Clive Seeley 'full of pride' after Knowle edged at Worcester City in FA Cup replay

Joint-manager Clive Seeley felt ‘full of pride’ following Knowle’s monumental efforts over 180 FA Cup minutes against higher-tier Worcester City.

The Robins fought from the very first whistle in B93 on Saturday and bundled home a deserved equaliser in the 91st minute to force a replay at Worcester’s Sixways Stadium, where they gave a fantastic account of themselves despite a narrow 1-0 defeat.

Liam Lockett, who netted for Worcester at The Robins’ Nest on Saturday, scored his second goal against Knowle in four days to secure progression for Tuesday’s hosts - but Seeley couldn’t be prouder of his team’s endeavour across both matches.

Asked to sum up his feelings after Tuesday’s defeat, he said: “I’m full of pride - incredibly proud of the lads. To take a Step Three side to the wire over two games is absolutely tremendous. Our lads gave it their all.

“Everyone wrote us off but I think the lads gave a good account of themselves. I thought the first 20, we played really well, they dominated a little bit then for 15 - but we were always in it.”

Worcester’s struggles on the bobbly pitch in Knowle were well documented. On one occasion, The ball was swept straight from Brandon Smalley’s feet when a smart team move had led him to a promising chance to score.

And Seeley was of the opinion that they might have viewed Tuesday’s match as easier due to it being played on such a nice surface.

“I think they thought they might be in for an easy ride on this pitch, but our lads can all play. We always try and play football and get the ball down.

“Conditions dictate sometimes, and it didn’t suit us like it didn’t suit them on Saturday. We don’t enjoy playing on a bobbly pitch - no footballer does - so I think the lads were quite looking forward to coming here!”

Knowle can’t rue this result for long - they have an important FA Vase clash against Ashby Ivanhoe to prepare for. The Second Qualifying tie will take place at The Robins’ Nest on Saturday, September 12, with kick-off at 3pm.

“They started the season off very well but have had a little bit of a dip,” Seeley said of Ashby. “We’ve got to decide whether we rotate the squad or not because a few lads are dead on their feet after these last two games - we’ve done a lot of running.

“It’s a game we’ll obviously look to win - let’s hope we can go for a run in the Vase!”

Our full match report from Sixways Stadium can be found on the club website.