Match Preview: Winchester City (A) – FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round – Saturday 17th September – 15:00
By Robert Santonna
Well, I didn’t expect to be writing this after a month of the season. But we have a new man in the dugout! Bobby Wilkinson is set to take charge of his first game for the Terras! There’s no better way to get him settled in than a cup game. Bobby is an experienced manager at this level, taking Hungerford up to the National League South and winning the Isthmian League South Central Division One with the club he recently resigned from, Bracknell Town.
He received multiple congratulatory videos for that achievement. Players such as Aaron Ramsey going to social media to send his. Bobby has been a coach at Reading alongside Brendan Rodgers. Of course, he has already won the Terras fans over with his comments on a certain Somerset side.
I’m excited to see what he can achieve here; we have such a talented bunch of lads. It’s always interesting when a new manager comes in as to who his first eleven will be. Hopefully we can start a new era at the club with an FA Cup qualifying win!
@TerraStatman’s Facts of the Match
A welcome break from the league for the Terras this weekend as we travel a little way east to face Winchester City.
This will be our 8th meeting in all games against the citizens (W4 D1 L2) with the last occasion being a 2-2 away friendly in 2018, Baker & Goodship with our goals.
Our only major meeting was in an FA Trophy tie in 2015 when we ran out 2-1 winners in Hampshire courtesy of strikes from Evans & Copp. We have just two other competitive meetings – a two-legged Southern League Cup tie in 1972 with a 5-0 aggregate win. Three other friendlies complete the tally, two at the beginning of this century and another way back in 1904.
City are currently 16th of 22 teams in the Southern League Premier Division following promotion via the playoffs last spring. Therefore, they are one step below and just 16 places below us in the non-league pyramid.
Former Terra Dan Neild scored for the hosts in the last round of the cup to help set up this fixture. Another former Weymouth man Warren Bentley also plays for the red and blacks.
In the past the likes of Brett Williams, Adam Kelly and Darren Powell have played for both clubs.
This is obviously a potential banana skin but in the last 50 years against teams one division below in the FA Cup we have progressed to the next round on around 80% of occasions. Winchester have never made it to the “proper” rounds of the FA Cup but came close in 2018, losing in the final qualifying round to Torquay United.
Let’s make sure Bobby knows just how good we are as fans, bringing the noise over to Hampshire today!
I hope you enjoy the match!
Up The Terras!
