NEW Zealand international striker Greg Draper says that the mood in the Basingstoke Town dressing room is excellent ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup clash with AFC Wimbledon.

The Camrose club go into the game having won their last five games and off the back of a fine 4-1 victory over previously unbeaten Bromley – meaning they are full of confidence going into the visit of Wimbledon.

“It was the first time Bromley had lost in the league so the lads are buzzing and we are all excited about Saturday,” Draper, pictured above, said. “We just have to carry on playing the way we have been and see what happens. It’s our biggest game of the season so far and hopefully there will be a big crowd for it.”

Draper has had a big hand in Town’s recent good form, finding the back of the net eight times in the last six games.

However, his goal against Bromley at the weekend was the 21-year-old’s first in the Blue Square South – and he admits that it has taken him time to adapt to life in English football.

“It took a while to get my first league goal,” he said. “I would like to have got it a lot earlier but I started scoring in the cups and managed to carry that on in the league on Saturday.

“The game is a lot more physical over here and it has taken some getting used to.

“It took me a few weeks to adapt and I was not very happy with the way I was playing but I am starting to get a lot more confident now and scoring some goals has certainly helped.”

Draper lived in Somerset until he was 12 before moving to New Zealand and represented the All Whites at under-20 level and the 2008 Olympic Games.

He won a full cap in 2008, playing a World Cup Qualifier against Fiji, but missed out on a place in the squad for the finals.

The striker is enjoying catching up with friends and family back in the country of his birth, while playing in the FA Cup is an added bonus.

“Playing in the FA Cup is something all kids dream about,” he said. “It’s great and something to tell all of my friends and relatives in New Zealand.”