Another testing trip for Cards

Southport v Woking
3pm on Saturday 23 February 2013

The Cards could do with a boost on Saturday after two disappointing defeats, injuries and Lee Sawyer’s sending-off. Historically, Woking have rarely come away with anything after the long haul up to Southport but Garry Hill will be looking for a much more determined performance as he attempts to guide the club towards his 50-point initial target and safety.

WOKING

Lee Sawyer’s sending-off at Barrow was particularly unwelcome since the Cards were already stretched in midfield following Billy Knott’s hamstring injury against Newport County. Seb Brown will presumably be in goal again on Saturday as Aaron Howe continues his recovery from an arm injury.

The Cards are still fairly comfortably placed in mid-table but Garry will be well aware that it’s all too easy for a club to slip into trouble with a poor run at this stage of the season. Woking’s record away from home is comparatively weak, however: no team has lost more games on their travels.

SOUTHPORT

Liam Watson’s side sit one point and one place above Woking in the table, having played one game more. They are unbeaten in their last four league games, having registered impressive draws at Wrexham and Hereford and, more recently, a 1-0 away win at Nuneaton and a 5-2 home win over Barrow. The Sandgrounders’ home record is mixed, with six wins, three draws and six defeats and 24 goals scored and 27 conceded.

Unlike the Cards, Southport were spared a long midweek trip, their game at Braintree being postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. This will have given more time for influential captain Simon Grand to recover from the injury he sustained against Barrow, but defenders Steve Akrigg and Chris Lynch and midfielder Alan Moogan will be missing.

Shaun Walley is the Sandgrounders’ main danger man: Port turned down several offers for him in the January transfer window.

Recent arrivals on loan are Neil Byrne, a young central defender from Rochdale and Scott Kay, a young central midfielder from Huddersfield Town.

GETTING THERE

Merseyrail Community Stadium
Haig Avenue
Southport
PR8 6JZ

Official website: www.southportfc.net

By coach
The Cards Trust coach leaves Kingfield at 9am. The price for members is £24 and for non-members £31. Phone or email the Club Shop (shop@wokingfc.co.uk) to book your place.

By car
Leave the M6 at Junction 26 and take the M58 towards Southport. Leave the M58 at Junction 3 and take the A570 towards Ormskirk. Follow the A570 around Ormskirk Town Centre towards Southport. On entering Southport you will come to a large roundabout with Tesco's & McDonalds outlets. Take the 3rd exit onto Scarisbrick New Road (A570). You should now be able to catch sight of the ground over on your right. Pass the Richmond pub on your left and then turn right into Haig Avenue. The ground is down on the right. There is no car park at the ground. However, there are usually many spaces under a couple of minutes’ walk but watch out for parking restrictions around the streets.

By train
You can either get a train from Euston to Wigan and change there or travel to Liverpool Lime Street and then catch the Merseyrail to Southport. Look up www.nationalrail.co.uk or www.thetrainline.com for details of train times and prices.

ADMISSION PRICES

Adults: £13.50
Concessions: £10
Under 18s: £5
Under 11s: Free

LAST TIME OUT

Woking 2 Southport 3
13 October 2012

Defensive errors were once again the Cards’ undoing in this game. Coming off the back of a good midweek win over Cambridge, the Cards started in confident mood and quickly took the lead when fine interplay between Kevin Betsy and Gavin McCallum allowed the former to score.

Southport gradually worked their way back into the game, equalising just before half-time through Andrew Parry. The Port were down to ten men five minutes after the break when Liam Willis received a second yellow card but still went on to take the lead through Chris Lynch.

The Cards’ desperate search for an equaliser succeeded when McCallum netted in a goalmouth scramble. But the Cards then threw away all the points when an under-hit back pass from Brett Johnson led to Joe McNerney hauling down a Southport striker. McNerney was dismissed and Chris Lever scored from the spot.

Woking: Sam Beasant, Mark Ricketts, Mike Cestor (Brett Williams 69), Joe McNerney, Brett Johnson, Jack Parkinson, Dean Sinclair (Loick Pires 56), Lee Sawyer, Kevin Betsy, Bradley Bubb, Gavin McCallum

Unused Subs: Aaron Howe, Adam Doyle, George Frith

Southport: Tony McMillan, Chris Lever, Simon Grand, Chris Lynch, Liam Willis, Andrew Parry, Shaun Whalley, Russell Benjamin, Godfrey Poku, James Ellison (Charlie Joyce 53), Darren Stephenson (Steven Tames 90)

Unused Subs: Zac Hibbert, Alan Moogan, Chris Almond

Attendance: 1,739

NEXT GAME

The Cards have three tough home matches in a row coming up after Saturday’s trip: on Tuesday evening v Forest Green Rovers; on the following Saturday (2 March) v Lincoln City; and the following Tuesday evening (5 March) v Mansfield Town.

Make sure that you’ve got all Woking’s re-arranged fixtures in your diary!

Come on, you Cards!