We have spoken to all of the players about this and hopefully we will be well prepared for what Bridon Ropes have to throw at us, says Beckenham Town coach Billy Walton

BECKENHAM TOWN coach Billy Walton says his side must cut out individual mistakes if they are to avoid slipping up on a potential banana skin tomorrow.

The club host Bridon Ropes in The FA Vase Second Qualifying Round tie at Eden Park Avenue, having thrown away a 2-0 lead at home to Crowborough Athletic to come away without any points in midweek.

“Looking back to Wednesday night against Crowborough, who I think are the best team in this league and with the best manager, it is always a challenge when you play them,” said Walton.

“But we acquitted ourselves very well as we have done in the past five games, in which we have lost all five but we have not been outplayed in any of those games.  In fact, we have dominated most of the play in those games.

“We were 2-0 up on Wednesday night and everything was going to plan but then two key moments in the second half cost us dear. One was a bad mistake by one of our players, the other was a bad mistake by the referee, who denied us a clear-cut penalty.”

Beckenham Town have slipped down to into the bottom five in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table, having collected two wins from their opening seven games.

Bridon Ropes are in the top four in the Southern Counties East Football League First Division table going into the game, with five wins and a draw from their first nine league outings.

“We know we will be in for a tough, tough game,” said Walton.

“We have spoken to all of the players about this and hopefully we will be well prepared for what they have to throw at us.

“I think if we play to the way we have been playing and stop the individual errors, we will win the game, but it will be difficult.

“We will not and cannot underestimate Bridon because they are in the league below us and we will give them the upmost respect and treat them the same as we would any other team.”

When asked to reflect on Beckenham’s campaign so far, Walton replied: “I think those people who have been to see us play, we have played extremely well in all of the games and are unfortunate not to have won most of them.  When I say unfortunate, that’s not being disrespectful to the teams, it’s because I feel we have dominated most of the games we have played.

“When we played Bearsted on Saturday we should have been 5-0 up at half-time, instead we were 1-0 down.  I think Bearsted would agree with that as well.

“If we can sort out very, very minor details in our play and stop little individual errors, we will do extremely well this season.  I feel it is only a matter of time.”

Bridon Ropes manager, Mark Murison, meanwhile, is confident his in-form side can cause a cup upset.

They go into the game on top form and came away from Fisher with a 4-2 win  on Tuesday night.

“Our last win against Fisher was a great game to win as we did not play to the level we can,” admitted Murison.

“We suffered two injuries to key players during the game and we came back from 2-1 down, so to have a squad of players capable of filling the gaps the injured players left with great effect and for them to not only come back from a goal down but to win by two clear goals against a side who with their foundations, facilities and the budget that they currently have, they should be aiming for promotion, shows great togetherness and resilience.

“This is something that has been forming since the start of the season but we were being way to inconsistent.

“We have now won three in a row scoring 10 and conceding two so I am very pleased with the progress but this needs to continue.

“The Vase game tomorrow will be tough playing away to a higher opposition. We have in the past two seasons played and beat higher opposition in this competition so we will respect Beckenham but we are not afraid of them as we feel we can beat them and that is how we will approach the game.

“The lads are improving every week and this gives us another opportunity to prove how good we can be but Beckenham will not be easy so the lads will need to be at their best.”

Bridon Ropes are only three points adrift of league leaders Punjab United.

Murison said: “It’s coming together.  A few weeks ago, I was disappointed by our inconsistent start and challenged the players to get themselves back in contention in the league over September and so far we have won all our games this month.

“We have got ourselves into fourth and in the challenging group, which has pleased me.

“We cannot let our standards drop in training sessions, preparation and games. We must continue to be consistent in our performances. If the lads can do that then we will be in the hunt for promotion this season.”

Visit Beckenham Town’s website: www.beckenhamtownfc.co.uk

Beckenham Town  v  Bridon Ropes
The Buildbase FA Vase Second Qualifying Round
Saturday 23^rd September 2017
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Eden Park Avenue, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3JL