Match Preview: Southern League Premier South
Plymouth Parkway vs Basingstoke Town
When: Saturday 10th August 2024 Kick-off 3pm
Where: Bolitho Park, St Peters Road, Manadon, Plymouth, Devon PL5 3JG
Plymouth Parkway (Parkway), Avg 2023-24 Home Att 409
This Saturday we open our 2024-25 season, with the longest trip of the season, as we head down to Devon to take on Plymouth Parkway. Last season down in Devon, we went behind after a goal-keeping error, but hit back just sixty seconds later, Stefan Brown found George Reid who made no mistake. Despite chance for both sides on a pretty poor pitch, the game ended one-one and we left Bolitho Park with a point. At home later in the season, we made tough work of securing all three points, but a late-late penalty gave us a deserved one-nil win.
Our Opponents
The Parkway had a change of Manager in the off-season as Chris McPhee and assistant Manager and former player Lea Peacock. McPhee a former football player who spent time at a number of clubs, then went become an assistant manager lastly at Exeter City U18’s, before taking on the role with Parkway.
Plymouth spent much of the last part of the season, fighting relegation and escaped by their skin of their teeth or rather on goal-difference as their one-one draw at Beaconsfield Town, pushed Beaconsfield into the final relegation spot on the last day of the season. Parkway’s record ended as Pld 42 Won 12 Drawn 12 Lost 18 GF 60 GA 68 with 48pts
Jack Crago was to be one of their top strikers but is currently on loan at Helston. Matthew Wright will therefore likely head their forward line and will be starting his fourth season at the club, whilst Alex Cairo is another striker returning for another season at Bolitho Park. There’s also young Mitch Beardmore who is one of three players on a three-month loan from Exeter City.
The midfield will see the arrival of young Carlo Garside after a brief spell at Willand Rovers. Carlos was one of a number of Plymouth Argyle academy players within the squad. Ryan Brett will be vice-captain, as was one of a number of players released by Truro City at the end of last season. Callum Rose is another long-standing player at the club who will look to control the middle. Lewis Smith who struggled through a number of injuries last season, will be looking to cement a place in the middle this season. Rio Garside brother of Carlos, will return for another season for the club.
The defence will be led by Shane White, who will also wear the captain’s armband this season. White, joined from Truro City midway through last season. Young 18 year-old Sam Joce is another new signing who joins the Parkway after being released by Exeter City. Callum Rose will also return for another season. Another exciting youngster is Tom Dean who is also on loan from Exeter City. He can play at the back or equally well in midfield. In goal will be young Zak Baker who is on loan from Plymouth Argyle.
Our Basingstoke Town Side
Well our opening line-up of the season will see a number of significant changes, as our top two goal-scorers, Bradley Wilson & Dan Rowe decided to move on, and we thank them both for their efforts whilst at our club. Manager Dan Brownlie & Aaron Nicholson have therefore been very active in the pre-season finding suitable replacements, as well replenishing one or two others areas as other players moved on as well.
Our pre-season was in many ways a successful one, fortunately picking up just one new injury (Paul Hodges), whilst blending our new players in with the returning players from last season. Secondly we went unbeaten with five wins and two draws. Our record last season ended with us finishing in twelfth place with a record of Pld 42 Won 15 Drawn 8 Lost 19 GF 69 GA 83 with 53pts.
Our forward line will see three new starters in the impressive Nnamdi Nwachuku, who joins us after a successful season at Cheshunt, and Dan Warre who has joined from step five club Reading City. Both have found the net a number of times in pre-season. Another new signing was young Robbie Gallagher who joins us from Didcot Town, and displays speed and a tenacity to fight for every battle generally on the wing. Last year’s striker Liam Ferdinand and winger George Reid may both be a week away or so from a starting eleven position.
Simon Dunn will once again lead the midfield as well as retaining the captain’s armband this season. We did lose the quality of Michael Atkinson, who moved back upto step 2 football, but we brought in a number of new players starting with Flynn Bolton, (the brother of last season’s player Elliott Bolton), who looks to have secured a place in the middle. Another new signing is ex-Winchester Max Smith, who will be in the running alongwith well-liked Luis Le Paih among the Stoke faithful. There’s also Alfie Bridgman another new signing from Bognor Regis, and Rudy Allen who joins us from Kingstonian. Ben Cook, who made a late start with pre-season minutes, may not be ready to go tomorrow. Paul Hodges picked up a shoulder injury which will delay his start to the season.
The defence has seen very little change from last season, apart from signing ex-Salisbury Jack Ball, who is a tall centre-back, but he is likely a week or two away from being added to the match-day squad. This probably means the back-four being the returning Markus Johnson-Shuster on the right, Billy Upton & James Clark in the centre-back roles, whilst Curtis Angell will hold down the left-back tomorrow. Young Aleks Kokoszka could be one of the bench options, as well as Scott Armsworth.
In goal will be fan favourite Simon Grant who was a major part of us changing our fortunes when he joined us in January.
The unknowns are that Ashleigh Artwell & Massimo Giamattei are still to sign or be announced that they have signed on for this coming season.
What will be noticeable is that potentially just three players from last season’s visit just ten months ago will be part of the matchday-squad.
However, whatever happened last season is now just a memory and we start tomorrow with renewed hope and expectations of a successful season ahead of us.
Let’s get behind the boys tomorrow and hopefully leave Devon with all three points.
Match Preview by Martin French..
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