Glen Harrington
12:00am, Sat 3rd Oct 2020
Woking vs Solihull Moors
Vanarama National League
Saturday 3rd October 2020
The Cards will return to National League action for the first time in almost seven months on Saturday afternoon, when Solihull Moors will be the visitors to the Laithwaite Community Stadium in the first league fixture of the 2020/21 season.
It’s been a surreal summer for football supporters across the world, but no more so than for fans of non-league clubs, who have been forced to wait longer than most to see their teams return to competitive action. Whilst it will be far from ‘normal’, with games set to take place behind closed doors for the foreseeable future, it’s fantastic to see football finally returning to Woking after one of the longest breaks in living memory. And remember, you can watch this afternoon’s fixture live by tuning into the #CardsLive stream. You can purchase your ticket at
www.wokingfc.co.uk/live.
The opening game of the season is always tough to predict, particularly in non-league where almost every squad regularly sees a mass summer overhaul in personnel, but manager Alan Dowson will have cause for optimism – he’s won both of his opening day fixtures with the Cards, beating East Thurrock United 1-0 in 2018 thanks to a late Max Kretzschmar penalty, before last year’s 2-0 success away to Dagenham & Redbridge, when Kane Ferdinand and Moussa Diarra found the net. We were also on the winning side the last time we played host on the opening day, Inih Effiong and Joe Ward goals seeing off Gateshead in 2017. Pre-season form has been decidedly mixed, the gloss of encouraging wins over Southampton Under-23s and Merstham, plus draws with Watford Under-23s and Dorking Wanderers, somewhat tempered by last weekend’s 3-1 reverse at Hampton & Richmond Borough. But after a number of late additions to the squad Dowse will be confident that he’s assembled a side more than capable of holding its own at this level once again.
Visitors Solihull Moors will start the season as one of the favourites for promotion. They narrowly missed out on going up to the Football League in 2018, when they finished second to champions Leyton Orient before losing in the play-offs to AFC Fylde. Last season proved more challenging for them and they ended the shortened season in a relatively disappointing ninth place – with the same points tally and record as the Cards. Their mid-season form was enough to spell the end for manager Tim Flowers, who departed in January of this year, with former West Bromwich Albion coach James Shan his replacement. Expectations will once again by high for the Moors after an impressive summer recruitment drive, which has included dangerous striker Adam Rooney, most recently of Salford City, along with ex-Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Gleeson.
Team News
Dowse has plenty of options to pick from this weekend. In defence, last season’s regulars – goalkeeper Craig Ross, Jack Cook, and Josh Casey – should all start. Nathan Collier, also returning for another season, and academy graduate Leo Hamblin, provide versatile cover, but the Cards will be without Ben Gerring (injured), as well as fellow centre-backs Moussa Diarra and Manny Parry, who have both moved on this summer. This week Dowse has added right-back Tyler Reid from Swindon Town, along with two centre-backs on loan, Saul Shotton (West Bromwich Albion) and Sam Cartwright (Peterborough United), who could be competing for a spot alongside Cook at the heart of the Woking back four.
In midfield, Kane Ferdinand looks set to miss out on a starting berth after having his pre-season campaign limited by injury, meaning new signings Charlie Cooper, with FC Halifax Town last season, and Tommy Block, from Scottish Premiership side Hibernian, look likely to start in the middle. Fan favourite John Goddard, who returned to the Cards this summer after a four-year absence, will be competing with Max Kretzschmar for the more advanced of the midfield roles.
Further forward, Dave Tarpey and Malachi Napa, the Oxford United loanee who has impressed in the last two pre-season games, appear to be the obvious choices out wide; although Woking fans will have an anxious wait to see if Matt Jarvis, with a goal and two assists from his first two appearances at the end of last season, is fit enough to force his way into that equation. Up front, another ex-Card returns in the shape of former loanee Connor Hall following a spell with Bolton Wanderers, whilst Oxford United loanee Slavi Spasov and academy graduate Jayden Wareham provide alternative options for the boss.
Last Time Out
Woking 2-0 Solihull Moors – National League (24th August 2019)
This game fell in the midst of the Cards’ brilliant run at the start of last season which saw them win seven of their first eight league games. At the time, it was first against second in Solihull’s favour, with the result seeing the Cards leapfrog their opponents to the top of the table. Jake Hyde and Manny Parry grabbed two early goals for the hosts four minutes apart and it was a blow from which the visitors never truly recovered, with Dowse’s side surviving a handful of second-half scares before emerging as relatively comfortable winners.
Next Up
The Cards next game is at newly promoted Weymouth on Tuesday evening before another away trip, this time to Chesterfield, next Saturday. Our next home game is three days later against Dagenham & Redbridge.
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