We’re in a bubble at the moment where things are going quite well and we have to stay in that bubble, says Erith & Belvedere boss Del Oldfield

ERITH & BELVEDERE manager Del Oldfield is preparing his side for two important cup ties this week.

The Deres put in an impressive performance during their 2-2 draw with Beckenham Town on Tuesday night as the former reserve team manager at Phoenix Sports and Stansfeld has turned around fortunes at Park View Road.

Erith & Belvedere were at the foot of the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table at the time of the abandonment in March and were 40 points behind leaders Beckenham Town at the time.

However, the side put in a vastly much-improved performance against Jason Huntley’s side and should have claimed all three points.

All attention now turns to Saturday’s home FA Vase First Qualifying Round tie against Loxwood before Tuesday’s trip to Hartley Wintney in The FA Cup First Qualifying Round.

“I only concentrate on one game at a time,” said Oldfield, a London black cab driver.

“I’ll start my homework on Loxwood and look at the videos I’ve been sent and this, that and the other and try and see where their threats are and see where we can hurt them a little bit and go from there.”

Loxwood are in eleventh-place in the Southern Combination Premier Division having collected four points from as many games, while Erith & Belvedere go into the Park View Road clash sitting in the bottom five with two points from their first three outings.

Hampshire based side Hartley Wintney kick-off their Southern League Premier Division South campaign with a trip to Walton Casuals on Saturday before Oldfield tries to plot an FA Cup upset next Tuesday.

“Listen, Hartley Wintney are a very good team, there’s no two ways about it,” said Oldfield.

“They’ve got a couple of players there that we’re fully aware of through our own contacts and that’s going to be a very, very tough game.

“Marlon Patterson said something quite poignant, we’re in a bubble at the moment where things are going quite well and we have to stay in that bubble and if we stay in that bubble where things are going quite well and we keep learning from our mistakes, you never know. It’s The FA Cup, who knows?

“We’re not getting carried away.  I think you’re going to see a lot of exciting games and I think we bring quite a bit of excitement and we try to play football the right way.

“We’ve got different ways of playing that makes it hard for the opposition to nail us down as such, which Chatham found out (during our opening day 4-3 home defeat) and they are a good side, no two ways about it.

“With the pace we’ve got going forward if we can just add a finishing touch I think we’ll upset a few more.

“Playing at home against your Chatham’s and Beckenham’s, you’ve got to get up for all of the other games as well.  It’s not just getting up for those big games but also for all of the other games against people around you and turning those positive displays into points.”

Visit Erith & Belvedere’s website:  www.erithandbelvederefc.clubbuzz.co.uk

Erith & Belvedere  v  Loxwood
The Buildbase FA Vase First Qualifying Round
Saturday 19 September 2020
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Park View Road, Welling, Kent DA16 1SY