Cards aim to delight again
Brian Caffarey
10:14pm, Thu 11th Apr 2013
Woking v Macclesfield Town
3pm on Saturday 13 April 2013
The Cards are ending the season with a very attractive run of home games – and if they play anything like they did against Wrexham last Saturday, those attending are in for a veritable treat. Old rivals Macclesfield Town, back in the Conference after a 15-year stint in the League, have fallen short of their play-off ambitions but have a very talented squad, including Keiran Murtagh, who was much admired during his loan spells at Kingfield. It should be a good footballing occasion, so make sure you’re at Kingfield on Saturday afternoon.
WOKING
Woking’s display against Wrexham last week included some of the best football seen at Kingfield for many a year. Andy Morrell, the Wrexham manager, described Woking’s second-half display as ‘absolutely fantastic’ whilst the NLP reporter said Woking were ‘sensational’. You have to go back to the days of Clive Walker, Steve Thompson and Scott Steele to find a Cards line-up to compare with Billy Knott, Kevin Betsy and Lee Sawyer. See them in action while you can! It’s been marvellous too to see a young striker like Jayden Stockley, putting himself about, growing in confidence and scoring some excellent goals in the process. But the whole side was in tremendous form against Wrexham, with Latvian keeper Elvijs Putnins making some important saves as the Cards survived early Wrexham pressure before taking control of the game.
Bradley Bubb will be missing again following his hamstring injury at Dartford.
The Cards will have the advantage of a week’s rest, whereas Macclesfield will be playing their third away game in seven days. A win for the Cards would take them above the Silkmen in the table, who now sit in 9th place.
MACCLESFIELD TOWN
Steve King has paid the price for failing to deliver a play-off place after what appears to have been some fairly heavy investment in a squad which, on paper at least, looked a good bet for the play-offs. Youth team coach John Askey has taken charge at least temporarily.
The Silkmen will be arriving at Kingfield after an exhausting week in which they had to travel to Mansfield Town on Tuesday evening, losing 3-1, and then to Newport County this evening, losing 4-1. This was their fourth defeat in a row.
Macclesfield will be without their top scorer, Matthew Barnes-Homer, who, like Bradley Bubb, is out for the rest of the season. Fellow striker Amari Morgan-Smith will also be missing.
Some of the well-known players in the Silkmen’s line-up include former Fleetwood and Crawley defender Pablo Mills; one-time Ebbsfleet keeper Lance Cronin; winger Peter Winn, formerly with Stevenage amongst other clubs; full-back Craig Braham-Barrett, once of Havant and Waterlooville and Sutton United; and talented midfielder John-Paul Kissock.
ADMISSION PRICES
Adults £15
Over 65s/Students £10
U16s £5
MATCHDAY PROGRAMME
Saturday’s packed programme will feature an end-of-season interview with Club Chairman, Mike Smith. Find out the Board’s latest thinking on the future of Kingfield and much else besides. There’s also another fabulous piece by Mark Doyle, looking at Kingfield in the 70s – with plenty of popular cultural references thrown in, of course! A Macclesfield Town fan reflects on their season and how things look following Steve King’s departure. And, of course, there are all the usual match reports, previews, splendid photos and news of the BSP and beyond. 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
Macclesfield Town 0 Woking 0
12 March 2013
Woking’s first goalless draw of the season saw them having to defend very stoutly to keep a lively Silkmen forward line at bay. Joe McNerney and Brett Johnson in central defence took the main honours but Seb Brown had to pull off a superb injury-time save from Keiran Murtagh’s free-kick to hang onto a hard-fought point.
Woking: Seb Brown, Adam Newton, John Nutter, Joe McNerney, Brett Johnson, Mark Ricketts ©, Jack Parkinson, Lee Sawyer (Mike Cestor 46), Kevin Betsy, Bradley Bubb, Jayden Stockley
Unused subs: Adam Francis, Elvijs Putnins, Jack Mazzone, George Frith
Cautions: Lee Sawyer 37 Mike Cestor 61
Macclesfield Town: Rhys Taylor, Ryan Jackson (Peter Winn 31), Keiran Murtagh, Matthew Barnes-Homer, Amari Morgan-Smith, Sam Wedgbury, John Paul Kissock (Dean McDonald 87), Waide Fairhurst (Jack Mackreth 59), Craig Braham-Barrett, Thierry Audel, Pablo Mills
Unused subs: Andre Da Costa, Arthur Gnahoua
Caution: Keiran Murtagh 44
Attendance: 1350
NEXT GAME
Make sure you’re at Kingfield on Tuesday evening for the Cards’ final home game of the season, versus play-off contenders Grimsby Town. Garry Hill’s side have played some superbly entertaining football this season, so let’s show our appreciation on Tuesday to Garry, Steve and the players for all their efforts.
Come on, you Cards!
P.S. Please support Garry’s and Steve’s plans for next season by joining the Cards Trust’s Boost the Budget scheme if you don’t already belong to it. Application forms will be available on Saturday. Everyone joining the scheme before the end of the Macclesfield game will be entered into the big draw, with a season ticket for next season for the lucky winner.