, including their management and it wasn’t a sending off!

“It hit us pretty hard. With ten men we didn’t perform as we could have done. It didn’t help me.”

Margate progressed through to the third round of the Robert Dyas (Ryman) League Cup at the expense of Folkestone Invicta on Tuesday night.

The Gate were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Neil Cugley’s side but progressed after winning the penalty shoot-out 4-3.

Osborn said: “We went into the Folkestone game on Tuesday and we made a few changes.  We brought a few players in. We had a couple of illnesses or whatever else.

“The guys’ performed well. It shouldn’t have even got to the point where it went to penalties – we were comfortable in the game and we played some decent football. We had some decent opportunities and should have won the game in normal time.

“Young Gary Vizzard (a Margate-born striker) came on for us – out of the under 21’s – and did well.

“It went to penalties. Once you get to penalties it’s a bit of a lottery and we were fortunate and we managed to sneak through in the end and that was pleasing as well and we’re into the next round of that.”

Visit Margate’s website: www.margate-fc.com

Margate  v  Clevedon Town
The FA Carlsberg Trophy Second Qualifying Round
Saturday 2^nd November 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Hartsdown Park, Hartsdown Road, Margate, Kent CT9 5QZ