STOURPORT Swifts’ manager Quentin Townsend insists the pressure is all on tournament favourites Worcester City when the two sides meet in the Isuzu FA Vase round of 16 on Saturday.
1900 supporters will pack into Walshes Meadow to watch the two Worcestershire rivals battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals.
Both sides are in brilliant form in their respective leagues. Swifts are in the Midland Football League Premier play-off places and City are top of the Hellenic League Premier but Townsend believes that the pressure is “fully on” City, who are 5-4 with the bookies to lift the trophy at Wembley.
“It is very rare that anyone comes to us and beats us, we have only lost once at home, and anything can happen on the day,” he said.
“I genuinely feel that if we are at our best we will beat Worcester at their best.
“Ultimately, I don’t think the pressure is on us. We will be outnumbered four to one in our own ground with their fans. They have been made Vase favourites with the bookies for a reason; bookies rarely get odds wrong so pressure is fully on City.
“They come in typical Worcester fashion; they are riding a wave, flying in the league and feeling invincible and hopefully we can use that against them on the day.”
It is going to be a momentous day for Stourport. The crowd for the game will set a new record for a Swifts home match, surpassing the 1400 that witnessed their clash with Hereford back in 2015.
It is rare for a non-league match to hit these sorts of numbers – 1900 tickets sold – and Townsend has had to consider the impact of the occasion when preparing his side for the big game.
“Younger players will have never played in front of a crowd like this,” he added. “The proximity of the fans around the pitch, you have to think about it.
“For instance, I have to think about how my goalkeeper is going to react when he is getting the usual abuse behind him. With a young goal keeper, how will he deal with that, that’s something to consider.
“But I feel my boys are more than capable of handling it. Everything has come together at the right time for us. I have 20 lads to fit into a smaller squad so a couple of players will miss out which will be horrible conversations to have.
“The league form is good for us, we are in the play-offs, which is where we want to finish in May.
“But the lads are buzzing, some of them may never get to a stage in a competition like this for the rest of their careers, you never know.
“You won’t want to have regrets when you look back at games like this, you don’t want to look back and wonder why you didn’t show up.”
