LEVENS REVEL IN SPOTLIGHT
LONGLEVENS AFC boss Craig Martin has told his players to relish the FA Cup spotlight against Gloucester City this afternoon — with the entire club behind them.
The Step 5 Hellenic League from Gloucester take on the city’s premier club as they make their second qualifying round debut.
The tie has been switched to National League North City’s new Meadow Park home on police advice but manager Martin is pleased the Sunday kick-off means his side will have big backing.
“It was more my doing the Sunday game really because I want the boys to enjoy the atmosphere with as many people in there,” Martin told The NLP.
“A lot of sides in Gloucester will want to come and enjoy the day. We run five other adult sides, we’ve got 28 youth teams and a ladies team — we’ve just started a girls team with ages of six to ten where 20 girls turn up there on a Sunday.
“So it’s perfect for the whole club to be able to come to the game and everyone can feel part of it.
“We’ve got nothing to lose, I’ve said that to the lads. There’s no pressure on them, they can enjoy the day. But for the club it’s massive. We hope we can get the support that will help set us up for a number of years.”
Family
Martin hopes this FA Cup run can be a platform for the club off the field.
“We’ve got no budget at Longlevens, nobody gets paid,” he added. “The committee is all volunteers. So it’s about making the facilities better for youngsters coming through the club. That’s the main goal. We started off with seven sides at youth level, now we’ve got 28. For them to be able to play, we need to be able to facilitate it. So our main goal is to get as many people in the community playing football from a young age.”
Martin couldn’t be prouder of his players for making club history in this run.
It’s an occasion that means a huge amount to the 37-year-old, who has been involved with Longlevens as a player, manager and more for 21 years.
“My father, who passed away, used to be secretary of the club,” Martin said. “My mum has been secretary, I am manager of the first team but I help do the admin for that and I am secretary of the reserve team. It is a close, family club.
“It means a lot. Although I will never match my younger brother, Lee, who made it to Twickenham playing for our local rugby club Spartans — I’ve got to get to Wembley to match that!”