By Matt Harris

At the start of the season, Tunbridge Wells locked on to the target of surpassing achievements of last year. While that included bettering a respectable seventh place finish this year, as far as the cup competitions went, any win would do.

As it happened, it took just one week to better last year’s FA Cup performance as Mile Oak were beaten 1-0 in Sussex. But when Dulwich Hamlet were beaten 1-0 away in a replay this week following Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Culverden, longer-standing milestones were matched.

For example, you’d need to go back to the start of Season 2002/03 when The Wells last upset opposition from a higher league in the competition as Ashford Town (Middx) last visited Culverden. And startlingly, you’d need to go back to Season 1969/70 to find the last time the club won twice in the FA Cup in the same season.

Reflecting on the opening month of the season with the Dulwich win in focus, first team manager Martin Larkin told www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk, “We have made a lot of progress on the pitch which has culminated in an unbeaten first month of the season. We’re naturally very pleased, and the win at Dulwich was simply outstanding from all involved.

“We are very happy with how things are going at the moment - we have a very competitive squad and the strength of the team is shown by the strength of the substitute bench. Everyone on the bench in the Dulwich Hamlet replay would walk into many other Kent League sides, so my management team and I have created the competitive environment we had hoped to when we took up this challenge.

“The players now know that if they are not performing, there is someone waiting in the wings to take their place.”

The reward for progressing to the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup provides a chance for the team to take on opposition from even higher up the Football Pyramid - a trip to Carshalton Athletic now in prospect. Carshalton have previous form with regards to The Wells, having met, and thrashed the club 6-0 at home in the 1996/97 FA Cup Competition.

“This will obviously be another step-up in class, and we will have to over-perform again just to be able to compete,” Larkin predicted. “We will have them watched and we will get a game plan devised just like we did for Dulwich Hamlet. Then we’ll go and give the match our best shot.

“Having kept a clean sheet away at Dulwich we need to take that confidence and belief into every game we now play - and not just against Carshalton.”

Of course, that confidence could be drawn from other matches than against Dulwich. Apart from the first game against the Ryman League outfit (3-3 draw), clean sheets were kept against Beckenham Town and Erith Town in the league, and Mile Oak.

“The start to the season has been very pleasing,” Larkin reflected. “We still feel that we dropped two points at Erith Town - but to go unbeaten is very pleasing. At the start of the month the players set their target for August of 1) being unbeaten in the league; and 2) beating Mile Oak so we could play Dulwich. We have achieved both of those, and exceeded them by knocking Dulwich out of the cup.

“I have told the players that we won’t face better attacking forces than Dulwich and Beckenham this year - so we need to have the same intensity in the way we defend in every game. If we do that, we are going to enjoy a lot of clean sheets this year. Building on that, we could pick up a lot of wins.

“Don’t get me wrong here - we are always looking to improve! We still need to keep the ball a bit better, and make better choices in the attacking third. We also need to make sure we get the balance right, as I feel at the moment we are very good defensively but we need to make sure that isn’t to the detriment of the attack and vice-versa,” Larkin added.

But as he looks to address the balance, Larkin also finds himself focusing on a different competition each week - particularly now The Wells are on an FA Cup run. Much of September looks set to be given over to FA Cup and FA Vase matches - with a couple of Kent League matches in between, so doesn’t Larkin find it all a little distracting?

“The league is always the priority for us, but I must admit the FA Cup and Vase are certainly exciting for everyone involved,” he explains. “I think it can be a good thing if you take the momentum into the league games and kick on from it. The important thing is to treat the league games with the same amount of intensity and desire as the cup games.”

As if to illustrate, attention now imediately turns from the heroics of the FA Cup in midweek to the visit of Sussex League outfit, Hailsham Town, in the FA Vase on Saturday - and Larkin doesn’t plan on letting Tuesday’s result get in the way of that game.

“How will we keep everyone’s feet on the ground? Don’t worry about that, we will be making it very clear what is expected of the players on Saturday,” he said. “To be fair to them they are really enjoying the way things are panning out at the moment - so they won’t want the momentum to come to a halt. Hailsham will be a big test and we will learn an awful lot about the lads and their attitudes come 3pm on Saturday.”

In concluding, however, Larkin specifically targeted a message to the supporters in the aftermath of the Dulwich game. “The FA Cup is not something we are going to win,” he outlined, “so long as the supporters keep the result in perspective, then that’s fine!

“I hope they are enjoying what we are building here and that they are proud of it. I would ask them to make a big effort to spread the word around the town to get as many new faces through the gates as possible. Tuesday night was an exceptional result and as a club we need to build on the back of it, both on and off the pitch.”