Brakes handed FA Cup warning

Brakes travel to Communications Park for the FA Cup second qualifying round tie on the back of three successive wins which have seen them score ten goals and concede just one.

However, with a healthy budget at their disposal and a string of familiar names in their line-up including former Brakes Mark Bellingham and Arron Parkinson, Mark Kinsella’s side will fancy their chances of producing a shock.

It is a threat Holleran is well aware of and, having had Town watched in their defeat at Slough last Saturday, he believes their lowly league position is a false one.

“They’ve made a lot of changes in the last three weeks with Martin Sockett coming in [to assist Kinsella], but their performances haven’t been reflected in their results,” said Holleran.

“They’re like the Brackley of our league in that they’ve got a few bob and when they want to be they are a very dangerous side.

“We’ll have to be at our best.”

Brakes go into tomorrow’s tie buoyed by a last-minute winner at Swindon Supermarine and a comfortable cup victory over Highgate in midweek.

The Birmingham Senior Cup tie allowed Holleran to give a run-out to a few of his fringe players and the 40-year-old says he has been delighted with the attitude of his side in their last three games.

“We played good football at Swindon and the only disappointing thing is the amount of chances we missed - Saturday could have been over by half-time.

“Tuesday was a typical Birmingham Senior Cup game. Highgate were young, energetic and fair play to them they had ago.

“But if we do things right we’ve got a bit too much for them.”

Another positive to emerge from the Highgate win was the performance of Dior Angus, who capped his first senior start with two goals.

Angus has had to be patient so far this season, but Holleran believes despite his lack of opportunities, the New Windmill is still the best place for him to continue his footballing education.

“The reason we’ve had a number of players like him around the club and the reason we keep him around is that we know he’s going to be a good player.

“He trains hard, is good to have around the place and we know that if we throw him in, he won’t let us down.”

With David Kolodynski returning after taking a few days off for the birth of his son, Angus is expected to be back on the bench tomorrow alongside former Daventry Town striker Tom Berwick.

Daventry, meanwhile, will be without the cup-tied Luke Edwards, Josh O’Grady and Tom Burn.