Lovetts

Cards travel to the Camrose

Brian Caffarey
9:54pm, Sun 16th Jul 2017
Basingstoke Town v Woking
Pre-season friendly
7.45pm on Tuesday 18 July 2017

The Cards take on Terry Brown’s Basingstoke Town side on Tuesday evening in their third pre-season friendly after draws against a young Watford side and Leatherhead in their two previous games. With no trialists on view at Leatherhead, Cards fans will be particularly interested to see if there are any additions to the squad for this match.

WOKING

Anthony Limbrick has got 14 senior players signed up so far for the new season, including nine new faces. He will no doubt want to add several more before the campaign begins, with obvious requirements being at least one more striker and a second keeper. We’ll have to see whether these are going to materialise from straightforward signings, trialists or loans.

By all accounts the 2-2 draw at Leatherhead, who included some very experienced players in their squad, sounded like another good work-out for the Cards, although Josh Staunton won’t want to be reminded too often about the own goal which restored the Tanners’ lead. Once again Jason Banton didn’t figure because of injury.

BASINGSTOKE TOWN

Basingstoke have been going through some very difficult times in the last couple of seasons, which has seen them slip from the Conference South to the Southern League Premier Division, with very serious off-field problems too. Indeed, the Council is holding a meeting the following evening to discuss the future of the football club, which has recently become community-owned, given that it no longer owns the Camrose and that the company which does own it – whose biggest shareholder is former long-serving Chairman, Rafi Razzak – wants to apply for planning permission to develop it. The Council has already said that there is no Council-owned land on which a new stadium can be built and it seems unlikely that it would be able or willing to buy the Camrose to preserve it as a sporting venue.

Meanwhile, Terry Brown is charged with trying to get the club back into the Conference South. He took over the reins in March 2016 but was unable to prevent relegation. Last season the Dragons finished in 12th place in the Evo-Stik Premier but things look very difficult now that Mr Razzak has withdrawn his funding of the club. Terry Brown’s strategy has been to work with low-paid, young players but on a full-time basis, in the hope that they can develop quickly with intensive coaching and playing.

The Dragons’ results in their previous pre-season games have been:

Alton 1 Basingstoke Town 5
Solent 3 Basingstoke Town 3
Basingstoke Town 0 Eastleigh 4
Basingstoke Town 4 Merstham 1

Midfielder Ashleigh Artwell and Sam Smart both netted two goals each in the win over Alton, with well-travelled striker Ben Wright scoring the remaining goal. Other players who figured in that game included twin brothers Michael and Robert Atkinson, right back Marcus Johnson-Schuster, defender Charlie Kennedy and midfielder George Bennett, all of whom were with the club last season.

GETTING THERE

The Ark Cancer Charity Stadium
The Camrose
Western Way
Basingstoke
Hampshire
RG22 6EZ

Official website: www.basingstoketown.net

By car

Head for M3, leaving at Junction 6. Take the A339 towards Basingstoke. At the large roundabout with the A30, turn left onto the A30 Ringway South. At the next roundabout bear left, continuing along the A30. You should now pass the stadium over on your right. At the next roundabout take the 5th exit onto Western Way. At the mini roundabout turn right into the club car park entrance.

By train

Basingstoke station is about a mile and a half from the ground. There are fast trains from Woking at 18.13 (18.31), 18.35 (18.53), 18.46 (19.05). Trains back include those at 21.54 (22.28), 22.09 (22.28), 22.24 (22.58) and 22.38 (22.54).

If you’re walking – which would take you about half an hour – leave the station by the main entrance and head for the shopping centre opposite. Walk straight through it and the indoor area, Festival Place. This brings you out onto the pedestrianised Wote Street. Walk up this street and you'll arrive at the Market Square, with a McDonalds located directly in front of you. Turn right at McDonalds and at the end of the pedestrianised street, you'll arrive at a junction with traffic lights. Going straight across this junction and just after passing the Wheatsheaf Pub on your right, turn left into Winchester Road. Walking straight along Winchester Road you will eventually end up at the ground on your right. 

Alternatively, take a taxi or look up https://www.stagecoachbus.com/timetables#tt for the times of bus services 1 and 3, which go near the ground.

ADMISSION

Adults £5
Concessions £2.50
U16s FREE

COMING UP

Wingate & Finchley v Woking - 3pm, Saturday 22nd July (The Maurice Rebak Stadium, N12 0PD)

Woking v Cambridge United - 7.45pm, Tuesday 25th July (The Laithwaite Community Stadium)

Woking v Swindon Town - 3pm, Saturday 29th July (The Laithwaite Community Stadium)

The season kicks off on Saturday 5 August 2017 when Woking are at home to Gateshead.


Come on, you Cards!

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Registered office The Laithwaite Community Stadium, Kingfield, Woking, Surrey, GU22 9AA

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