MKJ Group
Friendly
7:45pm - FridayFri 29th JulyJul 2016
The Laithwaite Community Stadium | Att: 641

Woking
Woking
1 - 2

AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon

Cards welcome the Dons on Friday

Brian Caffarey
6:58pm, Wed 27th Jul 2016
Woking v AFC Wimbledon
Pre-season Friendly
7.45pm on Friday 29 July 2016

The Cards finish their pre-season friendlies on Friday evening with an attractive fixture against the Dons, who will be starting their new campaign in League One. Cards fans will have been encouraged by their side’s performance against Luton Town in the 1-1 draw on Tuesday night following the 3-1 defeat of Swindon Town last Saturday. Former Academy player Charlie Carter was added to the squad earlier this week and and it was announced today that left back Ben Gordon has also signed up and that Dennon Lewis has joined on a season-long loan from Watford. It wouldn’t be surprising if one or two more names were added before Friday’s game. Why not come down to the Laithwaite Community Stadium and have a final look at how the side is shaping up?

WOKING

Tuesday night’s game provided Garry Hill with another opportunity to look at potential new signings, all of whom had also figured against Swindon Town. They include strikers Zac Ansah and Chike Kandi and wingers Nathan Ralph and Charles Banya (though the latter has also filled in at left back). Cards fans will be a little concerned that Ismael Yakubu has got very few minutes under his belt so far, although the centre back partnership of Brian Saah and Joey Jones has looked sound.

AFC WIMBLEDON

AFC’s astonishing rise up the football pyramid continued last season with promotion through the play-offs under manager Neal Ardley. League One will provide a tough test but the Dons should be good enough to stay up, while formal consultation continues on their planned move to a new ground at the greyhound stadium at Plough Lane.

During the summer the Dons lost striker Ade Azeez in a somewhat surprising move to Partick Thistle but have brought in former Oldham and Leeds striker Dom Poleon, as well as former Stevenage players Chris Whelpdale and Dean Parrett. The Dons’ pre-season seems to be picking up nicely. After a 4-3 defeat at Dover Athletic and a 1-1 draw at Margate they defeated Reading 2-0 at the weekend, both goals coming from Poleon. This (Wednesday) evening they are facing a strong Crystal Palace side before coming to the Laithwaite on Friday.

The Dons have a nice mixture of experience and youth in their squad, with several very promising players coming through their Academy, especially midfielder Alfie Egan and the very pacy and tricky winger Toyosi Olusanya, both of whom figured strongly in the Dons’ very successful Youth Cup campaign last season which saw the club reach the last 16.

ADMISSION PRICES

Adults £10
Concessions £5

COMING UP

The Cards start their Vanarama National League season on Saturday 6 August with a testing home game against Lincoln City, now managed by former Braintree manager Danny Cowell.


Come on, you Cards!


Tidy display against Wombles despite defeat

Nathan Thomas
12:00am, Fri 29th Jul 2016
Woking 1 AFC Wimbledon 2
July 29th 2016
Pre-Season Friendly

Woking FC were just edged by League 1 newcomers AFC Wimbledon on Friday night with two headers from Tom Elliot.

The Cards faced Wimbledon on a humid July evening at the Laithwaites Community stadium. Woking came into the game in confident mood following positive results against Football League opposition, Swindon Town and Luton Town.

The game started in fairly frantic mood as both sides tried to assert some sort of midfield dominance. The first clear chance of the game fell to the League 1 newcomers; a long throw found Tom Elliot unmarked, but the striker could not generate enough pace on his header and the ball fell gratefully into Brandon Hall’s arms.

The 9th minute brought the first goal of the game. Elliot had obviously learnt from his previous headed effort and made no mistake this time. A corner from the right was viciously whipped into the back post and man-mountain Elliot powered a header from the six-yard box into Woking’s goal. The Former Leeds and England U18 product took his header with composure and made room for himself by just pulling off his marker.

The Cards almost instantly replied as the game continued its rapid start. A minute following the Wimbledon goal, the Cards won a free kick 25 yards out on the right. Fabio Sariava bent an effort that looked to be looping over James Shea’s goal but the ball rattled his crossbar.

As the half grew, so did Woking’s confidence. Successions of neat interplay involving Penny, Banya and Kandi were to no avail in the 18th minute as the Cards struggled to produce that killer ball that their League opponents previously did.

The 23rd minute saw another clear chance fall to Wimbledon. The ball was taken down cutely on the halfway line by ex Chelsea academy man Dom Poleom who slotted in the onrushing fullback whose ball found yet another header in the form of Alfie Egan which found the target. However a strong palm from Brandon Hall saw the woodwork hit for the second time in the match.

The Cards were dealt a blow as target man Delano Sam-Yorke (replaced by Gozi Ugwu) trudged off with an injury that didn’t look too serious on the 29th minute; obviously a precautionary measure with the season starting next Saturday.

Woking restored parity on the 41st minute with a goal from Charlie Penny. Yorke’s replacement, Ugwu, injected pace and guile into the Cards attack. A clever flick found Chike Kandi, who drilled an effort from the left by-line across the Wimbledon goal forcing a save. Shea couldn’t push Kandi’s vicious shot fully out of danger and Charlie Penny beat his marker in a foot race and slid the ball in from 3 yards.

The first half drew to a close with a speculative effort from Jake Caprice, which Shea this time had no trouble in holding. The Cards looked the stronger team and probably didn’t want half time to arrive.

Half time: Woking 1 AFC Wimbledon 1

The Cards and The Dons made no changes at the start of the 2nd half with it being the last Pre Season game for Woking and the penultimate for Wimbledon - and more minutes required in players’ legs.

Much like the first half, Woking started the half sluggishly. 2 minutes in, Elliot doubled his tally for the evening with another free header. Poleom was found on the left, then cut inside to chip in a delicate cross towards man mountain Elliot who produced a carbon copy goal to his first with a powerful effort on the edge of the six yard box. Hall, however, got a touch on this occasion but could only parry it into the roof of his net.

Penny, a menace all night for the Cards, catalysed a move that found the marauding Jake Caprice whose cross mustered a succession of corners on the 55th minute which culminated in nothing.

Fabio Saraiva left foot threatened for the 2nd time of the night on the 61st minute. He found himself unmarked almost being encouraged to shoot from 30 yards out; his effort didn’t trouble the Wimbledon goal as it was drilled wide of the mark.

That was Saraiva’s last involvement of the evening as Woking searched for an equaliser with what looked like 4-2-4 formation. A flurry of substitutions midway through the 2nd half saw Caprice, Banya, Saraiva, Yakubu, Kandi and Carter depart, being replaced by Jones, Watford loanee Lewis, Ralph, Ansah, Gordon and Smith-Joseph.

Wimbledon missed a glaring opportunity on the 69th minute to practically end proceedings as goal scorer Elliot raced past his marker and almost turned creator for Poleom with a rasping ball across the edge of the box. Poleom somehow poked the ball handsomely wide from 3 yards out and also took a knock from the post for his efforts.

They were nearly made to rue that missed chance swiftly after. A deep ball into the Dons box eventually bobbled out to Max Kretzschmar who did well to carve out a shooting opportunity from the edge of the box which forced another parry from Shea. Unfortunately for the Cards, no player in red and white was present to sweep it in. The Dons keeper did well to this time parry away from his goal rather than in front of him.

Substitute Smith-Joseph missed a half chance in the 85th for the Cards. The ball was fizzed in by Gordon who found the lively Smith-Joseph, who unfortunately fluffed his lines with an air shot that looked destined for the top corner.

Wimbledon eventually looked to see the game out by making their first change of the game, with Toyosil Ocusanya coming on as the final whistle blew in a pretty pointless substitution. The Cards produced a fair showing against a tough AFC Wimbledon who had previously beaten Reading 2-0 in pre-season. The Laithwaite Community Stadium will next welcome Lincoln City, where things get real.

Woking: Brandon Hall, Jake Caprice (Dennon Lewis 65), Charles Banya (Nathan Ralph 65), Charlie Carter (Ben Gordon 65), Brian Saah, Ishmael Yakubu (Aaron Smith-Joseph 70), Fabio Saraiva (Joey Jones 65), Max Kretzschmar, Delano Sam-Yorke (Gozie Ugwu 28), Charlie Penny, Chike Kandi (Zac Ansah 65)

Goal: Charlie Carter (41)

Subs not used: Kieran Murtagh, Michael Poke

AFC Wimbledon: James Shea, Toby Sibbick, Sean Kelly, Dannie Bulman, Will Nightingale, Ryan Sweeney, Daniel Gallagher, Alfie Egan, Tom Elliott (Toyosil Ocusanya 90), Dominic Poleom, Chris Whelpdale

Goals: Tom Elliott (9, 47)

Subs not used: Paul Kalamabayi, Joe McDonnell, Seanan Mckillop, George Oakley, Nez Belliki

My MOTM:
First Half - Charles Banya. Was a constant attacking threat down Woking’s left hand side, added a few tricks and flicks and still remained defensively solid as Wimbledon continued to probe down the right.
Second Half - Dennon Lewis. Added pace and quality down the right and made a real impression when he came on. The Watford loanee looks a real prospect.

Attendance: 641

Referee: Graham Horwood

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