Home Romney Marsh Sport Article
Lydd Town joint-boss James Rogers to abandon back-three experiment in FA Vase tie at Punjab United
05:00, 19 October 2023
Lydd will revert to the tried and trusted when they visit Punjab in the FA Vase First Round.
Joint-bosses James Rogers and Tom Wynter experimented with a back three against Larkfield & New Hythe in the Kent Senior Trophy last weekend.
It didn’t work out as the Lydders lost 1-0 at home to their lower-division opponents, and they’ll be returning to a back four against Punjab on Saturday (3pm).
Rogers said: “We tried a different formation but it didn’t quite work.
“We hadn’t worked on it in training but we thought if we’re going to try something, that would be the game to do it.
“We went 3-4-3 but it didn’t work - Larkfield deserved to win.
“I’ve always toyed with the idea of a three but we haven’t really got the personnel for it at the moment so we probably won’t be going back to it for quite some time.
“I’ve always preferred a back four, to be honest.
“Generally, it is a four with most teams.
“You get some who play a three but, at this level, if you stick to the basics as much as you can, the better it is.
“We’re looking forward to the weekend.
“Punjab have got Paul Vines up front, who’s still scoring goals, and we need to take care of him.
“But if we turn up there with the players we’ve got and everyone is on it from the first whistle, I think we’ve got a hell of a chance of getting a result.
“There aren’t many competitions you play in where you’ve got a real chance of reaching Wembley.
“This is an opportunity for the boys to do something special.”
Lydd are hoping to have a couple of new signings in place for the weekend.
Johan ter Horst, who’s on dual-registration from Ashford, has tweaked his hamstring and Sam Adams is also out.
“They’re two important players for us, so we’re looking to replace them,” said Rogers, who is awaiting an MRI scan on his troublesome ankle.
Lydd visit league leaders Faversham in Southern Counties East on Tuesday (7.45pm).
They beat the Lilywhites 4-1 at home in August but the title favourites have been on a roll since then.
“I don’t think they’ve lost since we beat them,” said Rogers.
“They brought in Stefan Payne and Billy Bingham, who’ve both played in the Football League, and I’m expecting them to be a different animal.
“They’re going to be strong but we’re strong as well on our day.
“Faversham are the team everyone wants to beat, so the team-talk should be easy.”
Latest news
Features
Most popular
- 1
Terrorists who planned to bomb Bluewater are freed from prison
38 - 2
‘A pub, diner or restaurant? Either way, the carpets were minging’
8 - 3
Large chunk of M20 shut due to ‘police incident’
1 - 4
‘Big dog’ brings motorway traffic to a halt
- 5
‘This rat-run bridge isn’t wide enough - someone will be killed soon’