Brentford vs Aldershot Town

Last updated : 05 November 2010 By Mike Wray

Aldershot Town have a tough test ahead of them when they travel to Griffin Park on Saturday afternoon, looking to gain the scalp of League One side Brentford, but it will be all pressure on the home side as both sides look to reach Round Two.

Speaking after Tuesday's draw at Hereford, Dillon said: "It will be good and the lads are looking forwards to it already.

"It's a big game for us and for Brentford, they'll obviously feel they can beat us - they're the division above and they've had a great run as well recently - they were in the bottom three for a while, but they've had their Carling Cup run and were very unlucky against Birmingham [Brentford lost 4-3 on penalties].

"They're a big physical team, we played their Reserves a couple of months back at their training ground and it was a great game and I know what they expect, purely on the performance of their Reserve team.

"We beat them which is a morale boosting thing for us, but it's a different story against their first team."

The Shots enter the match in twelfth place in League Two with nineteen points from fifteen games while Brentford are in fourteenth place in the league above with the same points and games as The Shots.

Shots team news

Speaking after the Hereford match mid-week, Glen Little was looking forward to the match but didn't know if his legs would be up to another game so soon after the previous two saying: "I'm not too sure if I'm ready for another game - I think we might change it up like we have done for most of the cup games so we'll wait and see but the squad is looking a bit bare now we've had a few suspensions and a couple of injuries here and there so we'll see how the squad are shaping up but I'm sure the likes of Smallie [Wade Small] who has come on tonight and done well.

"Danny [Hylton] as well, he might get a run out even Jack [Randall] - I don't know what he's up to shape-wise, he's only come on for the last ten today but there might be the opportunity for him to show what he can do in an FA Cup tie.

"I remember during the Reading days that we used to change about seven or eight players as Steve Coppell's idea was to go well in the league and try to win promotion and when we were in the Premiership, the aim was to stay there so he obviously mixed it up a lot although we got Tottenham and Man United two years on the trot so we always had a tough game to get through but we'll have to wait and see if we change things up as it's an awful long road to the final!

"It's a real money earner at this level though - we know the budget we're on and we haven't got a lot to splash out on so it's a good tie against Brentford, it's local and we should have a good following there and there'll be a good atmosphere and there's always the aim to get to the third round to end up going to Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge."

Defender Darren Jones returns following his one-match ban, however former Brentford midfielder John Halls and striker Marvin Morgan both sit out their second of three bans for their unrelated dismissals.

Damian Spencer remains in the early stages of a three-month lay off following a knee ligament injury he sustained during a training ground accident.

Shots from: Jamie Young, Ben Herd, Anthony Straker, Darren Jones, Glen Little, Anthony Charles, Jamie Vincent, Ben Harding, Luke Guttridge, Danny Hylton, Manny Panther, Jermaine McGlashan, Wade Small, Jack Randall, Marlon Jackson and Clayton Fortune.

The opposition

Brentford boss Andy Scott is relishing a return to cup action following his side's fourth round Carling Cup exit at the hands of Birmingham City last week and is concentrating on proving that the Bees are more than capable of mixing with the big guns once again.

Speaking about the match to the media this week he said: 'This is an opportunity for us to maintain our standards and to show that it wasn't a fluke to progress as we did in the Carling Cup.

'It will be a tough one against Aldershot, they will fancy their chances of an upset, but we need to dig in and do what we do and hopefully get in the next round.

Brentford have confirmed that forward Lewis Grabban has extended his loan from Millwall and the Lions have given permission for him to feature for the Bees should Scott want to select him.

Nicky Forster is set to make his 150th appearance for the Bees if he features, while Craig Woodman will hit his 300th game for his employers if he is named in the side.

Former Shots winger Kirk Hudson continues to battle a groin injury that has kept him out of contention since leaving the EBB Stadium and he has made just two substitute appearances since signing for the west London club.

The Bees from: Richard Lee, Simon Royce, Simon Moore, Ben Hamer, Kevin O'Connor, Craig Woodman, Marcus Bean, David McCracken, Pim Balkestein, Sam Saunders, Nicky Forster, Carl Cort, Charlie MacDonald, Myles Weston, Michael Spillane, Dave Hunt, Kirk Hudson, Sam Wood, Ryan Blake, Lewis Grabban, Toumani Diagouraga, Karleigh Osbourne, Sobbie Simpson, Stephen Wright, Gary Alexander and Leon Legg.

  • You can visit the official Brentford website here.

Taking charge

Russell Booth will be taking charge of the match and he will be assisted by Carl Fitch and Mark Scholes. David Bushell is the fourth official.

Weather forecast

The BBC Weather forecast for the match is given as sunny intervals with highs of 11°C.

Ticket news

Tickets for this match are priced at:
Adult seats and terracing: £12.50 £13.
Concessions (Over 60's) seats and terracing: £10.
Juniors (Under 18's*) seats and terracing: £5.

* = Proof of age must be provided.

The match is not all ticket and supporters can pay on the turnstiles on the day. If the match is drawn, both clubs have agreed that the same ticket prices will apply for the replay.

Other news

  • BBC Radio Surrey
    Supporters unable to make the match will only be able to hear regular updates on BBC Radio Surrey (on 104.6FM) from Gavin Denison and Aldershot Town Media Manager Steve Gibbs as the station's main coverage is focusing on Brighton vs Woking.

Supporters are reminded that there is NO internet coverage of the match.