Bridgwater United are doing well in their league and any team that is in the last 32 of The FA Vase will be tough, says Erith Town boss Adam Woodward

ERITH TOWN manager Adam Woodward says his squad are feeling excited and fully prepared ahead of their FA Vase Fourth Round trip to Bridgwater United on Saturday.

The Dockers go into the last 32 clash in Somerset sitting in third-place in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division with 32 points from their 17 games, 24 points adrift of league leaders Erith & Belvedere but with four games in hand.

Erith Town came away from Culverden Stadium with a goal-less draw last Saturday.

“Tunbridge Wells is a tough place to go but it was a point gained.  The people at Tunbridge Wells worked incredibly hard to have their pitch playable,” said Woodward.

“It was a difficult game for both sides on a heavy pitch.  We found it hard in the first half but adapted well in the second and on another day we could have won but overall we are happy to get a draw away from home given the conditions."

Meanwhile, Tunbridge Wells, have confirmed that there was a "serious fire" in their clubhouse this evening.

"Thankfully no one was injured," said the club, adding, "The club would like to thank Kent Fire and Rescue for all of their efforts."

Bridgwater play at the same level as Erith Town and currently sit in second-place in the Western League Premier Division, having picked up 49 points from their 21 league outings and are a point behind Saltash United with a couple of games in hand.

Richard Styles took his Tunbridge Wells side to Fairfax Park at this stage of the competition last season, with Tunbridge Wells winning 5-3 on penalties after fighting back from being two goals down.

“We have done as much research as we can on the opposition and we have prepared for them like we would with any of our league rivals with our scout Gerry Cox (former Greenwich Borough manager) getting us information,” revealed Woodward.

“It’s a really tough game, they are doing well in their league and any team that is in the last 32 of The FA Vase will be tough.

“I’m expecting the pitch to be heavy and for this to be an old fashioned cup tie.

“The mood within the dressing room is excitement.  The current group of players have been superb this season and there is a real togetherness amongst them.

“We have trained this week as we normally do with a bit of shape work against our under 18’s and 23’s, which was good as they are having a great season in their respective league and cups.

“We go to Bridgwater with a squad to choose from and we have promoted two under-18 players to travel.  We have a number of players out which have been struck down with the flu bug for the last two or three weeks and we also have a couple out with suspensions but we travel with 17 players that are all capable on the day to produce an upset.”

FA Vase ties go straight to a penalty shoot-out if scores are level after 90 minutes and when asked whether his side have practiced spot-kicks, Woodward revealed: “We have practiced, of course we need to be ready for any circumstances.  Notching can compare to the pressure on the day but we have done the best we can.

Woodward is grateful to chairman Mark Deveney for putting his hands in his pocket to pay the hotel and coach travel costs for the club’s first ever game at this stage of the competition.

He said: “I like to give a special mention to the chairman who has given us the best opportunities to prepare the right way. We will travel on Friday night and do an overnight stay, which has come at an expense to him personally and the players and staff are all grateful for this.

“He has been superb since I’ve been at the football club and has really backed all of the football decisions that I have made.

“This is the furthest the club has been in this competition, so we hope we can continue this run.”

Visit Erith Town’s website:  www.erithtown.com

Bridgwater United  v  Erith Town
The Isuzu FA Vase Fourth Round
Saturday 14 January 2023
Kick Off 2:00pm
at Fairfax Park, College Way, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 4TZ