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Dennis Kutrieb can’t wait to experience his first FA Cup match with fans in the ground.
Ebbsfleet travel to Isthmian Premier Carshalton this Saturday and after two ties behind closed doors last season, Kutrieb is excited to feel the FA Cup buzz.
Fleet knocked out Hastings on penalties at this stage last season before losing on spot-kicks to Chippenham but they start their cup adventure on the back of successive National League South defeats after a 3-0 reverse at Hampton last weekend.
“It’s my first FA Cup tie with fans and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Kutrieb.
“After you have two difficult results, you want to get back on the pitch as quickly as you can.
“We want to play better and show we can deliver the right things. It’s an interesting week for us because the boys can show they are better than the last two results.
“We need to show that we want to be in this competition for a long time.”
Despite only being his second season in English football, the magic of the FA Cup is not lost on Kutrieb.
“I could see last season and I learnt so many things,” said the German. “I remember Havant lost to Marine and then they drew Tottenham. You see lots of surprises when small teams win against bigger ones.
“In every country that can happen in the cup, but the FA Cup is known around the world. Of course we are proud to be involved and hopefully we can go on a run.”
Kutrieb is taking opponents Carshalton seriously, watching Peter Adeniyi’s side draw 0-0 with Bowers in the league on Monday night. He knows it will be a tough tie but is confident of progressing if his team perform to their maximum.
“They are a good side, we’ve seen them a couple of times,” said the Fleet boss.
“They try to play football, they are decent in different areas and we saw a few weaknesses we hope to exploit.
“We need to make sure we are on top of our performance and, no disrespect to Carshalton, if we are then we can win the game.”
Fleet were considering an appeal on Chris Solly’s red card - a decision described as “soft” by the manager - against Hampton at the start of this week.
Injury will rule out Christian N’Guessan for the foreseeable future but Kreshnic Krasniqi is in the squad on Saturday along with Will Wood and Adam Mekki, who have both been injured. Alex Finney could also be involved if required.
The Hampton defeat - Fleet’s second in five league games - was a concern to Kutrieb on the back of the Havant reverse but he remains confident in his squad’s ability.
“You have to be concerned if you want to be in the mix after back-to-back defeats,” said Kutrieb.
“If we’d taken a point against Havant then it would have been easier to accept the Hampton defeat. It’s a concern but I’m not concerned about the squad or us in general.
“You have to get the points and now we have to work even harder, so maybe the FA Cup has come at a good time for us.”
