Walton & Hersham vs Poole Town – Match Preview
What a way to end an eight-game winless run. Poole Town’s win over Winchester City on Saturday had everything and showed the 722 crowd that there is good reason to believe that we can climb out of the bottom four places and maintain our step 3 status. After the match Pat & Joe spoke about the fight, passion and desire in the team and surely that was there for everyone to see.
“The result on Saturday was huge for us,” Josh Staunton told the Pitching In website, “It wasn’t just the three points, but the manner in which we got them; scoring three goals and coming from behind whilst down to ten men is a real injection of belief and confidence in the group, which will be enormous for us in the run-in.
“We played really well during the first half and had it not been a for a few good saves, we could have gone in at the break more than just one goal up. We then had a wobbly ten minutes at the start of the second half where we conceded twice to fall behind, but responded by showing the kind of intensity and level of performance that we need to get us out of the situation that we are in. “We have to be honest about the position we find ourselves in; the season has been majorly disappointing and we now have to find some consistent form to ensure that we can move out of the relegation places”. (The full interview with Josh can be found in the news section of the Pitching In website)
The challenges keep coming and they will not get much more difficult than a trip to Surrey and the Elmbridge Sports Hub to face the most in-form team in the league, Walton & Hersham. The Swans are currently in 3rd place (P34 W18 D10 L6 64 points) with only Merthyr (88) having scored more than their 72 goals so far this season. They are on an unbeaten run of 12 games stretching back to 28th December when they lost 5-2 to league leaders Merthyr Town. They have lost just one match at home, that was to Taunton Town on 5th November.
In the reverse fixture at the Black Gold, W&H dominated the first half and could have established a much greater lead than the 1-0 scoreline at half-time. Steve Tully made 5 second half changes which turned the game significantly and Poole began to dominate the match. Ramos scored the equaliser on what was his debut on 76 minutes and both teams went all out for the win. However, it was not to be, and the game ended in a very entertaining 1-1 draw.
Last season they did the double over us, a 3-1 win at the Black Gold in March was followed up by a 3-0 win at the Elmbridge Sports Hub in April. The Swans missed out on the play-offs by 3 points after winning 18 of the 42 league games.
Walton & Hersham appointed Billy Rowley as their manager in May this year, he has been with the club for four years and on his appointment, he told the club’s website, “I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to take the helm at Walton & Hersham, and to carry on the momentum here. Having been here for four years already, I feel an immensely strong connection to the club, its supporters, and the wider community, and can’t wait to get to work in my new role.”
Top scorer for W&H is Dawid Rogalski who is on 16 goals. He joined the club in the summer after playing a huge part in Marlow’s promotion the Southern League Premier South by scoring 45 goals in all competitions.
Just eight games to go, 4 home and 4 away, but with 2 draws against top sides and Saturday’s win behind us it’s going to be a fascinating run-in.
Enjoy the game
Neil Wellington.