Specsavers
FCP
7:45pm - TuesdayTue 8th OctoberOct 2013
The Laithwaite Community Stadium | Att: 1413

Woking
Woking
0 - 0

Barnet
Barnet

Entertaining game in prospect on Tuesday

Brian Caffarey
4:25pm, Sun 6th Oct 2013
Woking v Barnet
7.45pm on Tuesday 8 October 2013

The Cards have a very attractive home game on Tuesday evening when Edgar Davids’s Barnet side come to Kingfield. The Bees have made an encouraging start to the season and lie just outside the play-off places, whilst Garry Hill’s side seem to on the ‘up’ after an excellent home win over Nuneaton and a well-deserved away point at Southport on Saturday. Both sides like to play good football, so head down to Kingfield on Tuesday evening for what should be an entertaining game.

WOKING

The Cards are still in the bottom four in the table on goal difference but there is a real feeling that the side has turned the corner after very encouraging performances against Nuneaton Town and Southport. The point at Southport could easily have been three if the Cards had taken one of many good second-half chances – and that’s against a side which had previously won four and drawn one at home. There is no doubt that the arrival of Scott Rendell has made a big difference, with the on-loan striker having grabbed three goals in five appearances and providing a focal point for the attack. But there have been important contributions from keeper Sam Beasant, Josh Payne and the influential Kevin Betsy amongst others.

With two successive home games in prospect, Garry Hill will be very keen to wrap up some more points to lift the Cards up the table.

BARNET

Barnet have made a reasonably encouraging start to their first campaign in the Skrill Conference Premier following their relegation last season. They sit 10th in the table, with 20 points from 13 games, only three points behind Luton Town in fifth place. Away from home they have won two (at Gateshead and Braintree), drawn three (at Tamworth, Aldershot and Welling) and lost two (at Halifax and Alfreton), scoring 11 goals and conceding 10. On Saturday, with Davids in the side, they came back from 1-0 down at Welling, with ten men, to force a 1-1 draw.

But these statistics conceal the fact that their form of late has been far from compelling. Having won four and drawn two games in August, they have won only one of their subsequent seven games: a 3-1 home win over Salisbury City.

Perhaps not surprisingly, there is an international flavour to some of the Bees’ summer signings, who include Dutch striker Marciano Mengerink and Spanish midfielders Luisma Villa and Roberto Casabella. Other new arrivals included defender Anthony Acheampong from Welling; and Keanu Marsh-Brown, a pacey winger who signed permanently after a short-term deal last season. The ‘danger man’ in the early games was Jake Hyde, but a hamstring injury kept him on the sidelines till he came on as a substitute on Saturday.

The Bees will be missing defender Andy Yiadom on Tuesday following his dismissal on Saturday.

ADMISSION PRICES

Adults £15
Over 65s and students (with valid student card) £10
U16s £3

MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

Don’t miss out on the Club’s excellent matchday programme! In another packed edition James MacDonald looks at some previous exciting encounters between Woking and Barnet and also recounts some of the eccentricities of Barnet legend, Barry Fry. Barnet fan Josh Ilan gives us his views on how Barnet are doing this season. Richard Mason recalls an extraordinary game in which five goals in extra-time decided a Woking cup tie. And of course there are all the usual match reports, previews, news and great photos. If you can’t get to the game, you can order a copy from the Club Shop on shop@wokingfc.co.uk

BOOST THE BUDGET

The Cards Trust will be shaking buckets again on Tuesday evening in aid of its Boost the Budget scheme. This initiative not only provides important financial assistance to Garry in building his squad but also gives supporters a real say in the running of the Club through the purchase of shares – with voting rights due to be exercised shortly when a new Club Board will be elected. So, please give as generously as you can.

NEXT UP

The Cards have another interesting home game in prospect next Saturday when FC Halifax Town travel to Kingfield. The Shaymen have made an excellent start at home following their promotion to the Conference Premier but have yet to win on their travels. Can Garry Hill’s side grab some more much-needed points at Kingfield? Make sure you’re there!

Come on, you Cards!

Unlucky Cards have to settle for a draw

Joe Martin
10:09am, Wed 9th Oct 2013
Woking 0 Barnet 0
The Skrill Premier
8th October 2013

A solid and disciplined performance from Woking resulted in a 0-0 draw with Barnet after they were unluckily denied a late winner when several goal-bound headers from Joe McNerney were miraculously cleared off the line by the Barnet defence.

Woking made two changes to the team which earned a creditable draw away to Southport on Saturday with John Goddard coming in for Darren Murphy and Adam Newton returning to the starting line up for Mike Cestor, which allowed Mark Ricketts to return to his familiar holding role in midfield.

In the first ten minutes the Cards looked the more positive side, having some good possession in midfield and creating a couple of half-chances. Barnet’s main threat was through counter attacks with Kieron Cadogan having a good effort on twelve minutes. Woking had a few speculative efforts early on: one from Gavin Williams that went low to the keeper’s right and another from Josh Payne that went marginally wide of the right hand side of the goal from just outside the box.

The home side's first clear chance came after half an hour. A John Nutter cross was not dealt with by the Barnet defence and the ball fell to John Goddard whose left footed shot from just inside the box was blocked and span out for a corner. Woking had another good opportunity five minutes later. Scott Rendell played in Gavin Williams but the Welshman's shot was scuffed wide from the right corner of the penalty box.

As the interval approached, the game became more even with Barnet starting to look more of a threat, a shot from Keanu Marsh-Brown flying only just wide of the Woking net.

Overall, it had been a very positive half for the Cards who had looked sharp and purposeful throughout and had taken the game to the visitors, who had been content to soak up the pressure and try to hit their opponents on the counter-attack.

Half-time Woking 0 Barnet 0

Both sides came out after the interval unchanged. Having looked rather subdued in the first half, the visitors set about their task in a much more determined fashion in what turned out to be an entertaining forty-five minutes with chances and goalmouth incidents galore at either end.

The first chance of the half fell to Barnet’s Harry Crawford who saw his shot sail over the bar from six yards out when he might have done better.

After this the game opened up and sparked counter attacks from both teams. In the fifty-seventh minute, Kevin Betsy broke clear down the right and put a teasing cross but there was no Woking player on hand to apply the finishing touch. Soon after Barnet had a couple of half-chances but the Woking defence remained alert to snuff out the danger.

The end to end pattern of play continued throughout the second half with both teams playing neatly through midfield but lacking the cutting edge in the last quarter to engineer the vital breakthrough. In the 75th minute, John Goddard, who had run himself into the ground for the Woking cause, was replaced by Anthony Mcnamee as Garry Hill looked to find a way to break the deadlock.

With time ticking by, it looked as though both teams were ready to settle for a stalemate as Kevin Betsy was replaced by the more defensively-minded Mike Cestor with a couple of minutes remaining. This, however, was only a prelude to a final frenetic ending played out in the Barnet penalty box. The Cards forced a number of corners and on three occasions, headers from the towering Joe McNerney all looked bound for the back of the net only for the Barnet defence to somehow scramble them to safety. It was agony for the watching faithful in the Leslie Gosden stand! There was still time for the visitors to briefly threaten at the other end but the referee blew to end a match which had had its fair share of thrills and spills.

This was a heartening performance from the home side who will consider themselves desperately unlucky not to have nicked a victory, particularly in the last few minutes when the Barnet goal led a very charmed life. That said, Barnet also had their moments and looked slick and dangerous, particularly on the counter. No doubt Garry and Steve will be disappointed not to have bagged all three points but the draw extends their unbeaten run to three games and they will be looking to climb out of the relegation places when they take on FC Halifax Town at Kingfield this coming Saturday.

Woking: Sam Beasant, Adam Newton, John Nutter, Jack Parkinson, Joe McNerney, Mark Ricketts, Josh Payne, John Goddard (Anthony McNamee 75), Gavin Williams, Kevin Betsy (Mike Cestor 87), Scott Rendell

Unused Subs: Aaron Howe, Giuseppe Sole, George Frith

Caution: Josh Payne (47)

Barnet: Graham Stack, Elliot Johnson, David Stephens, Jack Saville, Anthony Acheampong, Kieron Cadogan, Curtis Weston, Roberto Garcia Casabella, Keanu Marsh-Brown, Harry Crawford (Luisma 83), Marciano Mengerink (Iffy Allen 69)

Unused Subs: Nick Jupp, Ahmed Abdulla, Edgar Davids

Caution: Keanu Marsh-Brown (86)

Sponsor's Man of the Match: John Goddard. A hardworking and effective game in all areas of the pitch.

Attendance: 1,413
WOKING LINEUP
18Sam Beasant
2Adam Newton
3John Nutter
5Joe McNerney
8Jack Parkinson
4Mark Ricketts
20Josh Payne
22John Goddard ('75)
11Kevin Betsy ('87)
9Gavin Williams
21Scott Rendell
BENCH
1Aaron Howe
15Mike Cestor ('87)
16George Frith
14Anthony McNamee ('75)
10Giuseppe Sole
Barnet LINEUP
29Graham Stack
3Elliot Johnson
4Curtis Weston
5Anthony Acheampong
6Jack Saville
7Keanu Marsh-Brown
10Harry Crawford ('82)
15Kieron Cadogan
16Marciano Mengerink ('69)
17Roberto Casabella
30Dave Stephens
BENCH
13Nicky Jupp
14Ahmed Abdulla
19Luisma Villa ('82)
22Iffy Allen ('69)
1Edgar Davids

Woking 0-0 Barnet (Garry Hill Interview)

Interview with John Goddard

David Holmes
11:06pm, Tue 8th Oct 2013

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