We will prepare and treat Sevenoaks with great respect because there is a lot at stake and we want to win, says Cray Wanderers' Joe Vines

CRAY WANDERERS assistant manager Joe Vines says there is no added pressure on his players ahead of their FA Cup tie against Sevenoaks Town.

The Wands have never reached the First Round of the competition and they kick-off  their campaign with a home tie against Micky Collins’ side in the Preliminary Round at Hayes Lane on Sunday afternoon.

Cray Wanderers opened their Bostik South campaign with two draws, being held to a 2-2 draw at home to Thamesmead Town last Saturday, before coming away from Phoenix Sports on Tuesday with a goal-less draw.

Sevenoaks Town defeated Broadbridge Heath 3-1 at Greatness Park in The FA Cup Preliminary Round on 5 August, before beating relegated Chatham Town 2-0 in the league before going down to a 2-1 defeat at Cray Valley, which was to be James Collins’ last game in charge of the Eltham based club.

“We are looking forward to the game, it gives us a chance to focus on something other than the league and The FA Cup is special, we all know that,” said Vines.

“Sevenoaks will be contending for the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division title this year so they will be a really tough test.

“Any side that Micky Collins puts together is competitive and play on the front foot so we will have to negate that as best we can and be patient and look to hurt them with our quality.

“I’ve been very lucky to reach the First Round proper as a player and The FA Cup gives you an amazing opportunity to put your club on the map, just look at what it did for Sutton United last season.

“We will prepare and treat Sevenoaks with great respect because there is a lot at stake and we want to win.

“The FA Cup is a historic trophy and Cray Wanderers are a club with rich history so we are keen to do that justice.  I’m not one to make bold predictions but I’m sure it will be a game played in good spirit and with a high tempo.

“There is no added pressure on the game in terms of a local derby or any animosity between the teams as we haven’t come up against each other in the league etc but Micky is a larger than life character that I have been lucky to spend some time with over the years and we share many mutual friends so there should be a few faces at the game that will be happy with the result whichever way it swings.”

Cray Wanderers go into the game in 16^th place in the table, while Sevenoaks Town are in seventh in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table after only a couple of league outings.

“Our league season has started slow by our standards,” admitted Vines, who helped Ashford United over the winning line at the end of last season.

“We battled out at draw at home to Thamesmead on the first day and having watched the game back we felt that it was two points lost from the perspective of some of the strong positions we found ourselves in.

“The Phoenix game was different in that there was no real threat on our goal and Phoenix were quite happy to defend and take the point at home.

“We understand that our brand of football encourage teams to park the bus so we have to be more imaginative with our football to unlock the rare opportunities.”

Meanwhile, Louis Collins, 16, who is the son of the Sevenoaks Town manager, has left Bromley to sign a two-year professional contract at Sky Bet League One side Scunthorpe United.

“I wanted to congratulate Louis Collins on his professional deal,” added Vines.

Visit Cray Wanderers website:  www.cray-wanderers.com

Cray Wanderers  v  Sevenoaks Town
The Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round
Sunday 20^th August 2017
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF