LIMBRIN’ UP TO LIVE OUT MY DREAMS
Cup always a hit Down Under
ANTHONY Limbrick spent his childhood watching FA Cup ties in the early hours of the morning in Australia – today he’ll lead out his Woking side in the first round.
“It’s always been the dream to play or manage in the FA Cup,” says the Cards boss, as they get set to host League One’s Bury.
“In Australia it was the only night, when you were a kid, that you were able to stay up late.
“The FA Cup nights were always a big deal, they were on at about 1 or 2am in the morning. For as long as I can remember we’d always stay up late and have a good bit of food and watch the FA Cup.”
Yet it might have been so different for the Surrey-based team, who were just three minutes away from going out of the competition at home to National League South strugglers Concord Rangers in the fourth qualifying round. Even after Jamie Philpot’s late equaliser, Limbrick’s side still needed extra-time in the replay to finally see off the spirited Beachboys. “They were a good side,” said Limbrick. “We had two really hard games that could have gone either way. It was a credit to us to come through that tie. We showed good character scoring late, we were pleased just to go through. “We always go to the end and give maximum effort. A habit of scoring late goals, regardless of who it is against, is a good thing to get into. Hopefully there’s some more late goals to come.” That gruelling clash came at a cost as Woking’s eight-game unbeaten run ended at Bromley with the Concord match winner Charlie Carter sidelined, and still will be this afternoon. Midfielder Chez Isaac and impressive centre-back Josh Staunton were the latest to hobble off last Saturday – the former might be available, the latter doubtful.
The Cards have now suffered three consecutive defeats for the first time this season and slipped to eighth with injuries taking their toll.
But Bury will arrive at the Laithwaite Community Stadium with bigger problems after sacking manager Lee Clark and assistant Alan Thompson on Monday leaving player-coach Ryan Lowe in charge.
The Shakers have lost their last four games – ten in total – leaving them just one point off the foot of the table.
Limbrick is unsure what to expect from their managerless visitors,
adding: “Sometimes it makes it harder because they might change formation or bring in players that haven’t been playing. Sometimes a team reacts as they know someone might be coming in. Other times that reaction might not happen until the permanent manager comes in.
“We can’t control it so we won’t worry about that. Obviously, their form hasn’t been good, but probably like us they’ll be looking for a different performance in the FA Cup.”
It’s Limbrick’s first chance to add to Woking’s proud FA Cup history with their finest hour coming in 1991 when Tim Buzaglo’s hat-trick helped the
Cards to a 4-2 win over West Brom, before they then held top-flight Coventry City to a 1-1 draw six years later. “I know what it means to the fans and the club to have a good cup run,” added, Limbrick, who guided Southampton’s U18s to the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup in 2014-15. “We’ve been working as hard as we can to plan, prepare properly and play our best team available to get that upset.
“The club has a history and tradition of cup runs, that is what we are aiming for.”