Our opponents this weekend in some way appear to be linked to our recent journey…Before this campaign we last played the Worcestershire outfit in the 2011/12 Southern Premier season, the last time both teams were in that division before today! Our relegation at the end of last season coincided with a promotion for our visitors meaning that in April we were two divisions apart but are now league rivals once more.
And that rivalry was rekindled on matchday #1 of this season when the Robins travelled to Dorset and returned with all three points. On that day Evesham enjoyed a two-goal lead at half time and Brandon Goodship would only reduce the arrears for one minute just after the break as an almost immediate penalty ensured the away side went away with a 3-1 victory.
Prior to this campaign, our last meeting against the Robins in 2012 was also one to forget under manager Brendan King, a 0-4 drubbing half way through the season. We did however manage a 2-2 draw earlier in the year. That day we were reliant on two goals around the half hour mark to peck out a point from the game.
The season before that were happier times against the Worcestershire outfit though as we took maximum points from the two league games. Firstly a large August Bank Holiday following egged on the team to win away and this was followed up by a 2-0 victory at home in December, both games under Ian Hutchinson’s second stint as manager.
Of the handful of names that have played for both clubs, Andy Preece is the one to stand out. Born in Evesham, he played for his home town club for a season before being snapped up by Northampton Town managed by none other than former Terras manager Graham Carr. Preece was loaned out to Weymouth in the 1988/99 season where he scored 3 times from 11 appearances. He went on to have a notable career in the football league before eventually turning his hand to management.
Back to this weekend and the Terras will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to three games by clipping the wings of the Robins…
Match Preview by Duncan Gardner
