Dorchester Town Vs Woking Preview

The Cards travel to the Avenue Stadium on Saturday afternoon to play Dorchester Town as they continue to search for their first league win of the season. After losing their opening two matches against Dover Athletic and Chelmsford, Graham Baker will be keen to ensure his side produce the goods on Saturday afternoon. Dorchester are currently just below Woking in the league table, after also suffering two defeats from their opening two games. Manager Ashley Vickers will be relishing the chance to regain some confidence on home turf after his side were well beaten 4-0 at home to Eastleigh earlier this week and this match could prove to be the kick-start that both sides need this season.

WOKING

Woking certainly haven’t had the start to the season that they would have hoped for. Having lost their first two matches and having also suffered financial difficulties off the pitch, this match will give the Cards the perfect opportunity to bring some early season optimism to the Club. Fans will be looking to the decisions Graham Baker makes in regards to his team selection, no doubt hoping he opts for a positive approach.

A mixture of silly errors and lacklustre performances has contributed to Woking’s poor start to the season and the players must look to sharpen up on the pitch if they are to hold any hope of improving their results. Mistakes are punished at every level of football, and there’s no room for complacency in this game. The manager will be keen to remind his players of this fact on the day.

He opted to start with Craig Faulconbridge playing a lone striker role in a 4-3-3 formation against Chelmsford, a tactic that didn’t quite pack the punch he had hoped for. Despite Woking playing away from home, he may look to revert back to a 4-4-2 formation, utilising Craig Faulconbridge’s aerial ability and Dave Gilroy’s forward-thinking tenacity to punish the leaky Dorchester defence.

Lenny Pidgeley has made some outstanding saves in the Woking goal so far this season, but two massive errors have resulted in costly goals, and his days as first choice keeper could well be numbered. Meanwhile centre backs Alan Inns and Joe McNerney have been heralded by fans in recent matches and will be looking to continue their impressive form against Dorchester.

DORCHESTER

Dorchester find themselves in a similar position to Woking at the moment. The Magpies narrowly lost out away to Bromley in their opening match by a single goal, before their 4-0 home defeat against Eastleigh. However, only a fool would start to panic just two matches into the season, and it would take a fool to underestimate Dorchester on Saturday afternoon.

Manager Ashley Vickers was quick to take the blame for The Magpies' 4-0 whipping earlier this week, but can only divert the pressure from his players for so long. They currently lie bottom of the league, but a certain saying about a cornered dog springs to one’s mind. Vickers’ side will be battling hard this weekend, and will be keen to brush their recent form under the carpet.

Dorchester’s manager has named the side for both of his side's opening games, but can be counted on to name a changed side when they meet Woking. He will want to shake things up after his players failed to show any spark in their previous match, a disappointing performance that saw him use all three of his substitutions at the half-time break.

The Magpies don’t seem to have settled at all so far this season, and much the same can be said for Woking. This places added importance upon Saturday’s match as both sides look to post three points up on the board.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

By Coach

Departs: 11am
Members: £15
Non-Members: £20

By Car

At Junction 1, the M27 becomes the A31. After approx 25 miles you reach Bere Regis roundabout. Take the A35 Tolpuddle bypass to Dorchester. After dual carriageway section you come to Kingston Maurward roundabout, continue across along the A35. Turn right at next roundabout and right again into the Tesco complex.At the roundabout inside the complex turn right past the entrance to the petrol station and take the left hand fork into the stadium parking area.Terrace entrances are situated adjacent to this, whilst the bar and stand entrances are on the opposite side of the ground.

By Train

Nearest station: Dorchester South

Direct trains from Woking leave on the hour every hour, and take just over 2 hours to get to Dorchester South.

Exit the platform through the ticket office, follow the station approach road to the end (next to the Station Public House). Take a left to the traffic lights. At the lights, continue straight across the railway bridge. The ground is about five minutes down the road on your left hand side, just after Tesco.

For the return journey on weekends trains leave 13 minutes past the hour.