Havant & Waterlooville Match Preview
City welcome Havant & Waterlooville to Twerton Park on Good Friday for a match which is vital for both clubs. Their opponents lie in 9th position, level on points with St Albans and Hungerford, as the scramble for that remaining play-off place continues.
City will be looking to increase the gap to the three at the foot of the table and will go into the match unbeaten in their last three home appearances.
The Hawks had not lost in six when we travelled to Westleigh Park in early December but goals from Jack Batten, Cody Cooke and Alex Fletcher secured a fine 3-1 win.
If this was a shock for Paul Doswell’s team, a lot worse was to follow when they went down to a humiliating 8-0 reverse at Dorking on Boxing Day.
Only three points out of a possible 27 were secured in the early weeks of the new year and The Hawks slipped from 6th down to 14th.
There has been a recovery since and they average two points per match from their last nine.
However a recent 4-0 defeat at Maidstone underlines the fact that they concede too many goals, especially away from home, while Manny Duku was recently signed from Inverness Caledonian Thistle to address a modest scoring record.
Despite this Havant have picked up seven wins on their travels, including notable successes at Ebbsfleet, Eastbourne and Dulwich.
They have made 14 visits to Twerton in the League, starting in 2000, with City’s record standing at seven wins, four draws and three defeats.
The highlight for the Hampshire club came in 2001 with a 5-2 win but goals shared by Dave Pratt, Andy Watkins and Frankie Artus gained a memorable 5-0 win for City in 2015.
Last season’s fixture was played in January when goals from the two Toms, Mehew and Smith, earnt City a 2-1 win memorable for a surprising penalty award to the visitors, a woeful miss from the resulting kick and nine minutes of added on time.
The Club will be hoping for another large crowd on Friday while hoping that there is a repeat of Havant’s Bank Holiday Blues!
Tickets can be bought in advance of the match from the City website.
