Havant & Waterlooville v Aldershot Town Match Preview – Wednesday 5th September 2018
On Wednesday evening, Aldershot Town hit the road again in search of their first away points of the 2018-19 season. The Shots suffered their fourth consecutive away defeat in North Wales on Saturday. Despite a promising start, two second half goals secured the three points that took Wrexham back to the National League summit. BBC Surrey Sport’s Rob Worrall previews the game:
Shots Squad:
Manager Gary Waddock will still be without injured Hull City loanee goalkeeper Will Mannion, who is recovering from a quad injury. Skipper Karleigh Osborne (Achilles) is a week or so away from a return. Marvin McCoy is yet to make his Shots debut due to an injury that has kept him out since pre-season.
Opposition:
Name: Havant & Waterlooville
Founded: 1883 (as Havant FC) 1905 (as Waterlooville FC)
Nickname: The Hawks
Manager: Lee Bradbury
Stadium: West Leigh Park (Capacity 5,300)
2017/18 National League South position: 1st
Brief History:
Havant & Waterlooville were formed in 1998 following the merger of Havant Town FC and Waterlooville FC. The original Havant FC were formed back in 1883 before merging with local side Leigh Park Avenue in 1969. In August 1982, they were rebranded Havant Town FC. Waterlooville Football Club were established in 1905, and in June 1998 they merged with Havant Town FC to create the newly formed Havant & Waterlooville FC.
The Gaffer:
Lee Bradbury took charge of the Hawks for the first time in October 2012. During his second season in charge, Bradbury guided the Hawks to an FA Trophy semi-final, Hampshire Senior Cup final and missed out on the playoffs by goal difference alone. They began 2015/16 as promotion favourites but found themselves relegated to the Southern Premier, before a rapid return saw them promoted back a season later. Bradbury made it back to back promotions as they pipped Dartford to the title in May 2018, to cement himself in Havant folklore.
Outgoings:
Just three players departed West Leigh Park in the summer, all strikers. Top scorer Jason Prior was the key loss, whilst the experienced Matt Tubbs and James Hayter also moved on.
Incomings:
Sixteen of last season’s playing squad stayed, including Skipper Brian Stock and striker Alfie Rutherford. Four additions arrived, including the National League’s top goal scorer, former Shots loanee Alfie Pavey. Another striker – also a Shots loanee – Nicke Kabamba, joined the club from Portsmouth. Centre Back Paul Robinson also joined from Football League side AFC Wimbledon.
Referee:
Wednesday evening’s referee is Richard Hulme. It will be his fourth National League match of the season. Last season, he took the middle in 16 National League matches, showing 48 Yellow cards and 3 Red cards. He only refereed Aldershot Town once, a 1-0 home victory over Maidenhead United.
Commentary:
BBC Surrey Sport’s Rob Worrall and former Shots striker Tim Sills will be covering the game live on Wednesday evening. Tune in to the BBC Sport website (or the BBC Sport App) from 7:35PM for full match commentary. To interact with them, tweet @RobShot66 and/or @Sillsmeister
TV:
The game will be shown live on BT Sport 1 from 7:15PM, kicking off at 7:45PM. For any fans who can’t make the trip down to Havant we will be screening the game live from the EBB Lounge at the ground. Doors open at 5PM and FREE pizza will be on offer to fans.
