Brackley Town boss Jon Brady will this week remind his side of their Arlesey shocker in a bid to avoid an FA Trophy upset on Saturday.
Brady takes his men to lowly Ryman Premier Division side Thurrock this weekend, aiming to progress in the third qualifying round tie.
But the Saints supremo knows all too well the threat sides from lower divisions can pose, having seen his team crash out of the FA Cup to them in the past two seasons.
Last year it was Thame United who upset Brackley and this season Arlesey inflicted the heartache, with a surprising 4-3 win at the Armadillo Stadium.
Brady is desperate to avoid another potential banana skin this Saturday and will use memories of the FA Cup horror shows to motivate his players.
“It’s not a bad thing to bring the Arlesey game up now and again because it reminds us that when we’re not on top of our game we’ll get punished,” said Brady.
“It highlights the other side of our game and we know we could be punished again. We don’t want that to happen because we want to do well in this competition.”
On paper, this weekend’s trip to Ship Lane should be plain sailing for the Saints, as Thurrock currently sit bottom of the Ryman Premier Division, with just one win from their first nine games.
But Brady refuses to underestimate the strugglers after watching them see off local rivals East Thurrock in the previous round.
He said: “We’ve got plenty of respect for Thurrock, they play some good football.
“Their position in the table is not as good as they would like, but we will need to be at our best.”
The Saints weren’t far off top form last weekend as they claimed their second away win in five days, beating Vauxhall Motors 2-0 thanks to goals from Marvin Robinson and Steve Diggin.
And Brady was once again delighted with the application of his team, who top the Blue Square Bet North after 11 wins from their first 15 games.
“We’ve got the boys believing in their ability again,” said Brady. “It was a good, solid performance last Saturday and to get eight points out of the last four games is fantastic.
“It was nice to have a break this midweek and be sitting top of the league but we’ve continued to work as hard as we can.”
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