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ROGER HERRIDGE admits he is not quite sure what to expect from Highmoor Ibis when they come to Binfield tomorrow afternoon (3pm).
The Moles got back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory at Abingdon United in the Berks and Bucks Senior Trophy on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Liam Ferdinand and Carl Withers.
But Binfield did suffer a blow when Withers was forced off in the first half with a groin injury which is set to rule him out of action for the next couple of weeks, alongside the already crocked Danny Horscroft.
Jack Broome is also unlikely to feature in the next three matches due to work commitments leaving Herridge with a few selection headaches ahead of a difficult looking clash with sixth placed Highmoor Ibis.
“You never know what you’re going to get at the moment with Highmoor Ibis,” Herridge told The Wokingham Paper.
“Every time I look at their team sheet it changes about five names every week!
“Highmoor have obviously built on the excellent season they had last year. They’ve had a little bit of a change of personnel as well as we have.
“You’re going to come up against a hard working side with some very good technical players and there’s a sense of unpredictability about them.”
He continued: “They’ve got players that can make things happen in a flash and we know they’ve got some good players we’ll have to be wary of on the day, but I’d be very surprised if there’s an awful lot in it come full time on Saturday.
“I certainly expect it to be quite a close affair.”
After losing 5-0 to Kidlington last week, the Moles bounced straight back to book their place in the last eight of the BBFA Senior Trophy.
But Herridge reserved praise for Abingdon’s performance.
Having cruised to a 4-0 win against Abingdon in the league last month, Herridge’s men were given a far sterner test on Tuesday night with early goals from Withers and Ferdinand just enough to see Binfield into the quarter finals against Ascot United.
“Abingdon are a young side but compared to the side that we’d beaten a month or six weeks before, they were miles apart,” said Herridge.
“They certainly had some good technical players, they had plenty of pace in the side and they worked really, really hard.
“They’re certainly a side that’s improving and although we weren’t at our best, they certainly made us work hard for the win.”
Binfield started brightly in their fourth away game in succession, taking the lead after just eight minutes when Withers converted a Josh Howell cross.
Winger George Reid soon equalised but what proved to be the winner arrived on 17 minutes when Ferdinand, recently returned from injury, latched onto Chris Dean’s through ball to slot home.
Despite the tight score-line, Herridge does feel his side were good value for the win.
He continued: “I’ve got to be honest, I think on the balance of play we probably deserved to win a little bit more comfortably.
“I’m not one to knock referees, especially young ones, but there were certainly a couple of interesting decisions that weren’t given in and around their penalty box which another referee may have pointed to the spot.
“They certainly made us work hard but cup games at the end of the day it’s all about the result and making sure you progress to the next round.”
Binfield: Silver; Walton, R. Brown (Senussi 60), Leonetti, Luis; Howell, Dean, Knight, Withers (Rowland 25), Gibbs; Ferdinand.
Sub not used: Carlisle
Goals: Withers (8), Ferdinand (17)
