Garry Hill is hoping his Woking side will show more determination in Saturday’s FA Trophy second round match against Maidenhead United to avoid a repeat of the FA Cup defeat they suffered at the hands of the Magpies in October.
Kingfield Stadium will host two sides that are experiencing contrasting fortunes in form with the hosts unbeaten in their last seven games and having suffered just one defeat in 10, whereas Maidenhead United are without a win in five.
Woking v Maidenhead United
The FA Trophy
Second Round Proper
3pm, Saturday 16 January 2015
Laithwaite Community Stadium, Woking
Winners receive £6000 from prize fund
By Jacob Muggleton
The two last went head-to-head in The Emirates FA Cup fourth round qualifying, which saw Maidenhead triumph 3-0 in a convincing display – a result which Hill is keen to avoid a repeat of.
"They certainly wanted it a lot more than us and they were good winners on the day, so even though we are on a good run at the moment and we got the home draw, we’ll be treating them with the upmost respect knowing it’ll be a tough tie," he said.
"We’ve got to show our determination and our will to win which we didn’t show enough of in the first game, there’s no doubt about that. We didn’t turn up in the first game.
"We’re a team playing with a lot of confidence again at the moment, but this is a game which we know is going to be every bit as hard as when we play in the National League, so we will have to be at our best and be on top of our game."
Should Woking go all the way to Wembley and lift The FA Trophy for a fourth time, they would become the most successful club in the competition’s history.
But, despite their impressive league form, Hill is not allowing himself to get carried away with the chance to make some history.
"We’re a long way off that at the moment," he added. "Let’s take the steps as they come along and see where we go.
"It’s the same for every club. It’s going to be tough but we’ll look forward to it on Saturday and go from there. We’ve just got to keep going in the right direction over the next three or four months and see where it takes us in not only the league but also in The FA Trophy.”
A division below in National League South, Maidenhead are struggling to turn performances into results – their last three defeats have all been 3-2.
Maidenhead boss Alan Devonshire believes The FA Trophy offers relief from their league form
And boss Alan Devonshire views this Trophy fixture as a welcome break from the team’s league campaign.
"We’ve been really unlucky in the last few weeks," he said. "We’ve been playing okay – not done too much wrong, but things haven't gone our way and maybe a result in The Trophy can turn things around for us.
"They are in really good form, while we are not at all. But it’s a break from the league which we are looking forward to, and we’ve got nothing to lose. Some of the pressure is off in The Trophy.
"The FA Trophy is of course massive for a club like Maidenhead. The carrot is a Wembley appearance and we want to do as well as we can, but we know we are up against top opposition – probably the form team in the National League at the moment.
"We beat them in The FA Cup, so they are going to be out for revenge. We were playing well at the time and they weren't having a very good time of it.
"Now the tables have turned and it’s going to be really challenging to get a result there."
