Fingers crossed for New Year's Day

Woking v Luton Town
1pm on Tuesday 1 January 2013 (N.B. Kick-off time)

Let’s hope the weather relents sufficiently for what should be one of the best games of the season! The Hatters are desperate to get back into the League but are once again finding that the Blue Square Premier is a very competitive division. The Cards showed in the second half at Kenilworth Road on Boxing Day that they can match their opponents if they play with sufficient self-belief, so let’s get behind Garry Hill’s side and cheer them on to a memorable victory!

WOKING

The Cards now lie in 16th place in a very crowded table, so any return from this game would be very welcome indeed.

Garry will have top scorer Bradley Bubb available after serving his suspension on Boxing Day but Brett Williams will be serving only the second instalment of his three-game suspension and will still be missing. Cards fans will be hoping that influential midfielder Lee Sawyer will have recovered from the injury sustained at Lincoln to be able to figure in the starting line-up and that the talented Kevin Betsy, who was well shackled at Kenilworth Road, can make more impact. Above all, the Cards will need to avoid the sort of defensive errors which undid them on Boxing Day and remain disciplined.

LUTON TOWN

It was no surprise at Kenilworth Road to see the quality in Luton’s side, given the resources at their disposal and the strength and depth of their squad. Paul Buckle will have two more players to choose from at Kingfield, having decided to pay York City £50k for midfielder Jonathan Smith, whilst Crawley winger Scott Neilson is also switching clubs. Luton are hardly short of strikers, though, with the likes of Stuart Fleetwood and Jon Shaw already at their disposal.

The Hatters currently lie in 4th place in the table with 39 points from 22 games, seven points behind leaders Grimsby Town but with two games in hand. Away from home, they’ve won six, drawn one and lost four in the league. Luton’s game at home to Ebbsfleet United on Saturday was called off 20 minutes before kick-off, so like the Cards they will have had a rest since Boxing Day.

Buckle will no doubt be enjoining his charges to concentrate on getting three points at Kingfield and not think about next weekend’s FA Cup tie at home to Wolves.

ADMISSION PRICES

Adults £15
Over 65s/Students £10
U16s £5

The match will be segregated. Luton Town are selling tickets in advance but tickets will also be available on the day subject to availability.

MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

We’ve got another excellent 56-page matchday programme that should interest Woking and Luton fans alike, including an interview with ex-Hatter Adam Newton and an opposing view from a Luton fan – even the matchball sponsor has a Luton connection! Woking fans will revel in another instalment of Mark Doyle’s evocative decade-by-decade history of Woking FC and the latest account by Malcolm Wyatt of his travels ‘oop north’. As always, there is also all the news from the Blue Square leagues, match reports, previews, superb action photos and much more. If you can’t get to the game, you can order a copy from the Club Shop on shop@wokingfc.co.uk

LAST TIME OUT

Luton Town 3 Woking 1
26 December 2012

Defensive errors cost Woking dear in this game, with Jan Kovacs escaping his marker to head home from Luton’s first corner and then a missed clearance by Joe McNerney leading to the Hatters’ second goal before half-time. However, the Cards made a stirring come-back in the second half and immediately after an inspired tactical change by Garry Hill, which had thrown Joe and substitute Loick Pires up front, Joe slotted home after excellent work by Gavin McCallum. For a short while it looked as though Woking might grab a point but Alex Lawless gained a penalty in the 81st minute, converted by Scott Rendell, to put the game beyond the Cards’ reach.

NEXT GAME

The Cards’ next home game is the re-scheduled match against our FA Cup conquerors Ebbsfleet United, which is being played at 1pm on Sunday 13 January. Make sure you’ve got the date in your new diary!

Come on, you Cards!

P.S. Don’t forget to purchase your raffle tickets if you haven’t already done so – they can be bought right up until kick-off – and make sure you return any stubs that still need to be brought back.