Glen Harrington
8:14am, Sat 1st May 2021
Woking vs Weymouth
Vanarama National League
Saturday 1st May 2021
Woking will hope to put a miserable April behind them and claim a first win in 10 games in all competitions when Weymouth visit the Laithwaite Community Stadium.
The Cards put in a much improved performance in horrendous conditions on Tuesday evening, away to play-off chasing FC Halifax Town, but still came away with nothing thanks to former Woking striker Jake Hyde’s second-half header. It was a fifth defeat in a row for Alan Dowson’s side and a seventh in eight games across a horribly challenging month, where the injuries have continued to pile up, and the opposition have almost all been in contention for a top seven place. Tuesday’s result saw the Cards slip to 20th in the table, a point and two places below today’s opponents, but still four points clear of the bottom three.
Weymouth have had a much improved second-half of the season. After looking like relegation certainties before Christmas, they have turned things around in 2021, picking up 25 of their 33 points, including seven of their nine wins. They’ve claimed famous scalps too, beating Hartlepool United and Stockport County, as well as our neighbours Aldershot Town. On Tuesday evening they won 1-0 at Maidenhead United thanks to a goal from Calvin Brooks which ended a run of three straight defeats.
Woking – Team News
Dowse has confirmed that defender Moussa Diarra is now expected to remain available until after the Bank Holiday double header. Sam Ashford, Malachi Napa, and Tommy Block are all potential returnees after injury but remain doubts for this game. Matt Jarvis, Nathan Collier, Josh Casey, Jamar Loza and Ben Dempsey all remain out and they’ve been joined on the sidelines by Jonté Smith and Jack Skinner. Jack Cook will also serve a two-match ban after his tenth yellow card of the season on Tuesday. Academy graduate Selim Saied could make his Woking debut.
Weymouth – The Boss
Brian Stock was appointed as Weymouth manager last summer, taking over from Mark Molesley who joined Southend United, and after a rocky start has steered the Terras to a solid first campaign back in the National League. Stock, who is in his first managerial role, is a former Football League and Welsh international midfielder. His clubs included AFC Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers, and Havant & Waterlooville, whilst he also played in the Championship for Preston North End and Burnley.
One to Watch
Striker Andrew Dallas has been a revelation since arriving on loan from Cambridge United, scoring 8 goals in 17 games, placing him comfortably atop the Weymouth scoring charts. The 21-year-old started his career in Scotland with Rangers, before joining League Two side Cambridge in 2019. He made an impressive 28 appearances for the U’s last season, including 22 in the Football League, but found opportunities harder to come by in the first-half of this season and joined the Terras in January.
Last Time Out
Weymouth 0-1 Woking – National League (6th October 2020)
Woking made it two wins out of two to start the season with a one-goal win at the Bob Lucas Stadium. Slavi Spasov scored the only goal as he bundled home a Josh Casey free-kick from close range on the stroke of half-time. This was the two clubs first meeting in over 10 years, since April 2010, when the Cards ran out 4-0 winners on the final day of the National League South season.
Next Up
The Cards travel to Dagenham & Redbridge on Bank Holiday Monday. That’s followed by our penultimate home game of the season which comes against Chesterfield the following Saturday.
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