Match Preview: Isthmian South Central Division
Thatcham Town Vs Basingstoke Town
When: Monday 10th April 2023 Kick-off 3pm
Where: Waterside Park, Crookham Hill, Thatcham, Berkshire. RG19 4PA
Thatcham Town (Nickname – Kingfishers), Avg 2022-23 Home Att 120
Admission Prices: Adults £10, Concessions £6, U16’s £2
Following Brody Peart’s late winner against a stubborn Southall team, plus Walton’s dropping of two points at Guernsey, we now sit level with them, but behind on goal-difference, as we travel to Waterside Park to face Thatcham Town tomorrow afternoon.
We played Thatcham at Winklebury back in early January and two quick-fire goals by Reid and then Wilson, at the start of the second-half, was enough to win all three points and at the time push us into fourth place.
Our Opponents
The Kingfishers are managed by Yashwa Romeo after joining the club as Jamie Leacock’s assistant, having spent three seasons as the club’s leading goalscorer as a player. As a player he also played for local clubs such as Marlow, Slough Town and Oxford City.
They currently sit in thirteenth place following Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Chipstead, with a league record of Pld 35 Won 12 Drawn 10 Lost 13 with 46pts. Their home record stands at 8 wins, 4 draw and 5 losses, but are yet one more club who have made numerous changes to their squad this season, having used over fifty players so far this season.
Their leading goal-scorer is the versatile Cameron Rohart-Brown, with ten goals, and although a left back, he has played in a more attacking roles as well. Another forward is Simeon Weeks who joined the club in 2019 and has four goals this season.
In midfield they have Callum Willmoth who has a wealth of experience playing for Thatcham previously and has returned to the club, having played for the likes of Newbury and more recently Hungerford Town. Midfielder Muhamadou Ceesay has seven goals. Former Stoke player Jordan Alves is in his second spell with the club. A Reading Academy graduate, he was previously at Hartley Wintney and, more recently, North Leigh. Another midfielder likely to start is Nathan Jones.
In defence it starts with Josh Edwards, who has returned to the club, after being in their youth set-up before joining Flackwell Heath. He then had a good spell with us, and was a well-liked defender before rejoining the Kingfishers in 2020. Oliver Bourne is another regular at the back, having come through their U18 team. In January ex-Stokie Alfie Saunders joined the club, but he moved on after playing just five times from the club. Another defender is Ramarni Medford-Smith, who has found the net three times this season. There is also Tinashe Gwavava, an athletic right-back who is another former Youth Team player to return to the club. He has also played for the Hungerford Town Academy, Royal Wootton Bassett Town, then Tadley Calleva.
In goal it is likely to be Toby Fisher, who is on loan from Aldershot Town for the second time in two seasons.
Our Basingstoke Town Side
For a long while on Friday, a goal didn’t look like coming, but a superb long through ball by Billy Upton, allowed super-sub Brody Peart to run on and with his quick thinking he caught the Southall keeper off-guard as he slid the ball past him and in off the far post. Yes it gave us a 24-hour lead at the top, and Walton’s partial slip-up helps us, but we know that goals can now really matter with just three games left, starting with the trip to Thatcham.
Our league record now sits at Pld 35 Won 26 Drawn 2 Lost 7 and Pts 80. Our away record despite the loss at Walton, is still the best in the league and stands at an impressive 13 wins 1 draw and 3 losses.
Although we dominated Southall for long periods of last Friday’s game, it took some time to force Southall’s keeper to make some saves. It took a bold move to bring on three-players to change things up with just over twenty minutes to play. Even then good build-up play was wasted, as a further chance went begging, and it took Peart’s finish to settle the game. What this does to Manager Dan Brownlie’s line-up tomorrow could be a last minute decision on who to start up top. Unless things change then it will be Bradley Wilson, Paul Hodges & George Reid, possibly with Sam Argent or Brody Peart as other potential starters, depending on how we set-up. Stefan Brown made a noticeable contribution on Friday and will likely take some part in the game at some point also.
The team and the midfield should be led by Simon Dunn, and it will be interesting to see if Michael Atkinson, who has missed the last two games, will be available tomorrow. Do they risk him or keep him safe for the important trip to Guernsey? Ben Cook is likely to start in the middle, which means that D’Andre Brown will likely once again be on the bench. Not sure of James Clark’s fitness after missing Friday, but he could also be an option off the bench.
The defence will see the absence of Billy Upton, who will serve his once match ban tomorrow, which means Scott Armsworth will be partnered by Nathan Smart in the middle. Unless Dan wishes to change things up, then once more it will be Markus Johnson-Schuster on the right and Callum Winchcombe on the left. Ben Mason is the unlucky player waiting on the bench once again. Paul Strudley who had very little to do against Southall, will likely be wearing the keepers jersey once more, with Mark Scott waiting in the wings.
Unfortunately the weather is not looking the best for tomorrow, but this should not deter another large Stoke following taking the short-trip to Thatcham. With train works planned this Bank Holiday, the car park could be full, so get there early. Post-match there should be no hold-ups getting out as the nearby train crossing should remain open all the time.
In what is a must win game, and if we mean to keep our title challenge going, we now know that our goal-difference needs to improve, and tomorrow would be a great time to narrow that gap, whilst putting a little more pressure on Walton & Hersham, who host Merstham.
Match Preview by Martin French..