Punjab United manager and owner Chipie Sian on 1-0 FA Vase quarter-final victory over 10-man Downton - and how leaks at club impacted his preparations

Boss Chipie Sian struggled to prepare in the build-up to Punjab United’s huge FA Vase quarter-final - as he was forced to fix leaks at the club!

Sian’s play-off chasing Southern Counties East League Premier Division side, who have already reached the Kent Senior Trophy final this season, beat 10-man Downton 1-0 at home to move into the final four of the national competition on Saturday.

While Punjab United owner Sian is the club figurehead, he was keen to point out others deserve just as much credit as him, with top scorer Jack Hopkins’ late goal moving the Gravesend outfit within touching distance of a Wembley final.

“We have done this together,” he said. “I know I’m the one person, running it all, but there are so many people behind the scenes that have helped out from day one.

“Do I make decisions? Do I drive it forward? Yes - that’s my headache. If it goes wrong, that’s my fault but, when it goes right, this is what all of it is for.

“All this week, the showers have been leaking, the roof has been leaking, and that’s all I have been doing. I couldn’t concentrate on the game!

“On Tuesday, I finally sat down and said ‘We’ll get this (the leaks) sorted in the next couple of days - but we have to look at what we’re doing with the formation.’.

“We got it right. I’m glad I picked the team I did.

“It’s probably the worst performance we have put in footballing-wise for a long time, to be honest, but games go like that.

“You just have to keep digging away and we did.”

There were jubilant celebrations among the crowd of 655, both when midfielder Hopkins headed in on 87 minutes and at full-time, and Sian conceded the victory had left him feeling emotional.

He said: “I’m really proud.

“I got really emotional, especially with