Another Encouraging Performance

Woking 1 Aldershot Town 0

Pre-season friendly

28 July 2009

This was another very encouraging performance from Graham Baker’s side, against League 2 neighbours fielding a strong line-up. The Cards took an early lead through Delano Sam-Yorke (pictured) and retained it fairly comfortably, playing some controlled football and restricting the Shots to only a handful of serious efforts on goal.

Woking lined up with the same side that started at AFC Totton apart from Sam Sloma, who made his debut on the left of midfield and put in a busy and tidy performance, with several fine crosses.

The Cards started in lively fashion, looking to free Delano Sam-Yorke through the middle and Luke Medley on the right. In the 10th minute Gez Sole slipped a perfect pass into Delano, who held off a couple of defenders before slotting the ball past the advancing keeper to give the Cards the lead.

Five minutes later, Harry Arter found Medley with a great crossfield ball. The on-loan striker beat his man, advanced into the box and fired over. Shortly afterwards Tom Hutchinson headed down and wide from an Arter corner.

Gradually, the Shots began to gain the upper hand in terms of possession and approach play but rarely looked as though they would penetrate a solid Woking defence, which managed to block the few efforts which were fired in Ross Worner’s direction. The greatest danger seemed to come from corners, where the Shots’ height advantage led to a couple of headers wide of target.

On the half-hour mark Delano was crudely body-checked by Charles as he bulldozed his way through the middle. This signalled another period of Woking pressure, with Sole’s free-kick crashing against the defensive wall before Arter lobbed wide. A clever back heel from Medley nearly opened up the Shots’ defence before Ricky Anane and Sloma both fired in testing crosses.

Just before half-time former Kingfield favourite Marvin Morgan thumped an effort over the bar from distance and then Worner did well to rush out and smother a shot after a break down the Woking right.

Half-time: Woking 1 Aldershot Town 0

It looked as though Graham Baker sent his side out after half-time with instructions to practise keeping possession and passing our way forward, eschewing any long balls to the front runners. The side looked comfortable with this approach, although relatively few chances were created. Again, the Shots fashioned some neat approach work but without looking very incisive when they got near the Woking goal.

Woking’s best chance probably came in the 60th minute when Delano’s clever back heel flick from a Sloma corner almost surprised the Shots keeper, who had difficulty with the subsequent corner too under challenge. But the visitors immediately broke up the other end and Harding should have done better than blaze over the bar.

By this stage the Shots had already brought on a number of substitutes and Graham Baker gradually followed suit, successively introducing Charlie Moone, Anson Cousins, Rodney Chiweshe, Billy Hussey, Joe McNerney and Daniel Sintim. Inevitably, the game suffered a little as a result of the disruptions but Hussey worked hard in midfield and Cousins made several excellent tackles to foil attacks down the Woking left.

Chiweshe had little chance to show what he could do between the posts. A Hutchinson headed clearance rebounded to a Shots player but the strike was very tame, presenting no difficulty to the trialist.

The Shots continued to indulge in some attractive, if rather predictable, approach play and the game petered out – quite happily, from Woking’s point of view – until the referee blew the final whistle.

Woking: Ross Worner (Rodney Chiweshe, 72), Ricky Anane, Tony Sinclair, Tom Hutchinson, Aswad Thomas (Daniel Sintim, 82), Mark Ricketts (Joe McNerney, 78), Harry Arter (Billy Hussey, 78), Sam Sloma (Anson Cousins, 70), Giuseppe Sole, Luke Medley, Delano Sam-Yorke (Charlie Moone, 70)