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06/12/2019 10:59 AM  #1


Havant & Waterlooville (Away)

After a return to winning ways Wednesday against Highworth in the Wiltshire Cup, we return to the league against our biggest test this season, Havant & Waterlooville at Westleigh Park. Havant & Waterlooville currently occupy 4th spot in the National League South and with games in hand over the teams above, wins in those games should see them close the gap on the leaders to a mere 2 points. Havant were everyone's pre-season picks to win the division and when you look at their team, it was a very safe assumption. They have retained a large portion of the squad from the National League campaign last year and have only added to that with their manager Paul Doswell (himself coming down from the National League to join Havant) bringing in a few very experienced faces in the National League/League Two to help Havant & Waterlooville back at the first attempt. 

Key players to watch out for with the opponents, it might be more prudent to write down who NOT to watch out for but here goes. Jonah Ayunga is the NLS Top Goalscorer at the moment and will arguably still be there when the season finishes, a lethal striker that combines pace and power, much too good for this league, been saying it all season and he will be hoping his firepower, coupled with strike partner Danny Kedwell and his goals will be enough to propel them back to the National League with 17 goals between them already this season, they will be hoping to add more against us. Sam Magri, an experienced defender at the National League level has swapped defending the likes of Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling in International Qualifiers for Malta for the chance to stop NLS defenders instead even if only briefly, Magri is still a full international and comes with a presence in both boxes from set pieces and a strong head leading the team. Tons of ex Portsmouth players in there, the more famous amongst them might be Wes Fogden. After playing for AFC Bournemouth until 2014, Fogden signed with Portsmouth and immediately made himself a hero on the south coast, scoring a late winner against Bristol Rovers to secure Portsmouth place in the Football League whilst going through such turmoil financially. He later went on to play for Yeovil before turning up at Havant alongside other ex Portsmouth players Bradley Tarbuck and Alfie Rutherford. 

A familiar face to Chippenham fans might again be hard to come by in the Havant ranks but I am sure most if not all Chippenham fans will remember Havant & Waterlooville Left Back, Anthony Straker. Strakes was the Bath City captain between 2017-2019, making 77 appearances and scoring 8 goals, one of which coming against Chippenham from the spot in a 5-0 hammering at Twerton Park. He also picked up a red card in the game against us at home that finished 2-2 thanks to a late strike from Ryan Brunt. Straker swapped the Romans for the Hawks at the start of the 2019 season and I am sure will be looking to get one over on his old rivals this Saturday. 

Chippenham squad news, as I am sure many have seen Tom Whelan has departed the club from his loan spell and returned to Yeovil, Tom has been a truly brilliant player the last few weeks and in many cases his energy and willingness to get on the ball coupled with an excellent delivery and keen eye for the killer pass I am sure will serve Yeovil well down the stretch in their season. Best of luck Tom.  Luke Haines with a Yellow Card away at Eastbourne on Saturday, therefore misses this game through suspension. George Rigg and Elias Youssef would seem the likely deputies there with Riggy scoring midweek against Highworth and Elias coming back into the fold after a few months on the treatment table. Aside from this there seems nothing to report from the camp other than they are all feeling positive and looking forward to the challenge ahead. 

It is very important that we remember something here. There is absolutely no harm in Optimism, believe me but, expectation and want are two very different beasts. For example I want to beat Havant Saturday but should I expect it? Absolutely not. We are going into this game as stonewall underdogs, a complete Cinderella story as they say in the States. We can absolutely get something out of this game, we have performed well in the past against sides above us in terms of stature (Torquay, Woking, Billericay but to name a few) but this is going to require everything we have in terms of effort both on and off the pitch. We head into this game off the back of arguably our worst run of the season which baffles me some of the overreactions considering that is Northampton, Slough, Dulwich (A), Dulwich (H) and Eastbourne. One League side, one team 2nd in our league, a full time club in the FA Trophy and Eastbourne away on their dodgy 3G surface. Moaning and whinging doesn't turn around bad form, nor does pointing fingers and hitting panic buttons. What turns around bad form is Support. Support for the Chairman in his choice to have the Manager in the dugout, support for the manager that selects the best team available to him, regardless of whether or not you agree with his choice and whether or not your favourite player is playing, support for the players that are on the pitch, doing there best to represent the club we love so hard and giving them the inspiration to run that extra yard, chase the ball down and graft for the club and it's supporters.

The Gaffer has called for Unity not just in the Dressing Room, but also on the Terraces and that's not unity between supporters, I don't expect us to suddenly cast aside opinion and sit around singing campfire songs and holding hands, there are still people on this forum, in the ground and around the club I would happily see trip and land on a rake, but when it comes down to it, we all have one thing in common, we all want this club to succeed. It's best chance of success is to get behind it, back the club in it's decisions, back the players regardless of opinion, if he ain't the best, get off his back and try a little worship, people are inspired in different ways. If he needs a kick up the arse, let his manager do it, let the board, we as supporters are there to support, not heckle (unless it's the opposition of course). 

Good amount of Chippenham fans coming down for this one, some tonight and stopping over for an ill advised long weekend on what is currently a very gloomy and wet Portsmouth, some tomorrow on trains, in cars etc. Train ticket is about a £44 return I think leaving Chippenham at 9:15 and getting into Havant around Midday. Plenty of supporters are on this train to my knowledge so if you are thinking of going and have the readies to do so, you would not be alone even if it's just yourself going. Have a look out on FB etc, if anyone is offering lifts they tend to post in there as opposed to on here. Good luck Ladies and Gents and however you are choosing to travel, make sure it's a safe one. 

P.S The Westleigh (The Pub/clubhouse at Havant) I am told is showing the Manchester Derby after the game at 5.30 and a couple have asked about "Nights out in Portsmouth" please stop messaging me about it lol, I haven't had a proper night out in Pompey since about 2014 lol! 
 

 

06/12/2019 12:22 PM  #2


Re: Havant & Waterlooville (Away)

When you’re an underdog in a game it boils down to a game plan, having a game plan to nullify the oppositions threats, come 5pm tomorrow we’ll see if mark and Gary’s gameplan has worked.

Prime example just last week Man City vs Newcastle. Havants form at home is not all that great especially for a team vying for promotion.

We can’t go into each game giving it the we are a small club jumble all the time, so come on you bluebirds.

 

06/12/2019 1:35 PM  #3


Re: Havant & Waterlooville (Away)

I do agree to a certain extent, the game plan is always going to be to go away and absorb pressure and hit teams on the counter attack, this is not just a Chippenham thing but tends to be a trend when playing against bigger sides on the road. I am sure Mark and Gary are not going to the South Coast to lose a game of football but, calling ourselves a "small club" in this context isn't jumble, it's simply accurate. They have almost double our revenue coming in, double our playing budget, better links to clubs in the local area. We are doing our best to play catch up to these sides but they are ultimately always going to go in as favourites, that's just how it is. City, Newcastle is a prime example of that point. Any other day Newcastle lose that game by a big margin, poor in front of goal, miraculous keeping by Dubravka and a few great goals for a team not famed for taking chances. It proves the Underdog can, but realistically that wasn't a GREAT Newcastle performance that earned the draw, it was a POOR City performance and we have seen many times this season a West Ham, Villa, Norwich play there absolutely best game and it comes up short against the Liverpool, City and Leicester's of the world.. 

     Thread Starter
 

07/12/2019 5:32 PM  #4


Re: Havant & Waterlooville (Away)

Chippenham 1 down

 

07/12/2019 5:37 PM  #5


Re: Havant & Waterlooville (Away)

1-1

 

07/12/2019 5:44 PM  #6


Re: Havant & Waterlooville (Away)

2-1 havant

 

07/12/2019 5:47 PM  #7


Re: Havant & Waterlooville (Away)

Why do we always concede late on

 

07/12/2019 5:52 PM  #8


Re: Havant & Waterlooville (Away)

FT  HAVANT 2-1 CHIPPENHAM

 

07/12/2019 5:59 PM  #9


Re: Havant & Waterlooville (Away)

Lets evaluate this shall we... 2-1 loss. Were The opposition great, nope. Were we great? Absolutely not. But my god we deserved a point. A questionable refereeing performance. Red card, never. The softest penalty i’ve seen in a long time, & a referee who’d rather give throw-ins over corners. Our boys showed strength & resilience throughout, and deserved more from the game. 4th place Havant, literally given three points against us. If that doesn’t show positives and progression, then please open your eyes.  The boys earned more than a loss, and looked gutted at full time... ‘Pride & Passion’, we showed it. And i for one am PROUD of that performance. Onto the next, we’re gunna be just fine, no need to panic at all.  Credit to the boys and management as  always, and up the bluebirds.

 

07/12/2019 6:15 PM  #10


Re: Havant & Waterlooville (Away)

TheYouth wrote:

Lets evaluate this shall we... 2-1 loss. Were The opposition great, nope. Were we great? Absolutely not. But my god we deserved a point. A questionable refereeing performance. Red card, never. The softest penalty i’ve seen in a long time, & a referee who’d rather give throw-ins over corners. Our boys showed strength & resilience throughout, and deserved more from the game. 4th place Havant, literally given three points against us. If that doesn’t show positives and progression, then please open your eyes. The boys earned more than a loss, and looked gutted at full time... ‘Pride & Passion’, we showed it. And i for one am PROUD of that performance. Onto the next, we’re gunna be just fine, no need to panic at all. Credit to the boys and management as always, and up the bluebirds.

Excellent post! What a difference compared to those negative, ‘clueless’ posters.
 

Last edited by Yorkie (08/12/2019 1:54 PM)

 

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