We'll have to be at our best, says Tunbridge Wells boss Martin Larkin

TUNBRIDGE WELLS boss Martin Larkin says he will be all clued up ahead of their FA Cup tie against Eastbourne Town on Saturday.

The Wells lost their unbeaten record when they went down to a shock 3-1 defeat at Greenwich Borough at Dartford’s Princes Park on Tuesday night.

Basement side Greenwich Borough raced into a 3-0 lead at the break, courtesy of two goals from striker Jeff Duah-Kessie and the opener from his strike partner Badar Mohamed.

But Tunbridge Wells pulled a goal back through Perry Spackman on his 30^th birthday but they couldn’t find the goals that their second half dominance deserved.

As a result, second-placed Tunbridge Wells failed to leapfrog over newly-promoted Phoenix Sports and return to the summit of the Southern Counties East Football League table after seven games.

All attention now turns to The Saffrons on Saturday, as Tunbridge Wells bid to knock higher-league Eastbourne Town out of The FA Cup.

Eastbourne Town scraped past Corinthian with a 1-0 victory in the previous round two weeks ago and Tunbridge Wells are more than capable of causing an upset in the First Qualifying Round.

Eastbourne Town are now managed by target-man Tony Reid, who has played for numerous clubs, including Bromley when Stuart McIntyre was in charge at Hayes Lane.

“They’ve got a new manager so I know he’s brought a few new players’ in,” said Larkin, who went to watch Eastbourne’s surprise 2-2 home draw against Leatherhead last night.

Larkin, who guided his club to Wembley in May when they lost The FA Carlsberg Vase Final to Northern League side Spennymoor Town, said: “Any Cup game is winnable and with the experience that we’ve got from last year with some very difficult places.

“I’ve been to Eastbourne before to see Ashford play a couple of times so I know what it looks like pitch wise.  Joe Fuller played there for Ashford and some of the lads have played there before, so we’ll get ourselves set and get ourselves organised.

“We’ve got a couple of players coming back. We were missing six players on Tuesday night, which is not an excuse because it’s a squad game, but we’ve got a couple coming back for Saturday and we’ll be ready for Saturday. We’re good to go, we’ll start and we’re good to go and start all over again.”

Greenwich Borough welcomed Tunbridge Wells to Dartford with one point in the bag and Eastbourne Town remain rooted to the foot of the Ryman League Division One South table with three draws from their opening eight league games.

“Greenwich Borough had one point on Tuesday, so it doesn’t really mean a thing,” added Larkin.

“They’re a Ryman club and we’ll have to be at our best. 

“I expect a lot of Tunbridge Wells’ fans to travel, which is what we always get. We’re a fantastic well-supported club. They’ll get behind the boys down there so it’s up to us to turn up and be well organised, having trained well tonight.

“We’ve got a plan sorted out and we’ll do it professionally. If it’s not to be on the day, it’s not to be, it’s not for the lack of trying or the lack of support from the fans who travel.”

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

Eastbourne Town  v  Tunbridge Wells
The FA Cup with Budweiser First Qualifying Round
Saturday 14^th September 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
at The Saffrons, Compton Place Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN21 1EA