Paul Davis hopes Stratford Town fans come out in force for FA Cup replay
STRATFORD Town will be in dreamland if they get the better of Boston United in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round replay today, Tuesday, says head coach Paul Davis.
Should the Bards progress they will be rewarded with a home tie against League One outfit Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, 6th November, a game which should attract the attentions of FA Cup broadcasters BBC and ITV.
However, Davis is not getting carried away by that thought and says the club is under no illusion just how difficult it is going to be to beat the Pilgrims at the Arden Garages Stadium.
Having held the National League North side to a 1-1 draw on Saturday, with Jaanai Gordon's header cancelling out Fraser Preston's free-kick, Davis told the Herald it's going to take another fine performance to book a place in the first round.
"We had a game plan on Saturday and the players executed that plan really well," he said.
"We rode our luck a little early on as we settled into the occasion. We had a couple of chances where we could have nicked it in the end, but we're under no illusion of how good Boston are and how difficult it is going to be to get through.
"Boston are a very good side and they'll definitely finish in the top five or six in their league this season. We know a bit about them and they will now be aware of what problems we can cause them."
He added: "If we did get through we'd be in dreamland. It'd be bonkers to not put Stratford versus Shrewsbury on the television, to be honest, if Boston won they would deserve to be televised too."
Davis is also hoping for a bumper crowd at the Arden Garages Stadium and praised the 46-strong Bards faithful which made the trip to the Jakemans Community Stadium to cheer the team on.
"They certainly made themselves heard," he said. "It's hard to hear yourself think when 1,600 fans are singing for the other team, but when we equalised all you could hear were our fans.
"They did not stop singing all game. I had a chat with them after the game and some could not talk because they had sang so much.
"We needed their support on Saturday and if we can get a bumper crowd tonight, I'm sure the players will not let them down."
