Party of the century if Sevenoaks knock out Ebbsfleet in FA Cup

Sevenoaks Town assistant manager Mark Dacey will be partying from dusk till dawn if they manage to upset the odds and knock out high-flying Ebbsfleet United in the FA Cup writes Alec McQuarrie.

The Oaks have already surpassed their best-ever run in the prestigious competition by knocking out Kingstonian from the league above and Phoenix Sports from the league below.

But the biggest shock was still to come, when they travelled to National League South Bath City in the Third Qualifying Round and snatched a 1-0 win.

It was a remarkable day out for all involved with the Kent side, who arrived just 50 minutes before kick-off, and Dacey insists it will live long in the collective memory.

“You don’t get too many moments like that in your career,” said Dacey. “There’s causing upsets and then there’s causing massive upsets.

“We as a club really made a massive memory for people to hold on to hopefully long after we’ve gone. It’s probably got to be up there with their promotion from Step 5 to Step 4.

“You know in the cups someone’s got to go out, so everything has been a free hit and that’s all Bath was for us.

“We knew if we really had a go at them and instigate what we feel we needed to do then we’ve definitely got more than half a chance, and luckily for us that paid off.

“To now be one game of football away from being in the First Round proper, it’s really nice to have made that history for the club.”

Celebrations that followed the unlikely win will be magnified ten-fold if they can overcome National League South leaders Ebbsfleet United.

The Fleet are unbeaten in all competitions this season, with 11 wins from 12 matches and are playing with a vengeance, having been seconds away from promotion only to be denied by a 99th-minute equaliser.

“The party afterwards would be exceptional," smiled Dacey.

“We don’t have too far to travel to get home so I would expect if we pulled that one off the squad would be out that night, for sure.

“But in terms of the draw, it’s probably the hardest draw we could’ve got, the most in form team in non-league away from home who play extremely good football.”

And as for their league campaign, Dacey is looking to create more history with promotion to Step 3 for the first time in the club’s history.

“I think with the manager we have and the players we have, our target would have to be minimum playoffs,” said Dacey.

“That’s absolutely what we’re going for. Promotion is the key to the success that we all want.”

Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million-pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/