Non-League and Academy football writer

Following his brace of goals against Burnham Ramblers on Saturday afternoon (in a Thurlow Nunn League First Division South fixture), I did a short post match interview with FC Baresi player Junior Appiah, at the Leslie Field Stadium. Junior is an FC Baresi club legend, and the 36 year old is a very good player with a lot of experience in non-League football. His brace on Saturday means that he now has five league goals for this season, already.

Could you briefly talk me through a bit about your background in football prior to rejoining FC Baresi? 

Junior: I was initially a player for FC Baresi as a teenager, but from there I just kicked on in non-League and I played for a lot of Essex based clubs. Clubs like Maldon & Tiptree, Billericay Town, and Harlow Town. 

What did you make of today’s game against Burnham Ramblers?

Junior: It was a good win and we needed that win. I thought that the FC Baresi players battled well against a good and strong Burnham Ramblers side, who were very physical and good in the air. We like to play anyway, but in certain conditions you’ve got to change up your game a little bit, and the players showed that today, both in the first and second half.

Going forward how do you think today’s win can really help FC Baresi in the league?

Junior: What I really took from this game today was our work-rate, which we now need to take in to the next game (versus Barkingside on Monday evening). It’s always nice to get a win, but we can’t dwell on that now because we now need to move on to Monday. And if we give the same work-rate that we did today then we should be fine.

If you had to pick one standout moment from your time at FC Baresi so far, what would it he?

Junior: I think that it would have to be during my first spell at the club, when I scored a free-kick winner in a cup game against Indian Gymkhana Club. That will always be a great memory for me.

What are some of your hopes for the remainder of this season with FC Baresi?

Junior: I came back to this club in recent years, and it’s always nice to return to the club that you really started at. But, the aim of me returning to Baresi was always to help the club kick on and push them in to non-League football. So it would be nice for me to finish my career by helping Baresi push on in non-League football. On a personal level I just want to play football for as long as I can.