Glen Harrington
8:56pm, Fri 17th Mar 2023
Woking vs Chesterfield
Vanarama National League
Saturday 18th March 2023
It’s third against fourth in the National League on Saturday afternoon as Woking host Chesterfield at the Laithwaite Community Stadium – live on BT Sport.
The Cards returned to winning ways on Saturday with a comfortable 2-0 win over Maidenhead United – Padraig Amond headed in his tenth league goal of the season from a Josh Casey corner, whilst defender Luke Wilkinson celebrated his return from injury by netting the second from a long-range free-kick. The result extended Woking’s unbeaten home run to six league games, dating back to December, and made it just one league defeat in 12 in total since being beaten by title chasers Notts County in October.
Manager Darren Sarll made four changes to his team against the Magpies, with Wilkinson and centre-back partner Scott Cuthbert replacing Joe McNerney and Billy Sass-Davies; Ricky Korboa, making his first start since December, replaced Solomon Nwabuokei, and Rhys Browne returned up front in place of Marcus Dackers after completing his three-match suspension. Sarll implied in his pre-match interview that further changes to the squad are unlikely ahead of Saturday’s game, although young midfielder Lewis Simper’s loan has come to an end, with the player having been recalled by parent club Cambridge United.
Remember this game kicks off earlier than usual at 12:30pm due to television commitments.
Opposition Watch
Chesterfield are seeking a first win in four against the Cards, who turned in arguably their best performance of the season so far when they won 3-1 at the Technique Stadium in February. That result came in the midst of a severe mid-season wobble for the Spireites who took three points from nine games between late January and the end of February, seeing them spiral out of title contention and back into the race for the top seven – like Woking, seeking a first-round bye and home advantage through the play-offs by finishing third.
Their recent form has improved, with 10 points out of a possible 12 so far in March, including wins over Gateshead, Southend, and Wealdstone, plus a draw with Yeovil. On Tuesday evening they thrashed the play-off chasing Stones 4-0 away from home. They are now three points behind Woking having played the same number of games and have a 10 point cushion on eighth place. They are marginally stronger at home, where they’ve taken 35 of their 65 points, but have won their last three on the road.
Manager Paul Cook addressed his side’s poor run by making several notable signings, including the loan signings of forwards Paul McCallum (from Dagenham) and Andrew Dallas (Solihull), as well as Altrincham’s Ryan Colclough, who signed back in January. Their top scorer remains winger Armando Dobra with nine. Their ex-Woking contingent is made up of striker Joe Quigley and midfielder Manny Oyeleke, who hasn’t featured since May.
Recent Meetings
• Chesterfield
1-3 Woking – 7th February 2023, National League (Amond, Daly, Kellermann)
• Chesterfield
0-0 Woking – 15th May 2022, National League
• Woking
3-1 Chesterfield – 28th September 2021, National League (Campbell 2, Effiong)
• Woking
1-4 Chesterfield – 8th May 2021, National League (Cooper)
• Chesterfield
4-0 Woking – 10th October 2020, National League
Tickets
When pre-purchased, ticket prices are £20 for Adults, £15 for Concessions, £12 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.
