Havant & W. v WFC - Match Thread
Mar 27, 2024 12:51:11 GMT
Kenty in Weardale, worthingwire, and 1 more like this
Post by Keithsson on Mar 27, 2024 12:51:11 GMT
Will it be a Good Friday?
Match Centre - Link
Match Tickets - HWFC Website
Minibus/Coach - (No events currently listed on WFCSA Travel site)
Ground Guide - Westleigh Park
Last season we did the double over 'The Hawks', that unforgettable away trouncing in early December (see link) and a 3-2 home win in late March (Wills, Pearce, Rodari). Earlier this season we also completed a resounding home win (see other link)...
H&WFC v WFC highlights (3/12/22) - YouTube
WFC v H&WFC highlights (7/11/23) - YouTube
Havant have been down amongst the dead men all season, a 'high' of 21st on the opening match they've resided in the bottom two since match eight. If you wanted to see what a pretty much flatline progress chart looks like, look at this...
H&WFC 'progress' chart - Link
23rd is where they can be found at the moment, we are 6th...
NLS table - Link
You'd think that would mean a welcome 'walkover' for us, it certainly would've been just a few short weeks ago. But 'times they are a changing'. Hawks will struggle to get their dead cat to bounce high enough, they're still seven points and -17 goals short of Dartford in 20th, but they are still fighting. Combine that with our shocking overall form currently and its little surprise to find they are the team in better form.
Despite our salvaged point against Bath we remain 21st in the form table with 4 points from the last 18 available. Hawks are up in 15th place with 8/18. They've lost to Hampton & Richmond and Weymouth, drawn against Tonbridge and Dover and beaten Hemel and Slough.
Respective home and away form looks on paper to swing things back in our favour. We are 4th with 12/18 on the road Hawks are 13th with 11/18 at home. They've done well when hosting teams at the top too. Their only defeat in this spell was against Weston Super Mare, no great shakes there you'd think. Draws against Tonbridge and Bath, again not all that impressive. Wins against Slough, Maidstone and Chelmsford however should make us sit up and pay them respect.
We can't ignore the fact either that our numbers in a six away game streak are trading off results achieved a relatively long time ago though... long before 'the event' that destabilised us. Drop the parameter down to the last four away games and we're down in 12th... do the same to Havant's home record and they're 7th!
This game should NOT be taken at all lightly, a closer look at the more recent numbers has them as favourites.
NLS Form (last 6 H&A) - Link
The squad (at the time of writing!) doesn't change much from Saturday. Ollie Wright, Greg Luer and Rueben Livesay-Austin will still be absent and there are no suspension issues I'm aware of.
All Good Friday games...
Bath City v Weymouth
Chelmsford City v Dartford
Eastbourne Borough v Maidstone United
Farnborough v Chippenham Town
Hampton & Richmond Borough v Tonbridge Angels
Havant & Waterlooville v Worthing
Hemel Hempstead Town v Aveley
St Albans City v Braintree Town
Truro City v Slough Town
Welling United v Dover Athletic
Weston-super-Mare v Taunton Town
Yeovil Town v Torquay United
This league has been tighter than ducks derriere all season and now is no different. So as much as our trajectory form wise is in a nosedive there is more green there than red... and even the read is a bit hypothetical because St. Albans and Farnborough especially have weaker GD. This tight league can therefore giveth as well as taketh away. We've had countless opportunities to stamp some authority on this play-off race and wasted every one recently, the opportunities are running out, we MUST take them or we will drop out of the race. The observant amongst you will have spotted Farnborough sitting at the top of the form table with maximum points, St Albans and all the other teams in the play-offs are all comfortably ahead of us for form too. If this ship is to turn round, it must start its turn now.
Safe travel to all heading over and come on you Rebels!
Match Centre - Link
Match Tickets - HWFC Website
Minibus/Coach - (No events currently listed on WFCSA Travel site)
Ground Guide - Westleigh Park
Last season we did the double over 'The Hawks', that unforgettable away trouncing in early December (see link) and a 3-2 home win in late March (Wills, Pearce, Rodari). Earlier this season we also completed a resounding home win (see other link)...
H&WFC v WFC highlights (3/12/22) - YouTube
WFC v H&WFC highlights (7/11/23) - YouTube
Havant have been down amongst the dead men all season, a 'high' of 21st on the opening match they've resided in the bottom two since match eight. If you wanted to see what a pretty much flatline progress chart looks like, look at this...
H&WFC 'progress' chart - Link
23rd is where they can be found at the moment, we are 6th...
NLS table - Link
You'd think that would mean a welcome 'walkover' for us, it certainly would've been just a few short weeks ago. But 'times they are a changing'. Hawks will struggle to get their dead cat to bounce high enough, they're still seven points and -17 goals short of Dartford in 20th, but they are still fighting. Combine that with our shocking overall form currently and its little surprise to find they are the team in better form.
Despite our salvaged point against Bath we remain 21st in the form table with 4 points from the last 18 available. Hawks are up in 15th place with 8/18. They've lost to Hampton & Richmond and Weymouth, drawn against Tonbridge and Dover and beaten Hemel and Slough.
Respective home and away form looks on paper to swing things back in our favour. We are 4th with 12/18 on the road Hawks are 13th with 11/18 at home. They've done well when hosting teams at the top too. Their only defeat in this spell was against Weston Super Mare, no great shakes there you'd think. Draws against Tonbridge and Bath, again not all that impressive. Wins against Slough, Maidstone and Chelmsford however should make us sit up and pay them respect.
We can't ignore the fact either that our numbers in a six away game streak are trading off results achieved a relatively long time ago though... long before 'the event' that destabilised us. Drop the parameter down to the last four away games and we're down in 12th... do the same to Havant's home record and they're 7th!
This game should NOT be taken at all lightly, a closer look at the more recent numbers has them as favourites.
NLS Form (last 6 H&A) - Link
The squad (at the time of writing!) doesn't change much from Saturday. Ollie Wright, Greg Luer and Rueben Livesay-Austin will still be absent and there are no suspension issues I'm aware of.
All Good Friday games...
Bath City v Weymouth
Chelmsford City v Dartford
Eastbourne Borough v Maidstone United
Farnborough v Chippenham Town
Hampton & Richmond Borough v Tonbridge Angels
Havant & Waterlooville v Worthing
Hemel Hempstead Town v Aveley
St Albans City v Braintree Town
Truro City v Slough Town
Welling United v Dover Athletic
Weston-super-Mare v Taunton Town
Yeovil Town v Torquay United
This league has been tighter than ducks derriere all season and now is no different. So as much as our trajectory form wise is in a nosedive there is more green there than red... and even the read is a bit hypothetical because St. Albans and Farnborough especially have weaker GD. This tight league can therefore giveth as well as taketh away. We've had countless opportunities to stamp some authority on this play-off race and wasted every one recently, the opportunities are running out, we MUST take them or we will drop out of the race. The observant amongst you will have spotted Farnborough sitting at the top of the form table with maximum points, St Albans and all the other teams in the play-offs are all comfortably ahead of us for form too. If this ship is to turn round, it must start its turn now.
Safe travel to all heading over and come on you Rebels!