Glen Harrington
12:05pm, Thu 14th Apr 2022
Woking vs Torquay United
Vanarama National League
Friday 15th April 2022
Woking will look to complete the double over old rivals Torquay United on Good Friday, when last season’s National League play-off finalists visit the Laithwaite Community Stadium.
It’s a game that will also be notable for being new manager Darren Sarll’s first at home, following away matches at play-off chasers Boreham Wood and, last time out, FC Halifax Town. The Cards were hugely unlucky not to take anything away from their trip to Shay, where Max Kretzschmar’s penalty proved to be only a consolation in a 2-1 defeat, but with the visitors missing a host of late chances. Despite the defeat, there remains a positive atmosphere around the Woking squad, who have still won four of their last six league games and will no doubt be keen to continue impressing their new boss in the final weeks of the season.
The Cards made just one change against Halifax from the win over Boreham Wood, with Jermaine Anderson making a surprise return from injury after three months out to replace the suspended Rohan Ince, who is available again after serving a one-match ban for two yellow cards against the Wood. Sarll has confirmed that full-back Kyran Lofthouse will miss the rest of the season to aid his recovery from a knee injury sustained against Notts County in February, although Moussa Diarra could make his comeback from injury after sitting out the last two games. Midfielder Olly Pendlebury, who hasn’t featured under Sarll, has had his loan cut short and his returned to his parent club, Wycombe Wanderers.
Opposition Watch
After narrowly missing out on promotion last season, expectations were high for another successful season for the Gulls, but after losing key players to divisional rivals over the summer it’s proved to be a more challenging campaign – at the end of November they sat 17th in the league and had been knocked out of the FA Cup by National League South side Havant & Waterlooville. The second-half of the season has seen popular manager Gary Johnson lead a charge up the table and his rejuvenated side are now in 10th – seven points off the play-off places with a game in hand.
Their recent form, like Woking’s, is very good, with four wins and a draw from their last six league outings, including a hugely impressive 5-1 thrashing of Notts County last time out. Goals have certainly not been a problem for Johnson’s side, with similarly big wins over Aldershot Town (4-0) and Weymouth (3-0), although all three of those results have been at home. Their last two away trips yielded a narrow 3-2 win over King’s Lynn Town and a 2-0 loss at FC Halifax Town.
Torquay’s biggest threat has tended to come from midfield this season – their top scorers are former Woking loanee Armani Little (13 league goals) and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans (11), who between them scored all five against Notts County, with the latter netting a hat-trick. Their squad also includes another former Woking loanee, striker Dan Holman, who scored 14 times in 26 games for the Cards during the 2015/16 season.
Recent Meetings
• Torquay United
0-4 Woking – 30th August 2021, National League (Campbell 2, Ince, Thompson-Sommers)
• Woking
0-2 Torquay United – 20th April 2021, National League
• Torquay United
1-0 Woking – 2nd April 2021, National League
• Woking
1-0 Torquay United – 27th February 2021, FA Trophy Quarter-Final (Loza)
• Torquay United
4-1 Woking – 28th December 2019, National League (Hyde)
On the Day
Ticket prices are £20 for Adults, Concessions £15, Students and Next Generation £12 and £7 for 16-year-olds and under –
click here for more information and to book your tickets online.
This match will be segregated, with Torquay fans being allocated the Chris Lane Terrace and some seats in the Seymours Community LGS.
