Exeter City’s Matt Jay says the motivating factor of getting to Wembley Stadium will spur on him and the players in their bid to cause an upset in the Leasing.com Trophy semi-final tomorrow night.
The Grecians take on League One side Portsmouth at Fratton Park for a place in the final. It looks a daunting task as Portsmouth have won 10 of their last 11 matches in all competitions and play in the division above City.
However, City have beaten Oxford United and Ipswich Town on their way to the semi-final of this competition and are determined to cause another shock.
“We are really looking forward to the challenge,” said Matt. “It will be a tough game, obviously, it is away from home and against a very good side, who are doing well in their league. However, we will be there, hoping that we can cause a bit of an upset and get into the final.”
Speaking about the chance of playing at Wembley, Matt added: “It is not something you think about when you start of this competition, but now we have got through the rounds and we have done quite well, it is definitely something that is going to motivate us, because we are only one game away.
“We have beaten some good sides along the way, some teams from higher divisions and some teams who have been doing well in their league and also the young Premier League sides. So, we will go into tomorrow’s game with a lot of confidence that we can cause a bit of an upset.”
Fratton Park is not a bad stadium itself though, with a capacity of 21,000.
“It has got a lot of history hasn’t it?” said Matt. “It is a ground I have not played at before, but I have been to watch a few times and it will be a good stadium to play in.
“We have been doing very well. The last three league games we have managed to pick up some good results. I think it is a chance for some of the boys to show what they are made of and hopefully we can make this run in this competition continue.”