Pitching In Southern League, Premier Division South. Saturday, April 13
Tiverton Town v Chesham Town
The Ian Moorcroft Stadium, Ladysmead. 3pm
IF ever the Yellows’ fans needed to be the team’s 12th man, then this Saturday is the day.
Virtually the whole spine of the side will be missing for the visit of Pitching In Southern League Premier Division South champions’ Chesham United, and others’ participation in the game is at best uncertain in a contest we can ill afford to lose.
River Allen starts a three-game ban for his sending-off at Totton; Josh Jones will complete his two-gam suspension on Saturday; and goal machine Joe Parker is unavailable because of a prior commitment.
In addition to those absentees, Dylan Jones is struggling with tonsillitis; Niall Thompson has a muscle strain; Marcio Neves is another player who is unavailable; and Jack Veale is returning to fitness. The potential of Joe O’Connor being available could be the only piece of encouraging news, team-wise.
With other teams picking up points in the battle to beat the drop, to draw a blank this weekend would leave us with a big mountain to climb. Our opponents, regardless of them already being crowned title winners, show no signs of easing up – play-off placed Salisbury were their latest victims last Saturday.
That 2-1 victory was the cue for the celebrations to begin on home soil after claiming the title at Harrow Borough five days earlier with a 4-1 victory. Michael Murray and James Duncan’s players have consistently been the best throughout the season and you can only applaud their outstanding achievement.
Striker Ricardo German’s 31 goals from as many games is a frightening and superb tally. German, who spent three seasons as a professional at Crawley Town, has seen a resurgence with the Generals but the powerful and rapid frontman’s potency only tells half the story.
Veteran defender, 36-year-old Kieran Murphy, who played in the EFL for MK Dons and Crawley Town, has been a bedrock of Chesham’s backline for the past six seasons and his vast experience is a massive calming influence on his team mates.
Nomadic Algerian goalkeeper Zaki Quallah, despite only being 29, has played for 19 different non-league clubs. He had a brief spell with AFC Wimbledon and, last season, played for Weymouth. This term, the commanding gloveman has proved a big hit with Generals’ supporters.
The recruitment of Callum Adebiyi from St Albans in the summer and the mid-season capture of Alex Lafleur from Nuneaton Borough has only boosted Chesham’s squad. The management duo has recruited well, with Murray and Duncan already having a core of players at the club with an abundance of experience and pedigree at this level.
Tivvy manager Leigh Robinson’s men can count themselves a bit unfortunate to not get anything on Tuesday night against Gosport and will know that this is a formidable task ahead of them.
Sometimes in adversity and after being dealt a challenging hand, a side can become resilient, and even inspired.
The Yellows will need both of those qualities in their armoury and the fans’ full support to try and achieve a positive result.