Stoke of Fortune

Pitching In Southern League Premier Division South 

Basingstoke Town v Tiverton Town 

Saturday, November 23 . 3pm . Winklebury Sports Complex 

ROB Dray and his team will have had little time to dwell on Wednesday night's loss to Havant & Waterlooville. They return to Hampshire this Saturday afternoon looking to improve on recent results and to make up ground on the sides directly above them. 

Dylan Jones will come back into contention for a starting place after serving a one-game suspension, and injury will mean Josh Jones is not available for selection. 

After a short stay with the Yellows, Evander Grubb has decided to play his football nearer to where he lives, at a former club Bristol Manor Farm. Grubb, who was popular,  was developing a bit of a following with the supporters and we wish him well. 

Arriving at the Ian Moorcroft Stadium is attacking midfielder/forward Marcus Day. Like Grubb, he played under Rob Dray at Taunton and the ex-Bristol City Academy player was with Frome before this reunion with his former manager. 

Basingstoke boss Dan Brownlie has masterminded a resurgence in his six seasons in charge at Basingstoke and his side was unbeaten after the first ten games of the season and perched high up the table. However, since then, they have not won in the last six games, losing three and drawing three. Defeats to Chertsey and Poole have left them in eighth place.  

Liam Ferdinand has always been associated with goals at this level of football and the much-travelled striker will need close observation. Ferdinand, who was particularly prolific with Met Police, has also played for Farnborough, Harrow Borough and Chesham, also representing Bracknell last term and moving to the Stoke last autumn. He has eight goals to his name so far this season.

Injured: Josh Jones

Simon Dunn is the hosts’ skipper. Having played more than 130 times for Slough Town, the midfielder’s knowhow and guile was always admired by supporters of the club in a previous lengthy spell with Basingstoke. Rejoining in the 2019-20 campaign, Dunn has made in excess of 150 appearances for the club. 

Fellow midfielder Rudy Allen is a strong performer in this standard of football. Having been part of the successful Met Police side over a number of seasons, Allen has been a regular during this campaign for our hosts. Experienced central defender 33-year-old Jack Ball was an integral part of the Farnborough team that won promotion a few seasons back. His cv also includes Salisbury and Hartley Wintney.  

Full-backs Marcus Johnson-Schuster and Curtis Angell are mainstays of the home side’s defence during this campaign. Johnson-Schuster has good pedigree, having played higher up the football pyramid with Braintree, Hungerford and Wealdstone. The fan favourite started a third stint with the Stoke at the beginning of last season and is a former Plymouth Argyle academy player. Angell has established himself as a permanent fixture in the hosts’ back line and also played in the National League South for Hungerford. 

The coaching staff for Tivvy will be totally focused on the job in hand and be fully aware of our league position, searching for the recipe for success on the field, knowing that every game is an opportunity to make progress and move up the table.  

Come 3pm, all Yellows, near and far, will be hoping that we secure some points today.