The very late winner from Ogo Obi was a bitter blow for the Dolphins at Farnham on Tuesday evening. In a game that produced a lot of attacking football there were many chances at either end, but unfortunately, we only took one of ours and came away with nothing.
We now move on to two home league matches in a row the first one being the clash with Basingstoke on Saturday ko 3pm. We then face Tiverton Town at the BlackGold on Tuesday evening KO 7.45pm.
There is something of a gap opening up at the top of the table. Walton & Hersham have lost just the once this season so far and top the table on 40 points. Not far behind are Gloucester City on 36 points. Next comes Wimborne Town who are on 28 points having played 15 games. We are still right there in the mix in 5th place (P15 W8 D3 L4 27 points) but we cannot afford to lose too many more matches.
Basingstoke are currently in 11th place (P17 W6 D3 L8 21 points) and need to pick up points in order to challenge to leading pack. They come into the match on the back of a 2-0 home defeat to Gloucester City last Tuesday evening where City striker Kane Simpson added two more to his tally for the season. This was only the second match that Basingstoke have not scored, the only other match that they didn’t find the back of the net was the 1-0 away defeat at Dorchester Town. Their best performance of the season was the 4-3 win at Gosport Borough in October, their other away win came at Weymouth, 2-1.
They are managed by Dan Brownlie who was appointed in 2019 succeeding Martin Kuhl who he served as assistant. In fact, he had served the previous three managers as their assistant before being given the top job. He has a great deal of experience in non-league football and managed Hartley Wintney prior to joining Basingstoke. A former Reading youth team player, Brownlie spent nine seasons with Hartley Wintney as a player, coach and joint-manager, enjoying back-to-back promotions from the Sydenham’s Football League (Wessex) Premier to the Southern Premier Division
The club were delighted to be able to retain the experienced striker Liam Ferdinand for the upcoming 2025/2026 season. A player who we have come up against on many occasions in recent seasons. He joined ‘Stoke back in October 2023. With Charlie Austen likely to play some part they do boast quite a strike-force.
Keeper Simon Grant has also been earning high praise for his performances between the sticks. He joined Basingstoke from Bracknell Town in January 2024 and has been a very popular figure in the quad since then. He did suffer a knee injury which kept him out for a while last season but he is the regular number one now.
It was great to have Billy Lowes back in the starting line up at Farnham on Tuesday evening along with Charlie Davis who also started, and rewarded his selection with a 9th minute opener and continued to impress throughout the game. Speaking to Connor Hannon after the match Joe Lea said how difficult it was to accept the defeat bearing in mind how well the team had played, especially in the second half. The 17-day break was put to good use with hard training sessions and much focus on tactical awareness. Joe ended his interview by saying that the lads are very keen to get back to the Tatnam and face the always dangerous Basingstoke and show that we can be more clinical in front of goal.
Come along early and take in the great atmosphere that the BlackGold generates.
