Flackwell feast on goals against Keynsham Town
Matt Ayres and Fabian Driffill were on target, along with brothers Duarte and Lucas Surpanu, as Flackwell Heath progressed to the preliminary round of the FA Cup at the expense of Keynsham Town on Saturday.
At a Wilks Park packed with 255 supporters, the Heathens condemned the K’s to their 12th consecutive exit in the extra preliminary round of the competition, comfortably winning the match 4-0.
Ayres gave the Heathens a one goal advantage on the half-hour mark, Driffill added a second in the 58th minute, before substitutes Duarte (76’) and Lucas (83’) had their say in the game’s final quarter.
The Heathens will host Slimbridge AFC in the next round on Saturday, August 20.
Reflecting on the match, manager Chris Ayres says the Heathens were confident of victory because they were well prepared and had played well in pre-season.
“We were very excited for the first game of the season,” he said. “It was a bit surreal really having your first game be an FA Cup game, but we had quite a good preseason, so we went into it quite confident. They (Keynsham Town) also had two games before that hadn’t gone their way.
“We missed a couple of good chances at the start but once we got our goal, we kicked on and ran out worthy winners.
“It was a great result. We had an amazing crowd of 255 so it was a positive day all round for the club.
“We are at home again to Slimbridge AFC in the next round (Saturday, August 20). They sit in a league above so I am sure that will be a real tough next round for us. It is important that we can keep earning some money for the club as well.”
The Heathens get their Combined Counties Premier Division North campaign underway with a trip to Egham Town on Saturday before welcoming Spelthorne Sports to Wilks Park on
Tuesday evening. After they finished third last season, Ayres is aware of the Sarnies’ strengths and admits it's a team he'd have preferred to play later in the season.
However, inspired by their fine win in the FA Cup, they’ll give it their best shot and they should also have new signing Reece Cameron available to add some firepower in the Heathens’ frontline.
“We know it will be a huge test going there,” said Ayres. “Egham will be well organised, and I know they’ve got a lot of pace up front. They were one of the big hitters in the league last year, they finished third.
“It’s probably not the game we wanted first, but we will give it our best shot and I think Reece will be available which will add a bit of firepower to us.
“Reece is a striker we signed from Arlesey (Town) in the summer. He got a lot of goals in pre-season but, unfortunately, he was ill the morning of the FA Cup game so he couldn’t play. But, on a positive, it was a chance for other boys to step in and step up to the mark.
“We feel that we have a slightly stronger squad to last year. Last year, we were a bit thin on the ground in terms of players. This year, we’ve got a few more in and that gives us more confidence when we’ve got injuries or suspensions.”