Manager Mark Clifford has urged supporters to ‘keep on coming’ as Basford United prepare to face Marine AFC in the first-round proper of the Isuzu FA Trophy on Saturday afternoon (3pm).
United’s attendances – home and away – have picked up in recent weeks following success in the FA Cup, as well as improved league form that has seen them rise to eighth in the Southern League, five points outside the play-offs with games in hand.
And with the visitors expected to travel from Merseyside in good numbers at the weekend, Clifford has encouraged fans to get down and back his team throughout another crucial fixture and beyond.
“We’ve all noticed in the last few weeks that attendances have started to creep up and that’s fantastic,” he said.
“It would be brilliant to see those faces back down for the visit of Marine, and throughout this season where we ultimately want to be challenging at the higher end of the table.
“The fans support is vital. We’ve all seen the videos from the games at Boston United and Solihull Moors and it looks wonderful, and the lads thrive off it, but we need that to continue throughout the season as we push on.
“There’s nothing more rewarding as a manager then securing three points, or progressing in a cup competition, and then celebrating it with the fans behind the goals after the full-time whistle or in the bar afterwards.
“We have a brand here that we think is exciting and we encourage anyone – old, new, young or old – to keep on coming down as it means the world to us.”
Marine aren’t without history themselves as they were promoted to the Northern Premier League, Premier Division after a play-off win against Runcorn Linnets last season and have twice reached the third round proper of the FA Cup.
In 1993, they lost 3-1 to Crewe Alexandra before, only two seasons ago, lost 5-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in a televised game at Rossett Park and Clifford expects a tough tie.
“We’ve done our homework on them, and we know they’re a very good outfit,” he added.
“Like any Northern League side, they’ll be strong, hard to breakdown and will want to play – they’ll pose lots of challenges.
“We’ll have to be at our best, but we’ll be fully prepared. We’ve trained well and will look to be creative in dealing with those challenges, as well as posing our own threats going forward.
“I’m encouraged by the last two performances, despite the results not going our way.
“I thought we deserved all 3 points away at St. Ives last Saturday and we were good for at least a point against Redditch on Monday.
“We only took a point from those two games in the end, but I was happy – in stages – with the way we played that’s something we’ll definitely want to build on.”
Basford have confirmed that pay-on-the-day will be in operation with prices as follows:
ADULTS: £9
CONCESSIONS: £7
STUDENTS/U16s: £2
*Article provided by Marc Williams (Basford United Correspondent).
*Main image @Basfordutd Mark Clifford (centre) has been pleased with recent performances.
