We'd like to think we've done our homework on Margate, says Bromley's Murray Jones

BROMLEY assistant manager Murray Jones says they have done their homework on Margate ahead of their FA Cup trip to Hartsdown Park on Saturday, writes Stephen McCartney.



Bromley go into the Third Qualifying Round showdown sitting in a respectable tenth place in the Blue Square Bet South table, having picked up 17 points from 12 league outings.

And Jones knows what to expect as scouts watched Chris Kinnear lose to Carshalton Athletic at home in the Ryman Premier League last Saturday and their home win over Cray Wanderers in the Kent Senior Cup in midweek.

“We’ve watched them twice this year and in The FA Cup really anything can happen, but we want to make sure we’re in control and we try to do a professional job as we can,” said Jones.

“It is a local derby, it has got the makings of a good Cup tie, but we’re in good form at the moment.  There’s a good vibe amongst the camp and hopefully we can see it out and do a professional job, but we give them every respect, as you should do in The FA Cup.

“Anything can happen on one given game and you can look at the tie saying it’s a potential banana skin but both myself and Mark (Goldberg) have had a couple of good Cup runs and we’ve gone away from home and ground out some good results and gone further in the competition, so we’re hopeful.

“We have to make sure we’re on our game and working hard, as the team ethic has got us where we are at the moment.

“We’re not confident by any means, but we just want to go there and do a professional job and come away with a good result.”

Margate have lost five of their six home Ryman Premier League games this season, but Jones knows form goes out of the window in The FA Cup.

He said: “We’re not going to look at any result because in any given game anything can happen.

“We have watched them away from home and at home, we’re aware about them and they were unfortunate to lose at home to Carshalton when they had a lot of opportunities and didn’t take them.  Then we watched them at home on Tuesday in the Kent Senior Cup when they did win and beat Cray 2-1.

“We’d like to think we’ve done our homework.  We’ve done everything we can to make sure we are thoroughly prepared.”

Manager Mark Goldberg, now in his third spell in charge at Hayes Lane, has previously guided Bromley to the first round on two occasions when they played Gillingham and Colchester United.

“I was with Mark on those occasions,” recalled Jones, when reflecting on the teams they had to beat to get there.

“We went to Grays when they were in the Conference Premier. We went away to Hayes, who were one league above us.  We have gone away and got results. 

“We’re off the back of a good victory at Havant.  The boys’ are in confident mood and we just hope we can do what we have to do on the day and see the game out.”

Reflecting on their league campaign to date, Jones, who also runs the Bromley Academy set-up said, “Our assessment at the moment is that we perhaps could have done better and picked up a few more points along the way but we’ve looked at it and we’ve all spoken as a management team and as a group of players.

“There hasn’t been too many times we’ve come away and been really disappointed.  We took a hit at Eastbourne and at Staines, you can maybe possibly make excuses for that. 

“We’ve been playing well, perhaps not picking up the points, but I do go back when I spoke to you at the beginning of the season.  We’ve got a young, inexperienced squad, they’re all trying to grow and improve on a weekly basis.

“It won’t be easy by no means and there will be some inconsistencies.  What we’re trying to do is improve the players and get more consistent individual performances and hopefully the quality of the team will come through.”

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Margate  v  Bromley
The FA Cup with Budwesier Third Qualifying Round
Saturday 15^th October 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Hartsdown Park, Hartsdown Road, Margate, Kent CT9 5QZ