Matt Griffin hopes fortunate will favour the brave as Ecclesfield Red Rose 1915 prepare to launch a full frontal assault on Wombwell Main in the mouth-watering win or bust S&HCSL League Cup quarter-final tie on Friday night.
The stage is set for an epic battle when Group C runners-up Ecclesfield head to league giants and Group D winners Wombwell.
Parking the bus would have merits, but Griffin is refusing to adopt those kind of tactics and he will be urging his swashbuckling young charges to try and seize the moment by throwing everything at Terry Simon’s Wombwell.
“It is (win or bust) and it is good it is like that for us because with the situation with our group it became a knockout approach for us in the last couple of games,” Griffin told Non League Yorkshire.
“It was basically beat Sheffield Town (in the penultimate group stage match) and we can’t be caught in the group so it was a case of ‘let’s go for it’.
“Our approach has been really that. We’ve just said ‘go out to win games’.
“We’re not turning up just to hold out or nick a goal. We have a lot of attacking ability so we’re going out to enjoy the football and to try and win games.
“The knockout stage should suit us.
“But then again it is Wombwell; a good side who are always going to be massively competitive.
“(Ryan) Wingrove is obviously a good striker who will take his chances when he gets them, but we’re going to go with optimism and play like we have done in the last few games.
“I’d say we are underdogs which will suit us down to the ground. We still haven’t finished a full season in the Prem whereas Wombwell are really experienced.
“But we’ll go out for a win and create as many chances as we can.
“We were looking at it after the first Sheffield Town game and there’s only three lads in the team who are over 22.
“They may be young, but they have a lot of technical ability, a lot of pace and no real fear so we may as well try and capitalise on that by saying ‘let these lads express themselves’.
“We have a young average and if we went out with the approach of caution and play a certain defensive structure a lot of them aren’t going to want to do that.
“We’re going to use the tools we have got and it is probably best to say ‘go out and try and win it’.”
All the facts and stats point to the quarter-final clash being a potential classic.
Ecclesfield’s star front-man Kenan Mckenzie Grey is the league’s top goal-scorer.
Wombwell have the man in third place, Ryan Wingrove who has been in red hot form recently.
The Main also have Barnsley Non League legend and local man Danny Frost and his apprentice Kieran Hirst on their books so Griffin expects a full-throttle cup tie.
“One of the other attractive aspects to the game is Kenan for us is top goal-scorer in the league if you’re counting league and cup goals,” he said.
“Then Wingrove is third so the game will have both the league’s top goal-scorers.
“So the reality should be that it is an ideal tie with two sides who like to create loads of chances.
“It should be an open game.
“We have some lads missing like Wombwell will because it is a Friday night and people will have work commitments.
“We have Ryan Radford who is a bit of stalwart and has dropped in as a centre-half and been playing brilliantly, but he’s probably the only sensible non-attacking minded defender we’ve got.
“Another midfielder Chris Lewis is a defensive minded midfielder, but other than that the rest of the team are forward-thinking.
“If we try and stifle Wombwell we’ll not get the best out of the lads.
“It could end up 5-5 as they score a lot of goals as well.
“We’ve only not scored in two games out of the league games (before lockdown) and the League Cup games we have played.
“I know we’re showing the goal intent and I’m sure Wombwell will as well so it could 5-5, but knowing football after I’ve said this it’ll be 0-0 after 90 minutes.
“But hopefully it will be an enjoyable game for those who come to watch now spectators are allowed.”
Ecclesfield secured passage the quarter-finals after finishing second behind competition favourites Swinton Athletic.
Ecclesfield lost to Swinton in their first game before drawing with South Elmsall Services.
That put their hopes in balance, but a win over South Elmsall and two victories against Sheffield Town – mixed in with the 2-1 defeat at home to Swinton – sent them through and Griffin was always had the belief they would progress.
“I anticipated we would get out of the group because as I said previously we believe in our lads and we have a bit of strength now,” he said.
“But it is definitely a decent achievement to qualify.
“Although we believe in our lads you had to be realistic and say that Swinton were probably beat us, but we were massively competitive with them.
“We were maybe closer to getting a result against them than we thought.
“So after losing to them in the first game and them being fancied to win it we knew we weren’t far behind as we only lost 2-1 and created plenty of chances.
“We threw the South Elmsall game at our ground away as they had ten men for 80 minutes.
“We created so many chances and didn’t take them so that was one of those draws.
“Apart from losing to Swinton at home we have won all our other games.
“It came down to the Sheffield Town games and it depended on the standard Sheffield Town were at.
“As much as we only nicked a 2-1 win they weren’t really in it at our ground. We should have had eight or nine and that’s not a massive exaggeration.
“Then we were convincing in a game at their ground which didn’t really mean much anyway.
“So great to get, but after the first game against Swinton I was quite confident we would.”