Welling United head into the FA Cup Second Qualifying Round this weekend full of confidence after going joint top of the Isthmian Premier in midweek, but boss Ryan Maxwell is only too well aware of the task ahead of his side as the make the short trip to face Dulwich Hamlet at Champion Hill. 

The Wings beat Cheshunt 2-0 at Park View Road on Tuesday to join Enfield and Dartford on eighteen points to jointly lead the table, but that form goes out of the window come 3pm Saturday afternoon as Maxwell knows full well as he said when we spoke to him this week, “It’s a big game and a big derby for us.”

“There will be a good crowd – I am sure we will take a lot of supporters – and being in the same League, we know each other pretty well.”

“I think it’s a cracker – we are really looking forward to it and we all know how important it is for the Club and we will be going into the game totally focused and raring to go!” 

“I know that some may say that it’s disappointing that we drew another Isthmian League club, but if I am honest, I don’t really give it much thought.”

“From the Club’s point of view, Dulwich is probably amongst the best draws that we could have got because we get half the gate money as they normally get gates in excess of a couple of thousand.”

“It’s a massive positive from the Club’s point of view while from my point of view and the players as well, I really don’t think that we cared as we could have got anybody, but we have been lucky enough to get a derby which is a great fixture.”

“You have to beat whoever you are drawn against so on the day you do have to give to it your all as it is a lottery, but I think we have a good fixture.” 

When Maxwell took over at Welling ten months ago, inheriting the struggling Club that he did to where the Club is today, the Irishman admitted, “It’s a completely different Club now in a lot of ways.”

“When we took over, I had a lot of people saying that we must be mad. There were those who said that if that was a management team who may turn it round it could be us, and we believed in it, Billy (McMahon, Maxwell’s number two) and I.”

“We have taken other jobs like this in the past, but this one certainly has been the hardest and the longest, but probably as well the most worthwhile as we knew what was at the end of it providing, we stayed in the division last season.”

“All that hard work and sacrifice, and believe me there was a lot, was to get us in a fighting position where we are now joint top of the League and I can assure you that it’s due to hard work.”

“Everyone is here for the right reasons; the culture is spot on – a bit like my time at Sittingbourne – it’s right where it needs to be as everyone is playing for each other and for the Club. It’s a very positive place right now, it really is.” 

Picture supplied by Chris Zimmerman.