Manager Chipie Sian is feeling rather chipper ahead of Punjab United’s SCEFL Premier Division Play Off Final against Rusthall on Monday.
Punjab United travel to Rusthall on Monday to play the SCEFL Premier Division Play Off Final with the winner being promoted from Step Five and into the Isthmian League.
Punjab of course know all about cup tie football this year after getting to the FA Vase Semi Finals and the Final of the Kent Senior Trophy and travel to Jockey Farm as third plays fourth for the right to join Whitstable Town in the promotion party.
On Tuesday, Rusthall edged past Larkfield and New Hythe on penalties whilst Punjab produced a great performance to end Fisher’s hopes with a 3-1 win that pleased the manager no end.
“It’s been manic, it really has!” Sian told us ahead of his trip to Jockey Farm on Monday.
“It’s amazing and I thought we were incredible on Tuesday night at Fisher having played five games in eight days to get there. I can only say well done and thank you to all of my players as the effort they put in on Tuesday night, you really wouldn’t have thought we had played all those games and how fresh we looked and the energy they all put in – we fully deserved the win!”
“I think that any successful team in this division you have to take the “punishment” at the end of the season with the crazy fixture schedule – you can’t moan about it and I never will – I’ve never moaned about the games coming up and neither have my staff.”
“I warned them that we would have a very tight schedule. We appreciate the help from the authorities moving games whilst we were still in the Vase, but we always knew that they would have to be played.”
“I have always said that I would rather play than train. One thing is for sure and that is when the pressure builds you have to win certain number of games to make the Play Offs and that takes you to another level and the boys have handled it unbelievably well.”
Punjab’s win at Fisher on Tuesday came just a matter of weeks after the Fish beat United 5-1 in a League fixture at the same venue, which in turn was days after Punjab won a Vase tie between the two teams.
“I think people took that result saying that Fisher outplayed us and we were dead and buried! We were poor that night as we had just come off a massive high of beating them in the Vase. We haven’t got the biggest squad and cannot bring players in midweek, and you can only do what you can; we made a lot of mistakes that night and people wrote us off.”
“I felt that if we got it right on Tuesday, and we did get it right – we had a really good talk about the game and how they play; our coaches were fantastic and the boys implemented the game plan and we won!”
Punjab now head to Rusthall on Bank Holiday Monday for the game that will send one of them into the Isthmian League.
“Who would have thought that Punjab and Rusthall would be playing for the Play Off Final?” Sian said grinning, “At the beginning of the season, you would have got good odds on that – there are some big teams in this League now… both teams have done really well!”
“I like Jim (Anderson – the Rusthall boss) they are a family Club like we are! We have to go there now, away from home again, and if we go up we will do it the hard way and that’s what football is about, whoever wins on Monday will fully deserve to go up – we will give it our best shot, we are ready for it and hopefully fingers crossed… if we can go up it will be a dream come true for me as I have always said that if I can get Punjab to Step Four I have done my job and we are really close to it this weekend.”