Cards and Shots go head to head

Brian Caffarey
2:52pm, Wed 23rd Dec 2015

Aldershot Town v Woking
3pm on Saturday 26 December 2015

The Cards and the Shots do battle on Boxing Day in the first â€˜legâ€™ of their Christmas/New Year â€˜double headerâ€™. Garry Hillâ€™s side, coming off the back of four wins in their last five games, including an outstanding 5-1 win at Gateshead last Saturday, will be hoping for some rare success at the Rec against a Shots side whose victory over Guiseley last weekend ended a run of seven straight defeats. Switch off the TV and get down to the Rec to cheer on the Cards!

WOKING

The Cardsâ€™ triumph at Gateshead provided irrefutable evidence that Garry Hillâ€™s side have truly recovered from their own dreadful run from mid-September to late November which saw them win only once in eleven games, including suffering a humiliating 3-0 defeat at Maidenhead Town in the FA Cup. The tide turned at Chester on 21 November and since then, in spite of a narrow defeat at Barrow, the Cards have notched up impressive victories over Tranmere Rovers and Lincoln City at home, and Boreham Wood and Gateshead away.

Garry has been able, at last, to send out a settled side in recent games and it would be no surprise if, barring any new injuries, he sticks to the same line-up in this match, although with three games in a week youâ€™d expect Keiran Murtagh in particular to get some more game time following his return from an operation. Cards fans will be fervently hoping that in-form Dan Holman, who had a successful loan spell with the Shots last season, will have recovered from the knock he received at the International Stadium.

ALDERSHOT TOWN

Barry Smith, formerly manager of Alloa Athletic and Dundee FC, took over the reins at Aldershot in late April. A few players remain from last season, including defenders Sam Hatton and Joe Oastler, midfielder Damon Lathrope and keeper Phil Smith, but Smith made a number of signings in the summer, concentrating mainly on young players who were keen to have the opportunity to play regularly at this level. Several had already been on loan at the EBB Stadium, including defender Tom Richards, formerly with Fulham; defender Sean McGinty from Rochdale but who numbers Charlton Athletic, Manchester United and Sheffield United among his former clubs; and midfielder Jim Stevenson, previously with Luton Town. Other additions included Charlie Walker, a striker from Luton Town; ex-Card Luke Oliver, previously with Forest Green Rovers, Bradford City and Stevenage; Jack Saville, a defender who was with Barnet; Omar Beckles, a defender formerly with Millwall and St Albans City; Dan Walker, a striker previously with Braintree Town; and Jake Gallagher, a midfielder with Welling United. Also signed were two experienced strikers in Matthew Barnes-Homer and Richard Brodie but the former has returned to one of his many former clubs, Kidderminster Harriers, on loan.

Two recent â€˜on loanâ€™ additions are 19 year-old winger Marcus Harness from Burton Albion and 21 year-old striker Daniel Carr from Cambridge United.

The Shots had a slow start to the season, not picking up a win till their fifth match but their recent poor run began in November with defeats in the league against Lincoln, Wrexham and Cheltenham at home and Kidderminster away and continued into December, with a 5-2 defeat at Dover, followed by defeat at Eastleigh in the FA Trophy. They currently lie in 16th place with 31 points from 25 games, six points and six places below the Cards. The Shotsâ€™ home form has been their Achilles heel, with only four wins in thirteen outings

GETTING THERE

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

Official site: www.theshots.co.uk

By coach

The Cards Trust coach leaves the Laithwaite Community Stadium at 1pm.

By car

Head for Aldershot town centre. The ground is just by the railway bridge. Parking is available in the town centre â€˜pay and displayâ€™ car parks, about a five-minute walk from the ground.

By train

There are no trains running on Boxing Day between Woking and Aldershot.

ADMISSION PRICES

Adult â€“ Seating - Â£19; Standing - Â£17
Concession (Over 65, Military personnel ID required, Student 16-21 ID required) â€“ Seating - Â£15; Standing - Â£13
Junior (11-U16) â€“ Seating - Â£7; Standing - Â£5
Under 11â€™s â€“ FREE (with paying adult â€“ max 2 per adult)

Disabled same as above, with carer free in both sections.
Students can obtain a concession rate on production of an NUS card.

LAST TIME OUT

Woking 1 Aldershot Town 2
28 December 2014

The Shots gained their revenge for the Cardsâ€™ early season victory at the Rec with this victory a year ago. Woking went into this game on the back of a commendable 2-2 draw at Eastleigh on Boxing Day, although their recent form had been generally poor, whilst the Shots had suffered their fourth defeat in a row, against Barnet. But Garry Hillâ€™s side were lacklustre, barely offering any threat to the Shotsâ€™ goal till the final ten minutes or so, when Jack Marriott pulled a goal back.

Woking got off to the worst possible start, conceding a goal as early as the 7th minute. Andre McCollin clipped the ball in with the outside of his boot with no great pace. However, Ross Worner, playing his last game of his second loan spell, seemed to be distracted by an attempted header and the ball trickled into the far corner.

Aldershot doubled their lead in the 28th minute. A cross came in which, perhaps, Worner should have come for. Brett Williams headed it goalwards. Worner got his hand to it but could only tip it onto the bar, presenting Williams with a simple tap-in.

Jack Marriottâ€™s goal in the 88th minute came when he deflected the ball past Dan Thomas after Josh Payneâ€™s cross had looped off a defender.

Woking: Ross Worner, James Clarke, Joe McNerney, Joey Jones (Adam Newton 26), Chris Arthur, Jack Marriott, Keiran Murtagh, Josh Payne, John Goddard (Kevin Betsy 46), Giuseppe Sole (Scott Rendell 70), Dean Morgan

Unused subs: Jake Cole, Theo Lewis

Goal: Jack Marriott 88

Aldershot Town: Dan Thomas, Joe Oastler, Chris Barker, Sam Hatton, Brett Williams, Jaydon Gibbs, Jordan Roberts, Kieran Forbes, Andre McCollin (Dan Fitchett 80), Manny Oyeleke, Dan Holman

Unused subs: Anthony Tonkin, Tristan Plummer, Naby Diallo, Tom Derry

Goals: Andre McCollin 7, Brett Williams 28

Attendance: 3556 (746 away fans)

NEXT GAME

The Cards are at home to Boreham Wood at 3pm on Monday 28 December, and then entertain the Shots in the â€˜return legâ€™ of the Christmas/New Year â€˜doubleâ€™ at 3pm on Monday 2 January 2016.

Come on, you Cards!

Cards see off local rivals

Alan Barnes
6:37pm, Sun 27th Dec 2015

Aldershot Town 0 Woking 1
Vanarama National League
26th December 2015

Woking entered the busy holiday fixture list in good form, having won five of the last six games. Aldershot, meanwhile, won last Saturday for the first time in eight.
An overcast day with a swirling wind made it difficult for the players at the EBB stadium as both sets of fans in the 3,000 plus crowd made for a great atmosphere.

Woking started with the side that had done so well at Gateshead the previous week. The home side, however, made four changes from the side which had started the previous week against Guiseley.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested as both teams strove to gain the upper hand in the difficult conditions. The first shot in anger saw Sam Hatton pull well wide from outside the box. This was followed by a Dan Holman effort which was also wide, the travelling Cards fans no doubt relieved to see their marksman fully recovered after limping off late in the game at Gateshead.

Ten minutes into the match, Tom Richards crossed from the left for Aldershot, but his low ball evaded everyone. Woking man of the match Joey Jones then found Bruno Andrade with a long ball left to right. The resulting corner was flicked just wide by Joe Quigley at the near post. The next chance fell to the home side but a cross from the right could not be turned in.

Woking were now starting to impose themselves on the game and quickly broke up field where Holman made space for himself, but Phil Smith grabbed the ball before he could finish the move.

Jake Caprice was making some good runs down the right, but without managing to cause any real threat to the home rearguard.

Aldershot started to gain a modicum of control around the half hour mark, but the Woking defence held firm. Any shot that did get through was either wide or easily dealt with by Jake Cole in the Woking goal.

With only five minutes of the half remaining, the visitors broke the deadlock with the only goal of the game - and a classy affair it was too. Jones found Holman, who slipped a great reverse ball into the path of John Goddard who finished with aplomb.

Half-time: Aldershot Town 0 Woking 1

Aldershot were more urgent in their play at the start of the second period, but could not breach the Woking defence. Although the visitors tended to sit deep during this period they were never seriously troubled.

As the half wore on, the home side resorted to pumping long balls into the Woking penalty area. Although these occasionally found the heads of Aldershot forwards, they rarely looked likely to threaten an equaliser with Cole dealing competently with anything which came his way.

Indeed, with a bit of luck, the Cards might have extended their lead on a couple of occasions with a little more composure in front of goal.

Overall, it was a solid performance from the visitors who looked much the better team in the first half and dealt effectively with a fairly lacklustre opposition in the second.

This win leaves the Cards five points off fifth place. It also sees them just ten points shy of the fifty point mark, which is always Garry Hill's initial safety target at the start of each season. The big question now for all fans is how many of the current crop of loanees, most notably Dan Holman, will the manager be able to retain as he looks to continue the team's push towards the play-off places.

Next up will be a home fixture tomorrow against Boreham Wood, before the eagerly anticipated return match against Aldershot on January 2nd.

WOKING: Jake Cole, Jake Caprice, Mark Ricketts, Brian Saah, Bruno Andrade, John Goddard( Guiseppe Sole 84), Matt Robinson, Bruno Andrade( Keiran Murtagh 69), Joe Quigley (Chris Arthur 77), Dan Holman, Cameron Norman

Goal: John Goddard (40)

Unused subs: Nick Hamann, Jimmy Keohane

Caution: Guiseppe Sole (90+2)

ALDERSHOT TOWN: Phil Smith, Joe Oastler, Sean McGinty, Sam Hatton (Dan Walker 72), Jim Stevenson, Tom Richards, Cheye Alexander, Omar Beckles, Jake Gallagher, Richard Brodie, Daniel Carr ( Charlie Walker 63)

Unused subs: Dan Thomas, Damon Lathrope, Luke Oliver

My Man of the Match: Joey Jones - a colossus in defence, coupled with some excellent forward runs also

Attendance: 3150 (710 Woking fans)

Aldershot Town LINEUP

WOKING LINEUP
1	Jake Cole
2	Jake Caprice
26	Cameron Norman
5	Brian Saah
7	Joey Jones
4	Mark Ricketts
14	Matt Robinson
15	Bruno Andrade ('64)
11	John Goddard ('84)
20	Dan Holman
19	Joe Quigley ('78)
BENCH
18	Nick Hamann
3	Chris Arthur ('78)
8	Keiran Murtagh ('64)
23	Jimmy Keohane
10	Giuseppe Sole ('84)