Kempston Rovers are used to upsetting the odds and joint-manager Jimmy Stoyles is convinced they can get on a run in their maiden Buildbase FA Trophy campaign.
Stoyles and fellow boss Gary Flinn took over three years ago with the club 18th in the United Counties Premier Division.
But just two years later, the Walnut Boys were celebrating promotion.
Worthing v Kempston Rovers
The Buildbase FA Trophy
First Round Qualifying
3pm, Saturday 29 October 2016
Woodside Road
By Charlie Bennett
Now in Southern League Division One Central, Kempston are enjoying their first-ever crack at the FA Trophy and a 2-0 preliminary round replay win against Chipstead is among the most lucrative in the club’s 132-year history.
Saturday’s opponents Worthing, who play in the Isthmian League Premier Division, are a tough draw but Kempston have taken everything in their stride this season, carrying over momentum from last year’s championship-winning campaign.
They sit fourth in the table, just seven points off the summit, and last weekend’s 3-2 loss at Farnborough Town was, Stoyles claims, the result of a defensive injury crisis which should be eased on Saturday by the return of influential captain Tom Guiney.
“We will be up against it because they have 600-odd turning up every week and play on an artificial surface,” said the joint-manager.
“But we are an organised and well-structured side and we are not used to losing in the last year or two.
“We won’t be fazed by it. We have a couple of players returning, like our skipper Tom, and so we will be stronger than we have been recently.
“Did we expect to be where we are when the season started? No, in all honesty.
“But we go into every game to win, we have momentum from last year and I don’t think we are far away from being one of the better teams.”
Kempston’s sharp rise means expectations have grown too, but Stoyles insists the club are simply focussed on establishing themselves in a new division.
“We need a couple of years at this level now and to let things grow,” he added.
“Attendances have grown from 80 or 90 to around 150, which is great.
“Since Gary and I took over we have gone from 18th, to seventh, to winning it, to here. It has been good progression, but on a timescale and that is important.
“Everything is positive and everyone is happy. There is no negativity around us at all and we are taking that into this weekend.”
FA Trophy history
This is Kempston’s first season in the FA Trophy, with the Walnut Boys regularly appearing in the FA Vase since its inauguration 1974.
The Bedfordshire side have twice reached the fifth round of the Vase though, in 1974-75 and 1980-81.
By comparison, Worthing are FA Trophy regulars and reached the fourth round in 2003-04.
Did you know?
Kempston’s long-standing nickname of the Walnut Boys was given in 1895 when a home match was abandoned after a large number of walnuts blew across the pitch from dozens of nearby trees, making the surface unplayable.
Meanwhile, Worthing could field joint-manager Gary Elphick in defence – brother of Aston Villa defender Tommy Elphick.
One to watch
Joint-manager Jimmy Stoyles believes goalkeeper Martin Conway is the best in the division, while winger Ash Fuller and in-form striker Danny Watson are expected to create plenty of chances up the other end.
Look out for midfield duo Sam Johnson and Seb Simpson, as well as defender Alex Stoyles, who have all progressed from the club's youth ranks to the first team.
Conway could be kept busy by Worthing’s Lloyd Dawes, who bagged 29 goals last term and re-joined the club earlier this season following his release from Lewes.
The prize
The winners of the clash will earn a place in second round qualifying round and pocket £2,700.
