Sheppey United coach Marcel Nimani: We are expecting an organised and talented Uxbridge side who in my eyes are favourites for this tie and as underdogs we are looking forward to raising to the occasion – after all it is The FA Cup!

SHEPPEY UNITED head coach Marcel Nimani says his side go into their FA Cup tie against Uxbridge as rare underdogs.

Ernie Batten’s side are in third-place in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table having beaten Erith Town (4-2) and Canterbury City (4-1) in their opening two games of the season.

Sheppey United progressed through to The FA Cup Preliminary Round after beating lower-league side Sutton Athletic 1-0 on the opening day of the new season.

“Objectively speaking we’ve had the start that we aimed for at the beginning of the pre-season, with FA Cup and two out of two league wins,” said Nimani.

“Reflecting on last season’s start, we were very keen to accelerate out of the blocks this year and not give away points like we did the previous year and I feel that we are on track as we move on to the second week of the season.

“Having said that, Ernie and I have picked up on areas where we think we need to work on further.

“We do feel that we have a few areas which we still need to address, so our feet remain calmly on the ground.

Nimani reflected on their last outing, a 4-1 win over Canterbury City, courtesy of Billy Bennett’s eye-catching hat-trick.

“I felt overall in a 90 minute contest we were the better side,” he said.

“In the second half we forced one-way traffic as we enjoyed huge spells of possession in the opposition’s half.

“We went on to create an impressive amount of chances with some outstanding contributions from our usual attacking raiders, Harrison Carnegie, Danny Leonard, Jack Midson and both of our strikers.

“In the end, Billy Bennett ended up stealing the shot with an impressive hat-trick.  Harrison Carnegie added another to conclude a deserved win.

“On the other side, I also felt Canterbury gave us a great challenge. They were the better side in parts of the first-half and they had a few opportunities to even go two goals up.

“They also had a few opportunities in the second half to equalise. Chris Woollcott and his coaching team have done a great job in recruiting and structuring an impressing young side so well done to all involved there.”

Uxbridge play in the Isthmian League South Central Division and they open their league campaign with a trip to Chertsey Town on Saturday 19 September.

“This is a side who play a division above us and were pushing for promotion in their previous season, concluding the season in third-place,” said Nimani.

“Personally, I do not know much about their side but looking at their pre-season results, they’ve had a solid campaign with three clean sheets out of four games.

“They’re located in a region saturated with talented footballers and their recent record speaks for itself.

“We are expecting an organised and talented side who in my eyes are favourites for this tie and as underdogs we are looking forward to raising to the occasion – after all it is The FA Cup.”

Visit Sheppey United’s website:  www.sheppeyunitedfc.co.uk

Sheppey United  v  Uxbridge
The Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round
Saturday 12 September 2020
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Holm Park, Queenborough Road, Halfway, Sheerness, Kent ME12 3DB