Hastings ready for tough Middlesbrough test

131 places separate Championship high-fliers Middlesbrough and Ryman Premier Division outfit Hastings United in Football pyramid. Saturday’s FA Cup third round meeting at the Riverside Stadium is the biggest occasion in the U’s 118 years of existence.

This is the third time Hastings have reached the third round, their first appearance since 1955, with Swindon Town being the only Football League side to suffer defeat to the Sussex-based club back in 1953.

Although the odds will be stacked against Sean Ray’s side, the Hastings player/manager is adamant that his players must play without pressure and promises to adopt an attack minded approach.

Speaking to BBC Sussex Ray said: “If we are going to lose a game 2-0 or 3-0 by sitting back and not getting out of our half, nobody is going to remember that.

“I'd rather lose 5-2 or 6-2 knowing that we have had a go, got a couple of goals and given our fans something to remember.

“We will go up there and play to our strengths. We will not go out there and sit back.”  

Having not won an FA Cup tie for five seasons, Hasting’s run to the third round proper began with a 3-1 victory over Chatham Town in early September.

Seven more ties have followed since with a penalty shootout victory over Harrogate Town setting up the U’s trip to the Championship side.

Statistically, this year’s winners of the FA Cup will still have not won as many games as the Ryman Premier Division side, with Hastings having already recorded six wins so far in the competition.  

They make the trip to the Riverside Stadium in confident spirits, looking to preserve their 12 match unbeaten run in all competitions.

Ray is hopeful his players will not let the occasion get the better of his side, with victory likely to rival other great cup upsets like Hereford’s dramatic triumph over Newcastle in 1972.

He continued: “We've got to treat it as just another game. I don't think the players will need a team talk. They know how huge the game is.

“They just need to be able to concentrate on their own games and get clear in their minds what they want to go and achieve on the day.

“The onus is on Middlesbrough to come at us and score four, five or six goals against us, like everyone is expecting them to do.

“We go out there nice and relaxed to play our game. We've got nothing to fear and nothing to lose.”

“The one thing we have got to do is believe. The longer we are in the game the more frustrated they will be.”  

Strength in depth could make Bournemouth an outside shot for promotion

At the start of October it looked as though Bournemouth would struggle to retain their League One status languishing in the relegation places.

The return of Eddie Howe sparked a dramatic change in fortune, with the Cherries unbeaten in 13 games since his return, propelling the south-coast side onto the fringes of the play-offs.

Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Colchester was decided by top scorer Lewis Grabban who netted his sixth goal in six games.

Howe believes the Cherries’ strong competition for places is bringing the best out of his players, pointing specifically to the developing partnership between Grabban and strike partner Brett Pitman.

 “Both players have done great for us so far this season and hopefully there are more goals to come from them,” Howe told the club website.

“The strength in the partnership is the different attributes they possess. Grabbs has athleticism and Brett likes to get into pockets of space, but they are both good finishers and that is something you always want.”

The blossoming partnership between the two has left other striking options like Matt Tubbs and Josh Mcquoid out of the starting line-up.

Howe continued: “There is always pressure on them to perform and that is the beauty of the strikers we have here. We have proven strikers waiting for their chance and having that sort of competition for places can only be good.”

The country’s form side travel to Crewe on Saturday looking to record their third straight league win before a home meeting with Gary Johnson’s Yeovil Town on Boxing Day.

Sunderland fight back in vain as Baggies climb to third

West Bromwich Albion survived a late Sunderland onslaught to claim a well-deserved victory to climb above Chelsea into third.

The victory was the Baggies’ fourth consecutive league win, leaving them just five points behind leaders Manchester United.

A 3-1 success at Fulham last weekend was Sunderland first league victory since September and the Black Cats were soon on the front foot again, Adam Johnson forced a good, early save from Boaz Myhill.

A rather subdued Stephan Sessegnon had tormented Fulham’s back four after a fairly low-key start to the season, the Sunderland midfielder seemed intent on inflicting similar punishment on a West Brom side bolstered by the meaningful presence of Jonas Olsson.

Sessegnon’s volley brought another good save from Myhill midway through the first half as the hosts continued to search for an opener.

In Peter Odemwingie, the Baggies have a striker full of confidence having scored three times in his last two games.

But Odemwingie turned provider for West Brom’s opener on the half hour, the striker setting up Zoltan Gera, who fired past Simon Mignolet to give the visitors the lead.

Despite their wonderful start to the season, Steve Clarke’s side had only recorded their first away win last time out at Wigan.

Mignolet helped them towards securing their second just before half time, gifting Shane Long a tap in after fumbling Chris Brunt’s over hit through pass.

The Belgian Keeper’ partly repaired some of the earlier damage, denying Long a second just after the restart.

With Albion unable to kill the game, Sunderland remained hopeful of a fight back. The introduction of Louis Saha gave greater support to the isolated figure of Steven Fletcher.

A deflected Craig Gardner free kick brought Sunderland back to within touching distance, with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Sessegnon’s diverted strike drifted just wide, with the Stadium of Light crowd sensing a second half comeback.

Adam’s Johnson’s apparent trip on Liam Ridgewell dampened the mood, with Romelu Lukaku scoring from the spot to restore the Baggies two goal advantage.

A rather frenetic last 10 minutes ensued, Sessegnon followed up Fletcher’s well saved header to rekindle hope with five minutes left.

But substitute Marc Antoine Fortune sealed the victory deep into stoppage time, coolly slotting beyond Mignolet to secure the Baggies fourth straight Premier League win.

Manager Clarke reflected positively on his side’s well deserved victory, believing the Baggies were good value for the win.

He said: “We deserve credit it’s a big challenge to win four matches in a row.

The personality of the players was the best thing from today, we passed the ball and played very well.”

However Clarke also feels the penalty decision that went for his side was a touch fortunate.

He added: “It looks as though on reflection the penalty was fortuitous, but no-one can say we didn’t deserve to win.”

Allen unafraid to alter his winning team

Npower League Two leaders Gillingham opened up a seven point lead at the top of the table following Saturday’s last gasp victory over Morecambe, but manager Martin Allen has stated he will continue to rotate his starting line-up despite his side’s strong start to the campaign.

Deon Burton struck three minutes into stoppage time to extend the Gills’ unbeaten run to five games, leaving Allen to praise his side’s character.

Speaking to the club‘s website Allen said: “The credit has got to go to the players. They are the ones who do it.

“I only found that out as I walked into the media room, someone told me we have gone seven points clear and that’s quite amazing.”

Match winner Burton came on as a substitute with a quarter of the match remaining, the Gillingham boss believes strength in depth is a key part of the Kent club’s success so far this season.

He added: “Never say never - to have people like Deon Burton, Myles Weston with Charlie Allen and Charlie Lee on the bench - what a difference they all make when they come on.

“In modern football your subs have to be quality, they have to be powerful, and thankfully we've got them here. We have match winners sitting on our bench so it was a difficult one with which player to put on.”

The former Notts County and Barnet boss is set to freshen things up once again for the visit of Exeter City on Tuesday evening.

He continued: “It's up to us to raise our game. We have to play well.

“We'll make a lot more changes on Tuesday night to freshen it up and bring some of those people sitting on the bench to come and play.”

Following the visit of the Grecians the Gills make the long trip north to face Accrington Stanley, before an FA Cup second round meeting with Preston the weekend after.

Allen’s managerial experience and approach have certainly served Gillingham well so far, but it will be interesting to see whether the Kent club can continue to dominate at the top of League Two going into the New Year.

Fourth consecutive win keeps Boro on the heels of the top two

Middlesbrough boss Tony Mowbray praised his side’s steely determination after coming from behind to beat Bolton Wanderers on Saturday to record their fourth straight Championship victory.

A passionate crowd of 16,200 at the Riverside feel silent just before the break, as Chung-Young Lee marked his return to the Bolton starting line-up following injury, by netting his first of the season.

Scott McDonald proved to be the Boro match winner scoring twice in the final half hour to extend Mowbray’s side’s unbeaten run to five matches.

The Middlesbrough boss was delighted with the striker’s impact after coming off the bench to replace the injured Marvin Emnes.

Mowbray told the club’s website: “Marvin had to come off with a hamstring problem and Scott came on and did what he does best, getting into the right place at the right time and putting the ball into the back of the net.

“Like any other player, Scott wouldn’t have been too happy sitting on the bench, but when his opportunity came he came on and took it.”

The former West Bromwich Albion manager also commented on the impact of the Riverside crowd and how the supporters were a fundamental part of the second half comeback.

Mowbray added: “The supporters were our 12^th man, it was one of the few times I’ve sat on the bench and thought, ‘wow!’. They really lifted the team.

“I would never demand for people to come to football, knowing how expensive it is, but I think there are a lot of people at home who would like to come to our games.

“There was a great atmosphere in the Riverside and together we managed to get the win.”

It was the third time in the five match unbeaten run that Boro had conceded the first goal, but Mowbray feels the victory holds greater significance having trailed at half time.

He continued: “It feels extra sweet when you win a game coming from behind, we lost a bit of discipline after conceding that goal.

“I thought we played really well and it was strange coming in at half time 1-0 down because we had created more chances.”

The victory over the Trotters, who had newly appointed manager Dougie Freedman watching from the stands, leaves Middlesbrough third in the table, ahead of a Capital One Cup clash with neighbours Sunderland.

Mowbray believes the confidence gained from four consecutive league wins will give his side an excellent chance against their Premier League opponents.

He concluded: “Sunderland had a great result away at Stoke, which is never easy, and they’ll fancy themselves, at home against a team from the league beneath them.

“But it’s a local derby and we’ll try to make life difficult for them.”

Win eases pressure on Shots boss Holdsworth

League Two strugglers Aldershot Town relieved some pressure on manager Dean Holdsworth after recording their first victory in seven league matches away at Southend.

Following the 4-0 hammering at the hands of leaders Gillingham two weeks ago Holdsworth received the dreaded vote of confidence from Chairman Kris Machala, but a 2-1 success at the Shrimpers on Tuesday evening, ended the winless run stretching back to the middle of September.

“We've had some tough times, not all deserved but I'm so delighted for the players and the staff,” Holdsworth told BBC Radio Surrey.

“They've shown character, massive character to level and then have a saved penalty and then to go on and win the game and come here is a tough ask.”

The pre season promotion outsiders remain second bottom, but Holdsworth believes the victory will restore belief and could instigate an unbeaten league run which would propel the Shots up the table.

He added:  “Well done to all our fans who travelled here tonight and keep with us because we're going to keep trying our socks off to move up the table.

“This will make a big difference to their confidence and have the belief again.”

Jamie Young’s penalty save midway through the second half was undoubtedly a key point in the match, and Holdsworth is fully aware of the importance the save could have on the rest of his side’s campaign.

He continued: “There have not been many players that have deserved their place in the starting line-up.

“We’ve changed it week in, week out but Jamie Young has been outstanding the save was magnificent and was a massive moment.”

After a tough run of games, the Shots now face three teams in and around them in the table, starting with a trip to Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday.

Wycombe and Bradford both visit the Recreation Ground next month, with a trip to Neal Ardley's AFC Wimbledon also on the agenda.

Davids faces huge task at struggling Barnet

The news that former Dutch international star Edgar Davids would be joining League Two strugglers Barnet in a coaching role came as a great surprise considering the Bees’ lowly position in League Two.

Without a league victory so far this season, the North Londoners currently sit bottom of the pile, with joint head-coach Mark Robson under increasing pressure to turn the club’s misfortunes around.

Davids, who is considering resuming his playing career with the Bees, witnessed the size of the task he faces as Barnet were thumped 4-1 at home by fellow relegation candidates Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.

However the former Champions League winner with Ajax is still confident things will turn around for the better at Underhill and insists that despite the heavy defeat, there were still positives to take from the game.

Davids said: “It was not a very good performance, but I saw some good spells and we have to build on them.

“First you have to analyse the situation, and then dissect the problems.

“We are definitely going to look closer at the squad and see how we can improve. If that means we have to have some changes, then we have to do those.”

Barnet is Davids’ first taste of managerial experience, having had an illustrious playing career spanning almost two decades.

Living just a mile outside of the main town, the former AC Milan and Juventus midfielder welcomes the opportunity to help out his local side.

Davids intends to take part in training this week with the view of making his Barnet debut as quickly as possible.

He added: “I will train the whole week to see how far I’m behind or if I’m on schedule.

“The main thing is to lift the confidence of the team we need to have a good spell. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Barnet face Aidy Boothroyd’s Northampton Town on Friday, before back-to-back away matches at Wycombe and Chesterfield respectively.

Already in mid-October and still winless, results need to start picking up quickly with the threat of relegation descending upon Underhill.