*BS*Dover’s stopper has Wembley in his sights after Athletic continued their unbeaten run in the cup with a battling 1-1 against East Thurrock to secure a Tuesday night Crabble replay.*BF*

In spite of East Thurrock scoring late in the game to force a replay, Mitchell Walker was relieved to have come away with the unbeaten cup run still in tact. ‘Of course we are disappointed not to have won, but East Thurrock defended really well and restricted our chances – It was a really hard game.’

*Q1*An eighth cup win on the spin looked odds on when Tom Murphy smashed home with ten minutes left to play, but United levelled close to the end through David Murphy’s close range finish. Murphy’s third goal in two games was tinged with controversy with protests of foul play as Whites had just kicked the ball out for sporting reasons, but with the best view on the pitch, Mitchell saw nothing wrong.

‘Michael Bakare meant to kick it out for a goal kick but, it accidently went for a throw in, which we acknowledged and did not chase down the goalkeeper when he received the throw in. It was unfortunate for him that the ball was kicked into no man’s land and we scored from it, but there was nothing wrong with the goal – We are all for sportsmanship here’.

*Lpic1*The first round proper saw ten Skrill Premier teams fall at the first hurdle, with a further five facing tricky Tuesday night replays and should Whites be able to navigate their way past East Thurrock, a second round tie against Northwich Victoria or Leamington Spa awaits.

‘We have a really good record in the cups and I am confident we can win tomorrow’ said Walker, who is also dreaming of a Wembley appearance. ‘Premier teams are always favourite to win, but a lot of them are already out so why not? – There are not many games between now and the final.’

It is not just the Trophy where Whites are looking to surprise a few people this season, as Saturday sees Chris Kinnear’s men travel to MK Dons, who themselves appear to be having a tough time. Eight defeats from eleven matches does not make good reading for the League one side and according to Walker, he and his team mates really have nothing to lose.

‘Nobody is expecting us to win and it will be a really difficult game, but there have been bigger shocks in the cup and we are on a really good run at the moment. It is a really good platform for us players.’

*BS*Whites play host to East Thurrock at Crabble on Tuesday 3rd December in a 19:45 kick off.*BF*