Glen Harrington
10:14am, Fri 14th Oct 2022
Woking vs Southend United
Emirates FA Cup – Fourth Qualifying Round
Saturday 15th October 2022
Woking and Southend United will come head-to-head for the second time in less than two weeks on Saturday as the Cards host the Shrimpers in the final qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup.
After a fiery meeting 11 days ago, which ended all square at Roots Hall, the two teams will go at it again at the Laithwaite Community Stadium, looking to advance to the first-round proper. Both teams have played once since that meeting, with the Cards losing 3-2 at home to league leaders Notts County, where despite goals from James Daly and Reece Grego-Cox, they fell just short. Southend meanwhile played out a second successive 1-1 draw, this time away to Dagenham & Redbridge, where they scored 12 minutes from time to claim a point.
Woking were nearly at full strength against County, with midfielder Jim Kellermann the only enforced absentee, following the injury sustained against Halifax at the start of the month. Manager Darren Sarll meanwhile has a strong track-record in the competition, having never failed to get past this stage with former club Yeovil Town, with whom he reached round three last season, losing to then Championship side Bournemouth. He also reached the same stage with Stevenage in 2018, losing to another Championship club, Reading, in a replay.
Opposition Watch
Southend named an unchanged team against Dagenham, following their meeting with the Cards earlier this month, but manager Kevin Maher has said he could choose to rotate his squad this weekend. Amongst those potentially in line for a recall his veteran defender Jason Demetriou, who came on as a half-time substitute against the Daggers, replacing former Cards striker Jake Hyde.
The Shrimpers have not failed to reach the first-round of the competition since the 1920s – albeit this is only their second season entering at this stage since their relegation in 2021. They have however lost their first FA Cup game of the season in six out of the last eight years, only once making it past round one, having previously made it to the fourth round back in 2014.
They have reached round five on four occasions, most recently in the 1992/93 season, when their top scorer was future England striker Stan Collymore. They were beaten by Sheffield Wednesday who went on to reach the final, losing to Arsenal in a replay.
Recent Meetings
• Southend United
1-1 Woking – 4th October 2022, National League (Grego-Cox)
• Woking
2-3 Southend United – 12th February 2022, National League (Effiong 2)
• Southend United
0-2 Woking – 13th November 2021, National League (Campbell, Kretzschmar)
Tickets
When pre-purchased, ticket prices are £18 for Adults, £13 for Concessions, £10 for Next-Gen and £5 for Under 16s. Tickets bought on the gate on the day are charged at an additional £2.
For more information and to book your ticket please
click here.
