William Bewsey
11:31am, Thu 21st Dec 2023
Woking vs Maidenhead United
Vanarama National League
Saturday 23rd December 2023
15:00 Kick-Off
Woking will hope for a positive start to the Michael Doyle era when they welcome Maidenhead United to the Laithwaite on Saturday.
After ending a run of seven straight defeats thanks to Paul Osew's late goal against Dorking at Meadowbank, caretaker manager Ian Dyer will resume his duties as assistant to Doyle, who will have a positive selection dilemma for his first game in charge.
The likes of Rhys Browne and Reece Grego-Cox missed out at Dorking, and Rohan Ince was a late substitute, with returns for Manny Oyeleke and Jim Kellermann proving highly successful. There was also no place in the matchday squad for Morgan Williams, who has been impressive on loan from AFC Wimbledon, so it will be interesting to see if Doyle brings him back into the fold.
Around the Ground
Ticket pricing and other details are available
here.
The Club reminds supporters, in light of the forecasted weather, that pointed umbrellas are not permitted in the ground. Smaller, non-pointed umbrellas are.
Opposition Watch
Taking charge of Maidenhead United for the ninth consecutive season, Alan Devonshire once again had to deal with big squad changes in the summer as the likes of 'keepers Dan Gyollai and Alexis Andre Jr, now of course at Woking himself departed, but the Magpies pulled off something of a coup in securing the services of popular Woking stopper Craig Ross, who has been a key part of a Maidenhead side currently clear of danger in 12th, having kept seven league clean sheets.
Other changes included striker Emile Acquah securing a move to League Two Barrow where he is playing a big hand in a promotion push there, and the Magpies have been unable to fully replace his output. However, winger duo Reece Smith and Ashley Nathaniel-George have earned much praise across the division. Smith, a Maidenhead academy graduate, scored five in what was a real breakout season last year, and already has seven in 21 appearances this season ahead of a January where the Magpies will hope to retain his services. Nathaniel-George, meanwhile, has found a real home at Maidenhead, and the 28-year-old will prove tricky to stop with his skill and end product from the wing.
As previously mentioned, Maidenhead currently sit 12th, five points ahead of the Cards having played a game more, winning seven, drawing nine and losing eight of their 24 games thus far. They've scored 28 and conceded 33, and come to the Laithwaite unbeaten in seven league games, having won five and drawn two of them, which has propelled them away from danger.
Last Time Out
A captivating 0-0 draw at York Road in September saw both sides spurn chances, but ultimately the points were shared. Last season, Woking were victorious in March with a regulation 2-0 win thanks to goals from Padraig Amond and Luke Wilkinson, but the reverse fixture in Berkshire in September went the way of the Magpies by a 1-0 margin.
Overall, in their last 21 meetings with Maidenhead, Woking have been victorious eight times, with five draws and eight Maidenhead wins.
