We've got to start making Whitstable a bit of a fortress, says boss Justin Luchford

WHITSTABLE TOWN manager Justin Luchford says he wants his side to start taking their chances when they come up against Eastbourne Town on Saturday.

The Oystermen secured their only point of the season in midweek when they threw away a 2-0 lead within 23 minutes to settle for a draw against Horsham.

The Kent coast outfit remain at the foot of the Ryman League Division One South table after four league outings.

“I can’t even look at the league table. Let’s not worry about the league table,” said Luchford after the game.

“We’ve not lost on Tuesday night, which is good. It gets us up and running. We go again on Saturday so we’ll make sure we don’t’ lose again on Saturday and that’s two unbeaten.

“It’s all about going on little runs. At the moment it’s about not losing.  You’ve got to remember we’ve lost three on the trot so confidence wise they think they might concede so it’s good they’ve stayed strong in the end when there was a little bit of an onslaught with five minutes to go – and we’ve got a point.”

Looking ahead to the visit of Eastbourne Town, Luchford has spoken to Folkestone Invicta manager Neil Cugley about the East Sussex outfit ahead of the clash at The Belmont.

Luchford said: “They’ll be tougher than Horsham, I would have thought. I’ve had some good reports from Cugs about them.

“They’re a good side, they’ll be up for it and looking to play.

“There’s no easy games but we’ve got to start making this place a bit of a fortress and if we take our chances then we’ll beat anyone on our day.”

Whitstable, who suffered a 2-1 defeat away to Kent League side VCD Athletic in the FA Cup Preliminary Round last month, welcome Blue Square Bet (Conference) Premier side Ebbsfleet United to The Belmont next Tuesday.

Looking forward to the Kent Senior Cup Sponsored by Portablefloodlights.com First Round tie, Luchford said: “They’re a good team to come down. I guess they’ll probably send down a mix but it doesn’t matter. It’s Ebbsfleet isn’t it?

“Hopefully there will be a few people through the gate.

“We won’t be resting anyone. We haven’t done ourselves any favours in the FA Cup so every other Cup competition is now very important so we’ll be going for that.”

Visit Whitstable Town’s website: www.whitstabletownfc.co.uk

Whitstable Town   v   Eastbourne Town
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 15^th September 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at The Belmont, Belmont Road, Whitstable, Kent CT5 1QP