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Kennington take momentum into FA Cup preliminary round tie against Little Common

Kennington are full of confidence going into FA Cup weekend.

Ton have the momentum, with a 5-0 win over Horley in the previous round followed by back-to-back league victories in Southern Counties East.

Liam Middleton celebrates one of his two goals in Kennington's win over Canterbury Picture: Ian Scammell
Liam Middleton celebrates one of his two goals in Kennington's win over Canterbury Picture: Ian Scammell

They won 2-1 at Holmesdale last weekend and saw off Canterbury 3-2 on Tuesday to confirm a promising start to the Premier Division season for Dan Scorer’s side.

Their next task is an FA Cup preliminary round tie against Little Common at Homelands on Saturday (3pm) and Ton are feeling good.

“We’ve got to be confident,” said manager Scorer.

“The fact we performed so well in the second half against Horley and have gone on to win two league games on the bounce, shows the momentum is on our side.

“Since Little Common beat Staines they’ve lost and drawn but I’m sure there'll still be confidence in their dressing room having beaten a Step 4 side in the previous round, so we have to make sure we approach it right.

“With the league being a free hit for us this year, it’s an opportunity to really focus on the FA competitions.

“The FA Cup is huge for clubs at our level and if we get through, I’d love nothing more than to be drawn away to a big Step 3 or Step 4 side where we can really test ourselves in front of 5-600 people.”

Scorer knows the joy an FA Cup run can bring from his playing days although Hythe’s journey to the first round proper the season they won the Kent League was bitter-sweet.

He said: “I started the season at Whitstable and was cup-tied by the time I joined Hythe.

"But it was still special to be around the squad and it was a great achievement to reach the first round as a Kent League club. We lost 5-1 to Hereford but it was a special weekend.”

Craig Calvert was named man-of-the-match against Canterbury on Tuesday night Picture: Ian Scammell
Craig Calvert was named man-of-the-match against Canterbury on Tuesday night Picture: Ian Scammell

Kennington are scoring plenty of goals and while Scorer is slightly concerned at the number they’re conceding, he’s reluctant to change their attacking ways.

He said: “We’ve not been short of goals, and they’re coming from all over the pith, which is a good sign.

“But our goal difference isn’t very good at the moment - we’ve scored 10 and conceded nine - and that’s something we’re looking to improve but I don’t want to change the way we play.

“We attacked so fluidly last year and got forward in numbers but, no disrespect to teams in Division 1, if anyone counter-attacked on us, we were still able to nullify it quite well.

“Going up a standard, if you leave yourselves vulnerable, a lot of sides punish you at this level.

“There might be games where we have to adapt but we like to be entertaining for people to watch.

“That’s massively important to us.

“Going to Punjab and Holmesdale, the attendances were around 70 and 40 of them were ours.

"We had 300 against Sheppey and 200 in the FA Cup and again the other night, and we don’t factor in the the 30 or 40 kids that are there as well, so when you’re getting good numbers watching you, you want to be entertaining.

"The players and myself really appreciate the support.”

Read more: The latest sports news in Kent

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