PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT FOR BEN

IF BEN Shepherd gets on the scoresheet at Wembley again this afternoon, he will try his best not to forget the goal celebrations he’s planned! Shepherd calmly tucked home Newport Pagnell Town’s second goal and then bagged their third from the spot as they eased to a 3-0 Vase final win against Littlehampton Town last term.

“I had loads of celebrations in my head and we had a few as a team,” the 31-year-old told The NLP. “But it goes out of the window and you are overcome with emotion when you score at Wembley. I ended up just running over to our fans. “I’ve got a couple of ideas this time and I’ll hopefully do one of them if I score, but it depends on the timing. If it was a last-minute winner, you would just go crazy.” However, Shepherd would be more than happy to let someone else hog the limelight this time around if the Swans were to triumph again.

He said: “Scoring is great and you get the headlines, but I just want to play well. I’d rather play well and do what I can for the team than score a tap-in and we lose. I always try to get assists and I would be more than happy with a couple!”

Like boss Gary Flinn, Shepherd is expecting a tough encounter against Ascot United, who notched 102 points in winning the Combined Counties Premier Division North in style.

“I don’t think you can read too much into who are favourites on league performance,” said Shepherd. “If you play in different leagues, it’s difficult to compare the quality. “Littlehampton stormed their league last year, but we dominated the final. I think Ascot will be better than Littlehampton and it will be a tight game. It might be one special moment that decides it, we will have to see. I’m always confident.” As for a return to Wembley, Shepherd can’t wait.

“You are never going to get bored with it,” he added. “When we were warming up last year, the fans were making their way in, but before kick-off the noise was deafening. It made you wonder what it would be like when it’s full.

“If we could make it back-to-back wins, it would be a great achievement.”