Ebbsfleet United’s top scorer Anthony Cook, who netted his sixth goal of the season to take Saturday’s FA Cup tie into a replay at Dartford, has vowed to keep “making things happen” in the Fleet final third and go one better than his own personal FA Cup best: the second round with Chelmsford.
“The atmosphere today was amazing,” he told BBC Radio Kent’s Charles Webster. “Even when you’re warming up you can feel the atmosphere in the crowd. And it was amazing to score in a derby game to get us back into it. My first game in pre-season was a friendly against Dartford but when it comes to Fleet-Dartford there is no friendly game. I got booked in that game. I love it – games like these might turn ugly so you’ve got to have a bit of heart to get through it.”
Reflecting on his style of play and always trying to beat his man, Cook was adamant that his approach to the game is always the same. “Being a flair player, you’ve got to try and make things happen in the final third and I’m the type of player who always want to make things happen. If I could make it happen all the time, I wouldn’t be playing at this level but I’ll always keep trying, always keep going, I’m always high on confidence. Today I scored a goal, won a penalty and nearly scored at the end.”
About the penalty, Cook revealed he’s next on the takers list. “We had a few discussions about taking the penalty in the dressing room. It’s my turn next. It was Billy Bricknell’s turn, then Ben May. If you miss, you’re off them. I’m very comfortable with taking penalties, I took a pressure one for Chelmsford in the play-offs last year. If it goes to penalties on Tuesday, we’ve got the technical ability and if we miss one, Preston’s very good at saving them. But obviously we want to do the business before it comes to that.”
Looking ahead to the replay, the Fleet No.11 isn’t fazed by home advantage reverting to Princes Park. “In a derby game, there’s no real advantage,” he said. “It just comes down to the 11 on the pitch and what happens on there. Home advantage won’t have much to do with it. I played for Chelmsford when we beat Colchester last year, it was a brilliant experience. I’ve been to the second round with Chelmsford three times so I hope we can one better with the Fleet, to the third round.”
