BOSS KINS: PLEASE NO PENALTIES!

WYTHENSHAWE Town manager James Kinsey is not sure his heart could take another penalty shoot-out.

But he can’t help but imagine the possibility of leading his team out at Wembley in the FA Vase final.

The North West Counties Premier Division side have reached the quarter-finals and play Loughborough Students, of the United Counties Premier Division North, on Saturday.

For the club from South Manchester, it has been an eventful route to the last eight.

Starting in the first qualifying round in September, this is their seventh away draw in eight ties.

And there have been no less than THREE penalty shoot-out wins to keep them on the road to Wembley.

“I hope for my heart’s sake we won’t go to pens again,” jokes Kinsey. “But I would rather go to penalties than lose in 90 minutes.

“I think it’s been a combination of luck and skill to get us through these shoot-outs.

“Maybe it’s a British thing, but you always feel like you’re going to lose on penalties.

“Against Anstey in the last round, we scored our first two and they missed their first two, and you’re thinking ‘Here we go’.

“Then we missed our next two and they scored theirs so we were level at 2-2. I was thinking our luck had run out.

“But we scored and they missed so we won again. It’s the best way to win, though, and we’re all buzzing with how we’re doing.

“When we first entered the competition, it was a case of using games to give lads a run out and get fitness after Covid.

“Now when you reach this stage, it’s hard not to think of Wembley, but there are seven other clubs thinking exactly the same.”

As well as their best ever run in the FA Vase, Wythenshawe are flying high in their first ever season at Step 5.

They are pushing for promotion with the highlight of their league campaign being a 4-2 victory away at Macclesfield in January.

And for Kinsey, these are all signs of a club on the up.

“Top six was our aim, so we’re having a very good season,” he admits. “But we’re building up the squad and the club.

“There is real potential for growth. We are doing a lot of work in the community and trying to get into schools.

“We offer affordable football for people who can’t go to Manchester City or Manchester United, but you still get the experience of going to a proper match.”