We'll be prepared for Warlingham, says Tunbridge Wells boss Martin Larkin

TUNBRIDGE WELLS boss Martin Larkin says he expects Warlingham will be up for their historic FA Cup tie at Culverden Stadium on Saturday, writes Stephen McCartney.


The Whyteleafe based outfit play one division lower than the Wells in the Combined Counties League and will be looking to create a shock result when the two club’s meet in the Extra Preliminary Round.

Larkin, who watched Corinthian’s 2-0 win at Sevenoaks Town on Wednesday night, admitted he hasn’t been able to watch the Surrey side in action.

“Unfortunately their game last Saturday was away to Guernsey.  My scout who does it for love wasn’t prepared to go to Guernsey,” said Larkin.

“We know a little bit about them.  I understand Ken Thurgood who was with Holmesdale a couple of years ago with Tony Beckingham (is there) and they did quite well.

“They are a big club in terms of they’ve got 28 odd teams through youth sections and the men’s section and the difficult thing going to be is it’s their first FA Cup game so they’re going to be very, very excited about the whole thing and pumped up for it so we have to make sure we do what we do.”

The Wells were knocked out by Ryman Premier League side Carshalton Athletic in the First Qualifying Round last season, after producing a giant-killing by beating Dulwich Hamlet in a replay at Champion Hill in the previous round.

“We had a good Cup run last year and the players’ benefited from that in terms of exposure to Ryman League games and the nice days’ out,” reflected Larkin, whose side have beaten Cray Valley and Lordswood in the opening week of the new Kent League season.

“It’s pretty simple with these things, you win and you get to go away to a Ryman club (Walton & Hersham) on a coach or it’s a Kent League game so it’s their choice really.

“Even though we don’t know much about Warlingham, we’ll certainly do what we do and hopefully that will be good enough on the day.”

Tunbridge Wells received a good pay-out through their FA Cup exploits last season and Larkin wants a repeat of that this term.

“It’s the livelihood really so we’ll make sure we do well in it.  It’s a funny one as it’s not a Cup we can win but it’s one you can do very well in, in terms of your club and for your players.  We’ll certainly be attacking it,” said Larkin.

“As a game we want to do well in because it’s exciting, the FA Cup is exciting, no matter what kind of player you are or what level you play at. Just to be involved in it just breeds excitement .

“If you have a good run, because the Kent League hasn’t got a massive amount of teams in it, you can have a decent Cup run without a fixture pile up, therefore it’s a good one to be in.  The FA Vase is better I suppose because you do have a chance of winning that but the FA Cup, particularly the first couple of rounds, is exciting because it certainly builds momentum.”

Larkin urges local people to get themselves to Culverden Stadium to spoil Warlingham’s big day out.

He said: “If we can average 200 every game it’s a massive financial boost for the club.  We’ve always said where that terracing is the noise that comes down onto the pitch is quite imposing and the crowd are very vocal at our place, they get behind the team.

“Although our responsibility is to win games, it’s also to entertain once those games are won.  The more we can do that the more the crowds will come in.  There’s nothing worse than to play a Kent League game in front of 45 people so to play in front of 150 odd is what we want to do and that’s something we want to grow throughout the season.”

But Larkin respects the Surrey side, who are expected to play former Holmesdale defender Christos Nicoli.

“They are a big club and they are working through the leagues and they did well last year.  Any club that can boast 28 teams isn’t going to be a Micky Mouse club so they’re going to be very well organised with some decent players,” Hove resident Larkin said.

“By all accounts they played Whyteleafe on the Tuesday night before we played Whyteleafe in a pre-season game and they beat them 2-1.  If they beat a Ryman side in a pre-season game they must have some decent players to do that.

“We’ll read as much as we can about them and make sure we’re prepared as well as we can be.”

Visit Tunbridge Wells’ website: www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk  

Tunbridge Wells  v  Warlingham
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Saturday 20^th August 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Culverden Stadium, Culverden Down, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 9SG