Aldershot Town v Maidstone United Match Preview – Tuesday 25th September 2018
Aldershot Town got back to winning ways with a solid 2-0 home victory against Dover Athletic on Saturday. A goal in each half from Portsmouth loanee Adam May on debut, secured the three points that lifted The Shots up to seventeenth place in the National League table. Town are back at EBB Stadium on Tuesday evening, with Maidstone United the visitors. BBC Surrey Sport’s Rob Worrall previews the game.
Shots Squad:
Gary Waddock made six changes for the Dover match and was rewarded with a highly cohesive team performance. As ever, the Shots boss will be keeping his cards close to his chest regarding team selection. However, whilst top scorer Scott Rendell is close to a return following a hamstring strain, with the team doing well on Saturday, he could be given a little longer to fully recover. Whilst Skipper Karleigh Osborne completed his first ninety minutes for the club at the weekend, his recovery will need to be assessed. Shamir Fenelon and Marvin McCoy were not involved on Saturday and are not expected to return to the playing squad on Tuesday evening. Shots TV spoke to Gary Waddock in the build-up to tonight’s game, click here.
Opposition:
Name: Maidstone United
Founded: 1992 (as Maidstone Invicta)
Nickname: The Stones
Manager: Harry Wheeler
Stadium: Gallagher Stadium
2017/18 National League position: 19th
Brief History:
Maidstone United FC was founded in 1897 and reformed in 1992 after the demise of the Football League side. They began life again as Maidstone Invicta and were led by the Chairman at the time, Paul Bowden-Brown.
The Gaffer:
Thirty-year-old Harry Wheeler was announced as the new Stones manager just two weeks ago, following the departure of the long serving Jay Saunders. Wheeler was most recently in charge at Billericay Town. Having steered them to promotion to the National League South last season, Wheeler was controversially sacked by ‘Ricay owner Glenn Tamplin after the Essex club’s first defeat in 29 games. Wheeler reportedly resisted Tamplin’s attempts to re-instate him and subsequently took over as Stones boss a few days later.
Outgoings:
In the close season, with Saunders in charge at the time, 11 players left the Gallagher Stadium, 8 of whom were released. Notable losses included defenders Josh Hare and Alex Winter (both joined Eastleigh).
Incomings:
Saunders kept 10 players, including experienced goalkeeper Lee Worgan, midfielder Stuart Lewis and lively striker Blair Turgott – six goals already this season including the winner at Braintree on Saturday. Saunders brought in 9 players, including Centre Back Will de Haviland (Wycombe Wanderers) and Shamir Mullings (Forest Green Rovers). Since arriving at the club, Wheeler has been highly active, bringing in Billericay Town skipper Simon Walton across on loan and also adding a further four players, last week; defenders Lawrie Wilson (Ebbsfleet) and Jack Doyle (Blackburn Rovers) – both on loan – as is Hartlepool forward Jake Cassidy and utility player Olu Durojaiye, who has joined after being released by Braintree.
Referee:
Tuesday’s referee is Declan Bourne and this will be his eighth National League game this term. So far he has shown 19 Yellow cards and 1 Red. He refereed Aldershot Town’s 1-0 defeat at Solihull Moors in August.
Commentary:
BBC Surrey Sports Rob Worrall and a special guest will be covering the game live on Tuesday evening. Tune in to the BBC Sport website (or the BBC Sport App) from 7:35pm for full match commentary. To interact, tweet @RobShot66.
