Albion must be on it for a battle with impressive cup fighters
CHIPPENHAM Town’s FA Cup first round win over League One Lincoln City ensures that Burton Albion will have a scrap on their hands in tomorrow’s second round tie at the Pirelli Stadium (2pm).
The National League South side beat the Imps 1-0 and the fact that they are able to raise their game for knockout matches is evidenced by the statistic that their only wins in their last 13 matches have come in the FA Cup or FA Trophy.
That is why Brewers boss Dino Maamria has attempted to leave no stone unturned in his preparation for a tie that will net the winners £60,000, along with the prospect of drawing a lucrative tie in the third round.
“We can’t really think about the third round, we have a game to win,” said Maamria.
“We know what’s at stake, both teams do. We have to understand the magnitude of the game.
“In any FA Cup tie, in any cup tie actually, the level of the teams is all out of the window, form is out of the window.
“We are going to face a team who are highly motivated and on top of their game, so what we have to do is perform to a level which makes us superior to them, 100%.
“Of course it will be tough, it will be all in and all we can try to do is control our performance.
“I went to watch them against Havant & Waterlooville and we have also watched them against Cheshunt,
against Dover Athletic and against Lincoln, so we have covered their last four games and other bits from the past.
“We’ve prepared for them as we would for any League game. We know all their players, we understand they have some threats and they have some weaknesses as well.
“Against any team, if we don’t perform, we will get punished. You can sometimes get away with it in the league because there is always the next game. In the cup, there isn’t. “If you’re not at it, the result is in jeopardy.” Furthermore, Maamria has been impressed with what he has seen from the nonleague side and thinks they were worthy winners against Lincoln.
“Chippenham try to play football the right way, I like them,” he said. “They’re compact, organised and they get a lot of bodies behind the ball. They’ve been consistent in their approach and I think the Chippenham we will see will not reflect their results in the league.
“People will look at it and say ‘Conference South, long ball’ but, no, they play good football.
“And they beat Lincoln well, they could have won two or three and limited Lincoln to very few chances.”
After the problems the Brewers had in getting past Tranmere Rovers in the Papa John’s Trophy on Tuesday night, mentality has played a big part in Maamria’s preparations.
“We spoke on Tuesday night after the Tranmere game about cup games and how we have to be ready for them,” he said.
“Today (Friday) we talked about tactics and how we might hurt Chippenham. Tomorrow (Saturday) we’ll talk again about mentality of approach, the psychology of the game – aspects of the game we need to address – but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that on Sunday our players will know exactly what is at stake and how important the game is for the whole club.”
Burton will be without Michael
Mancienne, who hurt his back in the first half against Tranmere, while the game comes too soon for John Brayford and Corrie Ndaba as they battle back from injury.
Jonny Smith, who Maamria says pulled up at half-time against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, and Davis Keillor-dunn, who has not been in the squad for the last two matches because of illness, could come back into contention.
We know what’s at stake, both teams do. We have to understand the magnitude of the game
Dino Maamria