Match Preview: Walton & Hersham v Basingstoke Town Saturday 1st April 2023

Match Preview: Isthmian South Central Division
Walton & Hersham Vs Basingstoke Town
When: Saturday 1st April 2023 Kick-off 3pm
Where: Elmbridge Xcel Sports Hub, Waterside Drive, Walton-on-Thames. KT12 2JP
Walton & Hersham (Nickname – The Swans), Avg 2022-23 Home Att 345
Admission Prices: Adults £9, Concessions (65) £6, 13-21 £4, U13’s Free

Well the winning run had to come to an end, but once again to a team in the playoff slots in a game that on the day we did not take any of the few chances we had on the day.
This brings us to possibly the most important game in recent Stoke history as we travel to second-placed Walton & Hersham, with just the one point advantage over them, and also our goal-difference, down to just two.
We played Walton & Hersham at the end of December, which surprisingly was the last game prior to the Hanworth game that we had lost, which once again was by just a solitary goal again at Winklebury.

Our Opponents
Walton & Hersham is home to the world’s youngest football club owners.as a group of students cobbled together their student loans to buy the club back in 2019.

The Swans and still sit one place behind Stoke in second place and are managed by Manager Scott Harris, who led the team back to this league after a six-year absence, and is a former Walton & Hersham player.
The Swans like Stoke were, are on an extended winning run of thirteen games, and are unbeaten in fourteen games.
Their league record stands at Pld 33 Won 25 Drawn 1 Lost 7 with 76pts. They are now the league leaders in goals scored with 86 goals, which is largely down to one player, Eddie Simon, who is now not only the Swans leading goal-scorer, but also now the runaway league leading goal-scorer. In fact Simon has scored goals at a prodigious rate since playing against us at the end of last year, when he had just 14 goals. Since January he has added twenty-two league goals, and has broken all English football records, with four consecutive hat-tricks, as we visit them tomorrow. Simon, a full-time dentist had spent the last three years at Combined Counties side British Airways. Another striker is Jordan Adeyemi, who has fourteen goals this season, and was a former Leyton Orient U18 player, who has also played for Guildford City and Harlow Town. There is also Palace Francis who has joined from Fulham academy and has four goals so far this season.

In midfield they have John Gilbert, who has added a massive fourteen goals on the season, and is a former Walton Casual player, who previously played for Maldon & Tiptree. Add experienced Arsen Ujkaj, who has played for Westfield, East Grinstead & Met Police. With him will be Alex Kelly, regarded as a cultured ball-player who joined from Horsham. The Swans added experienced Teo Kurtaran at the beginning of February, and has added three goals. Kurtaran, previously spent time at Kingstonian and Chipstead. Winger Taurean Roberts, who has seven goals this season, started his career alongside Wilfrid Zaha, in the Crystal Palace academy, and has since played for a number of clubs, such as Tooting & Mitcham, Merstham, Met Police and more recently Horsham.

The defence is led by fullback Harry Mills, who has notched eleven goals, and was a former Hampton & Richmond, Walton Casuals and Horsham player, and is in his second spell with the Swans. The Swans have strengthened their defence recently signing Leatherhead’s Mitchal Gough. Gough, has played for a number of clubs in our league as well as the defunct Walton Casuals and more recently Hayes & Yeading Utd. Joe Hicks is another strong defender who has played for Corinthian Casuals, Hampton & Richmond, Met Police and of course Walton Casuals. Joe Pratley-Jones is a right-back who was a former Fulham youngster who played for Kingstonian and more recently Molesey before joining Walton. Another defensive signing is Darryl Siaw, who started at Farnborough, before playing for other clubs such as Sutton Common Rovers, Three Bridges and more recently South Park, joining the Swans in January. In goal will be Liam Allen, a former Chelsea & Woking youngster who has been at the club since 2014 and has already racked up 30 appearances this season and now over 150 for the Swans.

Our Basingstoke Town Side
Despite a lot of possession we failed to create many clear-cut chances, as Hanworth Villa stifled our goal-shy strikers once again. The loss leaves us just one point ahead as we travel for the game-of-the-season, as the winners will be strong favourites to win the league title. A draw gives us a slight edge.
The loss leaves our league record at Pld 33 Won 25 Drawn 2 Lost 6 and Pts 77.

As stated our forward-line again failed to find the net, and unless there is a change in how we set-up, then the only change maybe be a starting role for young Brody Peart. If not it is likely to be Bradley Wilson, Paul Hodges, Sam Argent & George Reid. Stefan Brown, who made a second-half appearance will likely be on the bench if needed.

Unless any injuries have been picked up since last week, then the midfield will be led by team captain Simon Dunn, who will be ably supported by Michael Atkinson and possibly Ben Cook depending on our formation and sits fifth in our goal-scoring charts with six goals. Any changes means that both D’Andre Brown and James Clark are waiting in the wings, and are likely bench options.

Apart from the occasional attack, and the smash & grab goal by Hanworth last week, then our defence was rarely stretched, as we face a Walton team full of goals. This means our defence will need to be at it’s best tomorrow afternoon, starting with our two centre-back stars Scott Armsworth & Billy Upton. The backs will more than likely be the same, with Markus Johnson-Schuster on the right, whilst Callum Winchcombe on the left. Both Ben Mason & Nathan Smart who got starts in the midweek North-Hants Cup, are likely to be the options off the bench if required.

Despite Mark Scott getting the midweek start, it will be Paul Strudley between the sticks tomorrow afternoon, and there is not a more important time to leave Walton with a clean sheet.

Our failure to kill teams off and add to our goal-difference, will give Walton the belief that they will stay in the game for ninety minutes, but if there was ever a time for our forwards to come together, tomorrow afternoon would be that time. They have the skill and application to do so, as they proved for three-quarters of this season.

Walton are reporting an expected large crowd, and as usual there will be another large Stoke following who will take the trip to the ground by the River Thames. The weather may however play a big part tomorrow, as it is expected to continue to rain over the next 24 hours, but like us the 3G surface will allow the game to go ahead.

Forget what has gone on in the past eight months, tomorrow is the time to get behind Dan & the players, in what is a crucial, crucial game for Basingstoke.

Match Preview by Martin French..