Manager plotting Haringey Borough upset

Barkingside’s Gursel Gulfer wants his side want to progress as far as they can in the FA Cup, as they look to beat Ryman North side Haringey Borough in the preliminary round on Saturday.

Side scraped through their extra preliminary round tie against Hadleigh United thanks to a stunning last-minute free-kick from midfielder Sam Edwards.

And they haven’t looked back, winning three more home games on the bounce in the Essex Senior League, including a 1-0 triumph over Redbridge on Monday.

Even though Side continue to climb the table in their quest for promotion, boss Gulfer highlighted the importance of the FA Cup in helping non-league clubs exist.

“For me the FA Cup is the FA Cup, and my players are well up for it,” said Gulfer.

“We know that we will never go on to win it, but we know that we can stay in for as long as possible and try to win as much prize money for the club as possible.

“Who knows over the next few weeks we could be top of the league and still in the cup and then that would be an even better start to the one we have already made.

“I think it would be tremendous if we progress, for a club our size to go far in the competition it would be great.

“Obviously the further you go the more prize money you win and we are looking to earn as much money as possible for this club.”

Haringey Borough began their campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over Dereham Town at the weekend, but Gulfer does not expect the difference in leagues to make a difference.

He added: “We played Haringey in pre-season and lost 2-1 and played really well. The last three games between us have been lost by one goal, so I expect it to be close.

“Their manager knows this is going to be a very tough game for them and the winner will earn a chance to play either Eton Manor or Witham Town in the first qualifying round, so the carrot is there for us. It’s just whether we take the carrot.

“They are a good side and I know they are looking to do well in the Ryman North and push for promotion. But we are going to go there with every intention to make it a tough game for them and hopefully we can nick the win.”