We're not going to win it but you want to stay in it for as long as you can, says Tommy Warrilow

TONBRIDGE ANGELS boss Tommy Warrilow says he wants to end his own personal FA Cup heartbreak when he takes his side to Dover Athletic on Saturday.



The Angels travel to Crabble for a mouth-watering Second Qualifying Round clash at the weekend looking to improve on their recent poor form in the competition.

Tonbridge Angels climbed up to sixteenth-place in the Blue Square Bet (Conference) South table after winning their first league game of the season with a 4-2 home win over Boreham Wood last weekend.

Dover Athletic go into the Kent showdown sitting in seventh-place in the table but they have failed to win any of their four home games.

“It’s a nice draw,” said Warrilow. “When you come in later on in The FA Cup it’s in the lap of the Gods if you get an easier one or not but the last two years I’ve had both.  I had a so-called game against Guildford when we came unstuck and then away to Chelmsford when we didn’t turn up on the day.

“We go into it six games unbeaten so obviously we’re looking forward to it.”

When asked what kind of game he is expecting against Nicky Forster’s side, the Angels boss replied, “I think a tense one!  Obviously everyone knows the way they’ve strengthened through the summer and they’ve brought in another player over the last 24 hours or so (midfielder Daryl McMahon, 28 from Eastleigh for an undisclosed fee).

“I keep reminding people we’re aiming to get that far with squad numbers etc, but it’s easier said than done!

“We only lost to them by the odd goal in the 90^th minute last year and we got a draw over there.  We’re going there not in awe of them but we’re going to respect them and play on a level playing field really.”

With a number of former Dover Athletic players now plying their trade at Longmead Stadium, you would have thought their return to Crabble would be a major talking point at training this week.

Warrilow said: “If you want the truth, they’ve not even mentioned it!

“We came in on Tuesday night and no-one’s really mentioned it. Whether they’re Tweeting each other what people seem to do these days, but I don’t know.  Hand on heart someone’s not mentioned it but no-one’s really gone into the details like everyone expected them to.

“They’re treating it as a normal game.  When we’ve gone back in the past they’ve got nothing to prove to people at Dover.”

“It’s nothing about going to your old club – it’s The FA Cup and we know what the reasons are behind The FA Cup.

“We’re not going to win it but you want to stay in it for as long as you can to get the financial benefits.”

Warrilow is desperate to defeat their Kent rivals and to scoop a welcomed £4,500 in prize money.

“We played Guildford City and we absolutely dominated them for 89 minutes and then they broke away and scored a last minute goal and you need an element of luck like Guildford City had two years’ ago.

“Last year we got a tough draw and we didn’t do ourselves justice at Chelmsford.

“I didn’t have a lot of luck in The FA Cup – hopefully that will change this year.”

The rewards of reaching the First Round proper are massive for a non-league football club.

“I don’t think there’s no football club who would say no to a FA Cup run,” said Warrilow, who left Horsham (as John Maggs’ number two) a week before they locked horns with Swansea City in front of the television cameras.

“Four years’ ago, when I left Horsham a week before I got offered the job at Tonbridge, the financial implications behind that was massive.

“Why can’t it be like us this year? But every club is gunning for that but we’ve got a very difficult hurdle to overcome and I’m sure Dover will be saying the same thing.”

Reflecting on the start to their second Conference South campaign, which has warranted one wins and five draws from their opening eight games, Warrilow said: “I’ll be honest with you, the way things have gone I’ve got to be reasonably happy.

“I’ve still not, to this day, played my strongest eleven.

“We’ve only had eight games and we’ve not lost in six of them. I know we’ve drawn five but we’ve had some massive incidents there, not excuses, they’re facts that have hindered some of the games.

“There’s lots of things (like injuries to players) that have stopped the fluency to the start of the season and the bottom line is, I know it’s not ideal, we’re becoming a hard team to beat.

“We’ve got a nice little run going at the moment and turning a draw into a win on Saturday against a very good Boreham Wood side is a massive plus to build on.

“Like everyone else I want to win every game. If you don’t win it the most important thing is not to lose it but last week anyone who was there we could have quite easily thrown that away.  We’ve shown a lot of character.

“The win is nice because it keeps us on this unbeaten streak.”

Visit Tonbridge Angels’ website: www.tonbridgeangelsonline.co.uk

Dover Athletic  v  Tonbridge Angels
The FA Cup with Budweiser Second Qualifying Round
Saturday 22^nd September 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Crabble Athletic Ground, Lewisham Road, River, Dover, Kent CT17 0JB