Woking look to bounce back from derby day despair as they welcome Wealdstone to the Laithwaite Community Stadium

Alan Dowson’s Woking side suffered a dramatic 3-2 home loss to local rivals Aldershot last time out.

The Cardinals will be desperate to put that right and get back to winning ways against a Wealdstone side that have clawed their way away from danger.

To say it has been neither a good nor a bad season for Woking is probably a massive understatement. Until Boxing Day, the Cardinals had not drawn a single game all season, meaning that the Woking faithful had only experienced the highs of victory and lows of defeat with absolutely no middle ground.

This has seen the Surrey side gain momentum and close up on the play-offs, only for it to come crashing down again and leave them languishing in a pit of obscurity.

Scintillating Strikers

Former West Bromwich Albion youngster Tahvon Campbell has been a revelation for Woking this season, scoring 13 goals in 20 National League games, having signed as a free agent following his release from Cheltenham Town.

During his spells at West Brom, Forest Green Rovers and Cheltenham, Campbell also gained experience with loans to Kidderminster Harriers, Yeovil Town, Notts County, Solihull Moors, Gillingham, Gloucester City and most recently FC Halifax Town.

As such, the 25-year-old has built up a wealth of experience at National League level as well as the feather of playing in the Football League remaining in his cap.

In Woking’s previous game, it was Campbell’s strike partner Inih Effiong who stepped up to claim a brace, although sadly for the Cardinals fans this was not enough to take any points from the game.

Effiong also has plenty of experience at this level, including a standout 16-goal season at Dover Athletic in 2019/2020. Add into the mix Southampton academy graduate Tyreke Johnson and Woking have a potent attacking force which will prove vital against a Wealdstone side who are more difficult to break down than their league position suggests.

The Stones struggled to get their season underway in the manner they were able to last year behind closed doors and looked as if they could be in for a relegation battle with just two wins in their first 12 matches.

Victories over Grimsby Town, Barnet and Dover Athletic paired with hard-fought points against Weymouth and Wrexham have given their fans the chance to start dreaming of a third straight season at the top of the non-league pyramid.

That unbeaten month from late October to late November ensured that the four-game losing streak that followed was not as catastrophic to their season as it could have been.

Some Wealdstone fans may be speculating about what could have been this season with Stuart Maynard’s side dropping points from winning positions four times already this campaign.

Much like Woking’s Tahvon Campbell, Wealdstone also have a striker who has experienced a breakout season in this National League campaign in the form of 23-year-old Joshua Umerah.

Formerly of Charlton Athletic, Umerah did not quite make the grade at his boyhood club, making just three first-team appearances for the Addicks. However, he does offer positive Football League experience, albeit small, scoring twice in just six appearances whilst on loan to Wycombe Wanderers in the 2017/2018 season. After being recalled by his parent club, Umerah was loaned to Boreham Wood and then subsequently released.

Since his departure from The Valley, he has spent two full seasons in the National League, one with Ebbsfleet United and most recently with Torquay United.

It was somewhat of a gamble from Wealdstone acquiring a player who had scored just five goals in 57 National League appearances over the two previous seasons.

The move though has certainly paid dividends with Umerah coming very much into his own this year and already surpassing his best goalscoring season, bagging eight goals in 20 appearances for Wealdstone. Woking’s defence has proved to be leaky at times so the 23-year-old will no doubt be confident in looking to add to his goalscoring tally.

New Signing Impact

Less than 24 hours before kick-off, Woking announced the signing of experienced striker Nicke Kabamba on a loan deal from Northampton Town that will keep him at the club for the rest of the season.

Kabamba has spent two years away from the National League after spells with Havant & Waterlooville, Aldershot Town and most recently Hartlepool United.

Since he departed the division, he has played in the Scottish Premiership for Kilmarnock as well as making appearances in the Football League for his current parent club, Northampton Town.

Whilst Kabamba’s return to League Two was not a fruitful one, Woking will be hoping that his National League return will prove more successful, with 19 goals in his 81 outings in the division to this date.

The 28-year-old played his last match on January 8th against Crawley Town in the league but has not played a full 90 minutes since December 11th 2021. As such, Alan Dowson may refrain from throwing him straight into the starting 11 but will surely look to utilise his services as soon as possible.

Last Time Out

The two sides met at Grosvenor Vale on opening day back in August with Woking coming away 2-1 victors. In this game, Umerah got his campaign off to the perfect start with an opening day strike but the Cardinals’ set-piece specialist Max Kretzschmar scored a brace to claim all three points. Ironically, Kretzschmar also got a brace in his previous game and will be looking to continue his goal-scoring run against a familiar foe.

How will the two sides approach the game?

Woking’s previous two games have ended 3-2 so a high-scoring affair certainly would not be the most surprising outcome of this game.

This would likely suit the Cardinals with Wealdstone averaging just one goal per game this season, scoring 15 fewer goals than Alan Dowson’s side.

The Stones will likely try and keep the game tight to keep the likes of Campbell and Effiong at bay, steering the game into one that will suit them as they actually boast a better defensive record.

Although with a set-piece specialist lining up against them in Kretzschmar, this may be a dangerous game as any set-piece near the Wealdstone area will pose danger.

In truth, this game offers very little in the way of relevance to the outcome of the season with Woking 11 points off the play-offs and Wealdstone nine points above the relegation zone.

However, what this game does offer is an opportunity for both sides to consolidate. The Cardinals will look to dangle onto their play-off hopes with their fingernails by acquiring all three points at the Laithwaite Community Stadium, whereas Wealdstone will look to make absolutely certain that they do not get hauled back into a relegation battle.

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