There's no pressure on us whatsoever, says Erith & Belvedere boss Matt Longhurst

ERITH & BELVEDERE manager Matt Longhurst says his side are more than capable of pulling off a FA Cup upset today.

The Deres welcome Carshalton Athletic to Park View Road in the Preliminary Round, with the winners handed an away trip to Pagham on 12 September.

Erith & Belvedere knocked out Epsom & Ewell 4-0 at the first hurdle, which was their first win of the season after losing their first two league games.

But since then the club have defeated Deal Town (1-0) and Sevenoaks Town (3-0), while Carshalton Athletic go into the tie sitting in 18^th place in the Ryman League Division One South table.

“I went to watch them on Tuesday, they’ve got good players but we’re trying to win the game,” said Longhurst.

“There’s no pressure on us whatsoever. We’ve got a little bit of money (£1,500) in the bank for the club from the first tie, which is what they wanted, which is nice to get that, so you can go into that game with no pressure on you.

“We’ve worked on some bits in training on Friday night. It’s a nice game. They’ll bring a few (supporters), it’s a Sunday game as well and it’s another decent occasion for the boys to go out there and play under no pressure in The FA Cup.

“If we can get through, it’s fantastic and it’s a little bit more money (£1,925) in the bank, which is vital for clubs at this level.

“It’s one of those ones where you can enjoy a little but at the same time we want to win the game.”

Longhurst admitted his side were poor during the first half of their game at Sevenoaks Town last Wednesday, before three second half goals from Byron Walker, Goldy Capela and Alfie May sealed the points.

“If we perform like that in the first half (today), then the game will be over in the first half against better opposition, against a team from a higher division,” warned Longhurst.

“They’re a team from a league above, it’s a big club, they’ve got a few quid. They’re a decent club but that’s what The FA Cup is about from top to bottom. They’ll be upsets in The FA Cup right the way through and hopefully we can cause another one.

“We did well last year, we played Folkestone, a fantastic team and took them to a replay. We should’ve won the game in normal time and they beat us in extra-time. If we can be in the hat after Sunday, then I’ll be pleased.

“We’re capable of winning the game but we want to turn up and play well. As I said to the boys after Wednesday’s game, we need to play well for 90 minutes. We can’t turn up for 45 minutes.

“I spoke to Nick Davis and Sittingbourne didn’t turn up for the first 35 minutes and they were 3-0 down and they lost the game 3-0 and he said second half they had a little bit of a go at them.”

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

Erith & Belvedere  v  Carshalton Athletic
The FA Cup Preliminary Round (Sponsored by Emirates)
Sunday 30^th August 2015
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Park View Road, Welling, Kent DA16 1SY