Aldershot Town v Woking
7.45pm on Tuesday 9 September 2014

Unbeaten Woking travel to fierce rivals, the Shots, on Tuesday evening for what should be a tremendous match. Our Hampshire neighbours have nearly always had the better of us in previous encounters but this Woking side has already shown this season that it has great resilience to back up its football skills. Could this be the Cards’ turn to be top dog? Make sure you’re there to cheer on Garry’s side!

WOKING

The Cards lie third in the table after four wins and three draws. They have won their last three games and are unbeaten on their travels in their last nine Conference Premier encounters. Saturday’s win over Lincoln City was fairly comfortable, with Woking always looking as though they could conjure another goal on the back of a talented and in-form front trio of Scott Rendell, Dean Morgan and Gez Sole. But they were equally reliant on some superb defending from, in particular, Joe McNerney and Mark Ricketts in central defence against a physically testing Imps outfit.

Unfortunately, Keiran Murtagh will be missing again on Tuesday evening, on international duty. Adam Newton was also absent on Saturday, and both Gez Sole and Chris Arthur clearly picked up knocks. Although Garry has more depth at his disposal than last year, he would not want to be missing too many of those players on Tuesday evening.

ALDERSHOT TOWN

The Shots have also made a promising start to the season in what has probably been a tougher sequence of fixtures than the Cards’. They started their campaign with a 3-1 home win over Altrincham, followed by an injury-time 1-0 away defeat at Eastleigh. Next up was a 2-0 win at Telford, followed by 1-1 draws at home to Forest Green Rovers and away to Torquay United. The Shots then inflicted a first defeat on free-scoring Grimsby Town 2-1 at home but lost 1-0 at second-placed FC Halifax Town yesterday. The Shots lie 13th in the table, with four points fewer than Woking.

Defender Chris Barker and midfielder Mark Molesley were missing from the Shots’ side yesterday, while substitute striker Joseph N’Guessan turned his ankle after coming on.

Brett Williams, in today’s Non-League Paper, has already thrown down the gauntlet to Garry Hill’s side, saying how much he enjoys playing against a club which, he feels, did not give him ‘a fair crack’. Woking fans, on the other hand, will wonder why he did not make more of the chances he was given at Kingfield.

Andy Scott’s new signings in the summer included ex-Portsmouth keeper, Phil Smith; defender Glenn Wilson from Salisbury City, who had a brief loan spell at Kingfield when with Crawley Town; defender/midfielder Sam Hatton, well known from his time with AFC Wimbledon and Grimsby Town; midfielder Damon Lathrope, previously with Torquay United; Kieron Forbes, midfielder, on loan from Forest Green Rovers; Salisbury City’s top scorer last season, Dan Fitchett; striker Joseph N’Guessan, on loan from Stevenage; Nabi Diallo, a midfielder who has appeared for Weston-Super-Mare amongst other clubs; and Tom Derry, a 19 year-old striker on non-contract terms, who was formerly with Gillingham.

GETTING THERE

Aldershot Town Football Club
EBB Stadium
High Street
Aldershot
Hants
GU11 1TW

By coach

The Cards Trust coach leaves Kingfield at 6pm. The cost is £5 for members and £10 for non-members. Ring the Club Shop (01483 772470) or email shop@wokingfc.co.uk on Monday to find out if any places are left.

By car

Head for Aldershot town centre. The ground is just by the railway bridge. The club’s website advises parking in the town centre ‘pay and display’ car parks, about a five-minute walk from the ground.

By train

There are direct trains from Woking to Aldershot at 17.51(18.08), 18.21(18.40) and 18.53 (19.10). There is a train back at 22.04.

The ground is only a few minutes’ walk, down the hill, from the train station.

ADMISSION PRICES

Adult – Seating - £19; Standing - £17
Concession (Over 65, Military personnel ID required, Student 16-21 ID required) – Seating - £15; Standing - £13
Junior – Seating - £7; Standing - £5
Under 6’s – FREE

Disabled tickets: £13 (seat or terrace), carer admitted free. (Proof of eligibility required.) Wheelchair Users: limited spaces available. Tickets must be purchased in advance by telephoning 01252 320211. Carer free on both sections.

Students can obtain a concession rate on production of an NUS card.

LAST SEASON

Aldershot Town 2 Woking 1
26 August 2013

The Cards came into this game on the back of a disappointing home defeat by Welling United and suffering from early-season indiscipline, with Josh Payne, Jack Parkinson and Giuseppe Sole all suspended. Garry Hill started with a new central defensive partnership of Joe McNerney and Mike Cestor, with Gavin McCallum replacing Anthony McNamee. George Bowerman continued up front.

It was a disastrous start for the short-of-confidence Cards. With only 22 seconds on the clock, Matt Paterson brushed aside a challenge from Joe McNerney and strode on to plant a shot inside Aaron Howe’s far post.

The Shots doubled their lead in the 19th minute, Manny Oyeleke bursting through the Cards’ midfield to release Paterson on the left. His fine cross was met by Brett Williams at the far post, who guided the ball home. A few minutes later the Shots were denied a third goal by a hotly-disputed offside decision.

Woking offered little by way of response, with only Gavin McCallum looking at all threatening.

Woking reduced the deficit in the second half with a possibly fortuitous penalty, the Shots’ keeper being adjudged to have brought down Gavin Williams, who converted from the spot. But the Shots had ample opportunities to make the game safe, with substitute Aaron Wickham spurning three great chances.

Woking 1 Aldershot Town 2
21 April 2014

A crowd of over 4,700 saw the Shots secure Conference Premier safety with this somewhat fortunate win in the final game of the season. Missing four players (Marriott, Ricketts, Murtagh and Jones) who had contributed to a fine close to the season, the Cards nevertheless had the better chances in the first half. But midway through the second half, with the Shots increasingly dominant, Brett Williams scored from the spot after Mike Cestor was penalised for handball. Brett Johnson equalised seven minutes later but, with the Cards pouring forward in search of a winner, a Shots counter-attack in the 83rd minute saw a strike from Molesley take a huge deflection past Beasant.

NEXT GAME

The Cards are at home to Chester on Saturday. How about treating yourself to a meal in the new Geoff Chapple Lounge?


Come on, you Cards!