Alan Devonshire has told Hampton & Richmond fans they could be the difference
between Blue Square South play-offs glory and heartbreak this weekend.
The Beavers had a first-half strike by Ian Hodges to thank for the 1-1 draw at Fisher Athletic on Tuesday night, which left the two-legged semi-final clash wide open.
Devonshire's men played in front of 1,000-plus crowds at the Beveree towards the end of last season, when they romped to the Ryman League Premier
Division title, and the former West Ham United winger
believes home advantage on Saturday could swing the tie in his side's favour.
advertisement
"If we had got beat 2-1 we would still have had to win at the weekend.
"We'll look forward to it, they will look forward to it and I think it will be another tight game," he said.
"The crowd can make a big
difference if they get behind us and we are hoping for a big turnout.
"Fisher are the form side in this division and it is all to play for.
"We never thought we would be in this position.
"We are one game away from the final. It is in our hands now and it is up to us to beat them."
Hodges gave Hampton the lead when a slip by Fisher keeper Carl Pentney gifted him a goal minutes before half-time.
But Gavin Tomlin levelled matters 15 minutes after the break, on a mud-bath of a pitch at Champion Hill.
In the closing stages, on-loan Leicester City stopper Pentney pulled off a brilliant double save from Stuart Lake and,
moments later, the same player headed wide Hodges' near-post flick-on.
Tomlin struck a post in the final minute of added time, but Devonshire felt it would have been an injustice had his side been in arrears at the final whistle
"I don't think we played as well as we have done recently, but we still could have won it," he said.
"Considering the conditions, it is a credit to both sides that they produced a good game of football.
"I thought we
created the better chances in the first leg.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
