EP all set for ‘big’ FA Vase tie

EP entertain East Midlands Counties League Premier Division side St Andrews in the last 16 and Di Paola said: “Home advantage in this competition is a big bonus.

“There’s a lot of very strong sides still in the competiition, so home advantage is always a big help.

“It’s going to be a very tough game, though. They’ve got a couple of England Schoolboy players and have a good youth section. As I’ve already said, they beat AFC Rushden & Diamonds, who were one of the favourites, in the previous round, so it’s not going to be easy.

“The lack of games we’ve had recently could also be a factor as they’ve managed to get games played.

“I haven’t been able to get to see them play, which is a bit of a worry, but what can you do?

“Hopefully, we’ll have got some minutes under our belt against Littlehampton (last night), as we just need to get games out of the way now.”

EP, who entered the competition at the first round stage, have progressed into the last 16 with wins over Farnham (1-0), Knaphill (4-0), Rye United (2-1) and Brantham Athletic (3-0).

St Andrews, who sit sixth in their league with 39 points from 20 games – after they had three points deducted – have reached the fifth round with five home wins from their six ties so far, after beginning their journey at the first qualifying round stage.

They have won at home to Lutterworth Athletic (6-2), Clipstone (3-1), Lincoln Moorlands Railway (4-0) Brocton (2-1) and Bolehall Swifts (4-1), before a 2-0 win at AFC Rushden & Diamonds.

Di Paola is expecting a crowd in excess of 400 for Saturday’s tie and said: “It’s a big game for the club and for the players as well. I’m not excited about it yet as the way I look at it is we’re still four games from Wembley. We’ve also only played four games in the competition this year, so we’ve got to do what we’ve already done all over again.”

Full story in this week’s paper.