Seymours

Match Preview | Early season pacesetters come head-to-head at the Hive

Glen Harrington
3:15pm, Thu 18th Aug 2022
Barnet vs Woking
Vanarama National League
Saturday 20th August 2022


It’s first again third in the National League on Saturday, as Woking travel to Barnet, with both sides looking to make it three wins from their first four league matches.

Whilst the league table matters very little at this early stage of the season, both Woking and Barnet fans will be encouraged by the way their teams have started the season, particularly with both clubs having struggled towards the bottom-half of the table for the last two years. The Cards were excellent on Tuesday evening as they comfortably won their first ever league meeting with recently relegated Scunthorpe United. A brace from Kyran Lofthouse was the difference between the sides, but in truth it could have been far worse for the Iron, who were bested in every department by Darren Sarll’s side.

The only thing which will be concerning the Woking management team after back-to-back 2-0 wins will be a mounting injury list, with James Daly joining Sid Nelson and Jack Roles on the sidelines, meaning the Cards were only able to name four substitutes on Tuesday. Sarll will hope to have at least one of that trio back for Saturday, whilst he could also look to rotate in the likes of Joe McNerney, Jermaine Anderson, and Tyreke Johnson, who all came off the substitutes bench against Scunthorpe.
Woking will be looking to build on a fine recent record against the Bees, having won on their last two visits to the Hive, where they are unbeaten since 2015. Ironically, both of those most recent visits ended in 2-0 wins for the away side, with Moussa Diarra and Jamar Loza scoring for Woking. Both players joined Barnet this summer.

Opposition Watch

Barnet are in their fifth season back in the National League following their relegation from League Two in 2018. They are seeking a third promotion into the EFL since the turn of the century, having won the fifth tier in both 2005 (in their fourth season following relegation) and 2015 (in their second season). In the last four years they have recorded finishes of 12th, 7th, 22nd and 18th, with one play-off appearance in 2020. The following year they finished bottom, of active teams, but were reprieved from relegation because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

They have been managed by Dean Brennan since September of last year, when he replaced Harry Kewell, who was dismissed after just seven games. They recovered to finish comfortably clear of the bottom three, recording 50 points from their 44 fixtures. Brennan has attempted to build on that with a significant summer of transfer activity – as well as Diarra and Loza, he has signed goalkeeper Laurie Walker from Stevenage; defenders Ben Wynter (Torquay), Danny Collinge (Dover), and Jerome Okimo (Wealdstone); midfielders Dale Gorman (Yeovil), Harry Pritchard (Eastleigh), Connor Smith (Boreham Wood), Sean Shields (Weymouth), and Michael Phillips (Maidstone), plus striker Nicke Kabamba from Northampton, who spent the second-half of last season on loan with the Cards.

Their most notable departures have been striker Adam Marriott, who scored 17 goals last season, who joined Bromley, and highly-rated midfielder Wesley Fonguck, who joined Southend. Former Woking loanee Harry Taylor also moved to Roots Hall, whilst defender Ben Richards-Everton joined Yeovil.

The new-look squad has started the season well, winning two and drawing one of their first three games to top the early league standings. They beat last season’s play-off qualifiers FC Halifax Town 2-0 on the opening day and won 2-1 at Yeovil, either side of a 2-2 draw with newly promoted Gateshead, who came from two goals down to take a point. Kabamba has scored three of the Bees’ five goals, including both at Yeovil last time out, meaning he’s already equalled his goal tally from the entirety of last season. Whilst Kabamba is a certain starter on Saturday, further reunions may have to wait, with Diarra injured against Halifax, and Loza yet to feature following his red card in his final Woking game.

Recent Meetings

• Barnet 0-2 Woking – 19th March 2022, National League (Diarra, Loza)
• Woking 1-2 Barnet – 27th November 2021, National League (McNerney)
• Barnet 0-2 Woking – 20th February 2021, National League (Loza, Diarra)
• Woking 4-1 Barnet – 21st November 2020, National League (Ferdinand, Own Goal, Kretzschmar, Tarpey)
• Woking 1-3 Barnet – 10th March 2020, National League (Cook)

Tickets

Ticket prices are £22 for Adults, Concessions £14, Under 17s £5. For more information and to book your ticket please click here.

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