Cards look to bounce back

Staines Town v Woking
3pm on Saturday 22 October 2011

The Cards return to league action on Saturday when they make the short trip to Staines Town. They will want to banish as quickly as possible the ‘horrors’ of last Saturday’s surprising FA Cup defeat at Maidenhead United, so Garry Hill and Cards fans will be looking for a very determined display.

WOKING

It will be interesting to see what, if any, changes Garry makes to the side in response to last Saturday’s game. Perhaps only Mark Ricketts can look back on his own performance that day with any sense of pride. Extensive changes seem unlikely, though, since Garry will want to see how players who’ve performed well in previous games respond to this setback and, in any case, the size of Woking’s squad doesn’t allow for a massive upheaval. It wouldn’t be surprising, though, to see the return of Adam Newton and Wayne Gray, if both are fit, and both Dale Binns and Gez Sole must have a claim for a starting place.

Garry has pointed out that, both this season and last, his side have responded well to setbacks, so let’s hope Saturday sees the start of another winning run.

STAINES TOWN

The Swans have had a disappointing start to the season and currently lie in 20th place in the table with nine points from two wins, three draws and seven defeats. They lost their last home league game 2-0 to Dorchester Town. But they had an encouraging 2-0 win at Worthing in the FA Cup last weekend and manager Steve Cordery has been busy strengthening his squad.

A few weeks back Cordery re-signed striker Mark Nwokeji, whose goalscoring exploits for Staines saw him win a move to Dagenham and Redbridge before a subsequent move to AFC Wimbledon, for whom he scored last season in our FA Trophy triumph at the Kingsmead Stadium. More recently, Cordery has brought in two loan signings from Wycombe Wanderers: Jesse Graham, an 18 year-old midfielder, and Charles Dunne, a 17 year-old full-back. Another recent arrival is Dean Wells from Hampton and Richmond.

The Swans have some useful players with the likes of Andre Scarlett, Howard Newton, Dave Wheeler and Marc Charles-Smith prominent, and are likely to provide a tough test for Woking in spite of their lowly league position. There are Woking connections in the shape of ex-Cards Simon Jackson and Peter Smith.

GETTING THERE

Wheatsheaf Park
Wheatsheaf Lane
Staines
Middlesex
TW18 2PD

The Cards Trust is not running a coach to this game.

By Car

From Woking go over junction 11 of the M25 into Chertsey, turn left onto Chertsey Road at the roundabout, then straight onto the B387 / Fordwater Road. At the end of this road turn right onto the B375 / Bridge Road. After a mile take 1st exit at roundabout onto Littleton Lane. At next roundabout take 1st exit onto B376 / Shepperton Road, then turn right onto the B376 / The Broadway, followed by the next left onto Staines Road. After 1 mile turn left onto Wheatsheaf Lane, and the ground will be on your right.

By Train

Nearest station: Staines

The journey there involves changes at Weybridge and Virginia Water. The 13.03 from Woking would get you to Weybridge at 13.13. You then need to catch the 13.33 to Virginia Water, arriving at 13.45, followed by the 13.49 to Staines, arriving at 13.58. There is an identical journey half an hour later.

An alternative, if you want to avoid two changes, is to get a train to Clapham Junction. Trains for Staines leave there at 08 and 38 minutes past each hour, taking 29 minutes, so, for example, the 13.38 arrives at 14.07.

On the way back there are trains at 14 and 44 minutes past the hour direct to Weybridge, with a 20 minute wait for a train to Woking.

The ground is a 15 minute walk from the train station. Type the postcode into www.streetmap.co.uk to see possible routes.

ADMISSION PRICES

Adults £12, Concessions £6, U16s £5, Family ticket (Mum, Dad and two children) £30.

LAST SEASON

Staines Town 1 Woking 0
16 October 2010

This third league defeat in a row saw Woking slip to 15th in the table. Graham Baker brought in Alan Inns to replace the suspended Adam Doyle, while Craig Faulconbridge and Ola Sogbanmu started up front, although the latter was to be replaced midway through the second half by Elvis Hammond, making his debut. It was a tale of poor finishing, with shots too often off target. In the end the Cards were undone at the death by a quality strike from Staines captain Andre Scarlett.

Woking 2 Staines Town 0
19 February 2011

This victory was the fourth league win in a row, with the Cards notching up nine goals with none conceded. The Swans aided Woking’s cause considerably when Richard Butler was sent off with only seventeen minutes gone, apparently for abusing a linesman. Moses Ademola gave Woking the lead before half-time from the penalty spot, with Elvis Hammond adding a superb second – and his tenth of the season – midway through the second half. Reiss Noel also hit the post and Craig Dobson, making his ‘step over’ debut as a substitute, hit the bar. With Kieran Murtagh, Jay Davies and Mark Ricketts pulling the strings in midfield, the football was a joy to behold!


Come on, you Cards!

P.S. Don’t forget that the Cards are at home to Weston-super-Mare on Monday evening. Kick-off 7.45pm.