Royston get set for FA Vase fourth round clash against Bournemouth FC on Saturday

ROYSTON TOWN travel south to Dorset this weekend to take on Bournemouth FC in the much-anticipated FA Vase fourth-round clash.

It seems almost an eternity since the Crows beat Haringey Borough in the third round on December 3, but Paul Attfield’s table-topping side will go into the tie at Victoria Park brimming with confidence having won all of their last six matches, scoring 25 and conceding just three.

Opponents Bournemouth, nicknamed the Poppies, play in the Wessex Premier Division (also Step 5) and currently sit ninth in the table. They have shown mixed form in their last six matches with three wins, two defeats and one draw. They lost their last outing 2-0 at home to lowly New Milton Town last Saturday.

The Crows will travel down on Friday where their hotel will put on an evening meal. Attfield says everyone involved with the club is looking forward to the match, and he believes his team is more than good enough to progress to the next round.

“The match comes at a decent time for us,” Attfield told the Royston Crow. “We’ve been in really good form since Christmas and have played some superb football. Everyone is excited and it has been a long time since the last round.

“We’ve done our homework on them, so it’s a case of going there and winning the game now.

“We’ve watched them twice now – once by myself and once by Duncan (Easley) [assistant manager], and while there isn’t a lot you can learn from watching just two games, me and Duncan have both compared notes and will make sure the players know what they have to do.”

Attfield also admits it’s not always easy to gauge the quality of a team from a different Step 5 league, as the standard varies substantially across the country. However the Crows boss feels his team were handed a decent draw, but admits anything can happen on the day.

He said: “You can’t really take much notice of the fact they are ninth in their league, because there are Step 5 leagues that are strong, and there are some that are weak.

“We are playing well, and I think looking at some of the other teams still in the competition this is, on paper, a decent-looking draw for us. But, at the end of the day, it’s a one-off cup game and the winners will be the team that want it more.”

Attfield has a near full-strength squad to select from, with only Ross Collins and Jack Bradshaw ruled out with a one-game suspension, which would have been served on Tuesday had their Premier Division Cup quarter-final tie not been postponed.