MANAGER Jamie Tompkins praised his side’s character after seeing Ascot United defeat Camberley 2-1 in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup, writes Dave Wright.

Goals from Nathan Minhas and James Haworth in front of an excellent attendance of 277 last Friday evening saw the Yellamen earn a home preliminary round tie against Horndean a week on Saturday, August 25.

“I was very pleased with our performance, the boys played extremely well. I thought we were by far the more dominant team,” said Tompkins.

He was a bit concerned when Camberley pulled a goal back and went looking for the equaliser, but he added: “We showed a lot of character and mentality to get through that phase, which is a credit to the boys. They were fantastic.”

Tompkins’ only criticism of his team was their lack of sharpness in front of goal.

He commented: “We created a load of chances, which was pleasing, but we should have killed the game off with a third goal.

“One good thing about our team is that we are always a threat going forward and we should have had a penalty as it looked a clear handball, but, unfortunately, the officials didn’t see it.”

Since taking charge this season, Tompkins has put together a new side, describing them as a “talented group of players”, but admits: “They still have a lot to learn and improvement to be made – they know that, but they are a committed bunch who want to keep on improving.”

He continued: “We have not set any targets so far for the season. Our goal is to be better in every game.

“We don’t want to settle for average performances, we want to be better in every game, as individuals and as a team.

“We have a great bunch of boys, we trust them, and we know they are going to deliver on the pitch and perform.”

Ascot admit their pitch is not looking at its best at the moment, but that is due to the fact they have been prevented from watering it by Ascot Racecourse authorities. The race track takes preference and there have been two major meetings in the past month.