It was another desperately disappointing afternoon at the Black Gold on Saturday as the Dolphins suffered their fifth consecutive 1-0 defeat. This time a 94th minute header, direct from a corner, took away what would have been a much-deserved point from a top three side. There can be no doubt about the effort and commitment shown by the lads in that game.
However, it was not to be and we move on the re-arranged away fixture at Bulpit Lane against Hungerford Town on Tuesday evening ko 7.45pm.
We played out a goalless draw against them at The Black Gold in November, in that game Jamie Whisken was shown a second yellow in the 83rd minute and Ramarni Medford-Smith followed him into the dressing room in the dying moments of the game. Hungerford were one of the pre-season favourites for promotion after finishing just outside of the play-off places in the last campaign. They have been as low as 16th place in the league but a magnificent run of form which has seen them unbeaten in their last nine games, winning the last six, has moved them up to 7th. When we played them in November, we were 8th.
We lost both matches against them last season, a 2-1 defeat at Bulpit Lane in October 2023 was followed up with a 2-1 reverse at The Black Gold. Hungerford went on to finish in 8th place, just four points outside of the play-off places.
They come into the game on the back of a 2-0 home win over Hanwell Town with Louis McGory getting both goals, one in each half. They will consider themselves very much in contention for the play-offs, (P31 W12 D9 L10 45 points) with eleven games to play. The Crusaders have picked up 30 points at home from a possible 45.
Hungerford are managed by Danny Robinson who made the switch to Bulpit Lane after five very successful years with Thatcham Town. One of his most proud and memorable moments at the club was winning the FA Vase at Wembley in 2018 and he also won the Hellenic League title and guided the Kingfishers to promotion to the Southern League Division 1 South.
When we look at the opposition, we look for a stand out player who we might need to be watchful of. They do not come any more stand out than Jordan Ibe the ex-Liverpool and Bournemouth striker who joined Hungerford from Hayes & Yeading recently to resurrect his career after some health issues. He has made six appearances for the club, mainly as a late substitute, scoring one goal. We are likely to see more of ex-Dolphin midfielder Alfie Santos who has made 27 appearances scoring 3 goals.
We have now dropped to 20th place, (P31 W7 D8 L16 29 points) with eleven matches to play. Away from the Black Gold we have taken 13 points from a possible 45.
Looking ahead to the games to come, we have five more home matches, four against teams in the lower half of the table and away from home we will play six matches with four of those against sides in the top half of the table. Obviously, we need points from every game, but it shows that our home games are especially critical.
Enjoy the game,
Neil Wellington.
