Diss Town manager admits improvements will be needed to beat Caister in Norfolk Senior Cup

Michael King has warned his Diss Town players improvements will be needed when they host Caister in the third round of the Norfolk Senior Cup tomorrow (2.30pm).

Last Friday, King watched on as his side needed a goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time to see off lower-league Bradenham Wanderers as the county’s leading cup competition got back under way after lockdown.

Bradenham had been bottom of the Anglian Combination Premier Division before the 2020/21 league seasons were curtailed, with just one victory to their name.

This weekend’s opponents Caister, in contrast, were battling at the top end of the table, just three points adrift of leaders Harleston Town.

Looking ahead to the tie, King said: “If we don’t take our chances – like we didn’t on Friday – we’ll be lucky to get through.

“If you look at the league table, this is going to be a step up although Bradenham did manage to beat Caister just before the lockdown.

“When you were looking at the draw, there is probably a few teams you’d have picked to play before Caister.

“The boys know this is a step up from the Bradenham game and we’ll have to be better.”

And should the Tangerines safely negotiate their way beyond the Lifeboatemen, there will be a quick turnaround for a behind-closed-doors quarter-final at home to either Thorpe St Andrew or Gorleston on Wednesday.

It would be a big shock were Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division outfit Gorleston not to provide the opposition, but King believes being the underdog will suit his team perfectly.

“Anything can happen in cup football, but you’d expect it to be Gorleston,” he added.

“In the latter stages you expect to start running into clubs like Gorleston, Wroxham or Dereham – you’ve got to play them at some point.

“We’d be the underdogs in that one but we’d be comfortable with that, I think it suits us a group, but of course we have to get the job done on Saturday first and that won’t be easy.”

Diss may be without goalkeeper James Bergin tomorrow after he picked up an injury late on during the victory over Bradenham.