Old heads try to outwit the younger generation

THE old heads of Rocquaine United now have Rangers in their sights this weekend in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. 'We want to give them a good game,' said Rocquaine's former island striker Tony Vance.

'In all fairness, we've not got together at all since the Rovers game, which isn't good. We're going to have to go into it as we are.'

Rocquaine made the quarter-finals of last year's competition where they were comprehensively beaten by Vale Rec 4-0.

The aging legs in their defence struggled to keep up with the pace of Rec striker and island sprinter Robbie Titterington.

'We let ourselves down last year against Rec, although they got it tactically quite right against us,' said Vance.

'They kept getting round the back of us. Hopefully we can learn from that and go one step further.'

Theoretically, the old boys team of the mighty Sylvans team of the 90s, the side contains such well respected names as Vance, Jan Renouf, the Nobes brothers John and Paul, Joel Avery and Grant Chalmers.

But as is the case with veteran outfits, stamina and pace are the chinks in their armour.

'Fitness and sharpness are the issues,' said Vance.

'We can keep the ball but the main difficulty is getting behind their defensive line. We're not the sharpest in those areas and that's down to the fact that we're old and we're not playing week in, week out.'

Despite that, Vance and his team still managed to get past Priaulx side Rovers in the previous round at a wet and windy Port Soif in December.

Up against it the whole match, their victory came by way of a long-range strike from Renouf deep in the second half.

'I think the conditions worked against us, but we got the job done,' said Vance.

'I thought we deserved to win.'

They now come up against a Rangers team who are on a high after defeating Priaulx champions North 3-2 in the league on Saturday.

'Rangers are going to be very confident after beating North at the weekend,' said Vance.

'They've got some very good assets and we're going to have to be on our game. We know what we need to do.

'Rangers will be a bit nervous about playing us because we're not a league side and they are favourites. We'll adapt and see how we get on.'

Rocquaine United were formed for the 2006-07 FA Cup and Vance admits that this campaign could be their last.

'I think it will be the final year as it's getting harder to motivate everyone,' he said.

'It's a shame: the draw could have been kinder to us after we drew Rovers and then Rangers. But you win cups by beating the best.'

Although Rangers are expected to take care of their older opponents, their boss, Mac Gallienne, is not taking anything for granted.

Gallienne said that he is expecting to be able to play the same side that beat North.

The only downer for him is that their star striker, Ross Allen, is still out with a knee injury.

'We're looking forward to the game,' he said.

'They are a good bunch of players. It's irrelevant how old they are, they are a good footballing team.'

n THE only other non-Priaulx team left in the competition are also looking to cause an upset.

Sunday Soccer League's Indian Cottage face North tomorrow.

Their striker, Danny Le Page, said that the team are up for it.

'Definitely - everyone is quite positive especially after the result North had last weekend,' he said.

'The morale is going to be quite low in their camp. The main thing is to try and keep a clean sheet and try to catch them on the break.

'Me and a couple of the boys have got a bit of pace and their defence isn't the quickest. We're just going to give it a go.

'We're the underdogs. The pressure is hardly on us.'

Le Page is no stranger to the FA Cup.

He won the Golden Boot last year when he banged in seven goals in the competition for his club, Sylvans, that went on to win the silverware after they beat St Martin's 2-0 in the final.

The 22-year-old decided not to turn out for the westerners in the cup this year due to an old back injury, which has limited the amount of football he can play.

However, it is a knee problem that may now force him out of the reckoning for the weekend.

Le Page says even if he is not playing he will be at Northfield to cheer on his boys as he is a massive fan of the cup.

'I love it,' he said.