Focus on blunting Daggers
Maidenhead United FC: Magpies hoping to reach the FA Cup second round for the first time in 136 years
Maidenhead United can take the positives, if not the points, from Tuesday’s 10 defeat at Wrexham as they take a break from the National League this weekend and look to plot a route through to the second round of the FA Cup for the first time in 136 years.
Sam Barratt and his teammates are determined to rip up the history books and put an end to the ‘crazy’ statistic that hasn’t seen a Magpies side move past this stage of the competition since the late 1880s.
Standing in their way are formidable - but beatable - opponents in the form of league rivals Dagenham & Redbridge and, while the Daggers have punctured the Magpies’ hopes on many occasions in recent seasons, Barratt believes anything is possible in this one-off game.
After a period on the sidelines through injury, Barratt is back in contention for a start against Dagenham having been recalled for Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat to Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground. He picked up that injury in United’s 1-0 defeat to Dagenham at Victoria Road earlier in the season, a match the Magpies dominated but lost 1-0 thanks to Paul McCallum’s strike.
They created, and wasted, a host of chances that afternoon but they’ll be looking to make them count at York Road on Saturday. History, and recent form against Dagenham, may not be on the Magpies side, but Barratt believes this could be a special year for Alan Devonshire’s men in the competition.
Looking ahead to the tie, he said: “For me personally, I’ve always loved the FA Cup. Especially for a player in the lower leagues, and I would absolutely
love to play three or four games and go on a cup run.
“I know all the boys would, this is huge for the club.
“It’s been a long time (since they reached the second round), 100 plus
years is crazy, but we’ve got a great chance of getting into the second round, being at home. A little FA Cup run would be absolutely brilliant.
“Whenever you play a team from your own league in a cup competition, it’s always tough. There is a very different feeling in the cup games and this one could go either way. We’ve been good at home though and I just think we have to build on our league form. We’ll try to be resilient and look to nick a goal or two and hold onto it. I’d love and the club would love it if we could get through and I know the boys are up for it. We want to get that win.”
Maidenhead have been inconsistent of late, but their home form has generally been strong. They were harshly beaten 2-0 by Solihull Moors last week but bounced back to take down Bromley with Cole Kpekawa’s late header earning the hosts a deserved
1-0 win on Saturday.
Barratt is confident they can brush off Tuesday’s defeat to Wrexham by bouncing back to blunt the Daggers, but the Magpies once again struggled to carve out clear cut chances in Wales after falling behind to Aaron Hayden's thumping header.
Tuesday’s result leaves them 16th in the National League table ahead of their next league game at Yeovil Town on Tuesday, but if anything, Saturday’s result against Bromley proves they can mix it with any side in the league. Barratt is also hopeful of rediscovering his goalscoring boots after working his way back to fitness.
“It’s never nice to start the season with an injury, and it was against Dagenham that I got the injury,” he added.
“I want to go out there, play again off the back of a few decent games. I think I’m starting to find my form again and now just need to get back into goalscoring form and then I’ll be there.”