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The fist local derby of the season has plenty to offer with Woodley United keen to turn their fortunes around as they search to break the unbeaten record of high-flying Wokingham & Emmbrook.
The Sumas have made a scintillating start to the season which has seen win five of their opening seven league matches to put them top of the Hellenic Division One East.
Meanwhile, the Kestrels have endured a difficult start to the season, with one win and four losses from their opening five fixtures putting them one place above the bottom of the table.
However, Woodley United manager Jamie Williams is eager for his side to turn the tide after an ‘unsettling’ start to the season and get a positive result when they face Wokingham & Emmbrook on Saturday.
“We’ve had injuries and the team has been unsettled. Now we’re finally in a position where the squad we have got is what we will have for the season,” said Williams.
“It’s about starting again for us but while the season is going on to work on patterns of play and set pieces. We want to build our team spirit.
“It’s been frustrating for us so now hopefully our run of bad luck has come to an end.”
The Kestrels have a tough test on their hands to break down the defensive resolve of the Sumas, who have only conceded two league goals in seven matches.
“Wokingham & Emmbrook are absolutely flying so it will be a massive test for us, just as every game is in this league,” he continued.
“We have played our best football against the better teams so that gives us hope but it will be very difficult.
“It’s great for them that they are unbeaten but I’m concerned about focusing on us.
“Our season won’t be defined by a result against them, by the way they’ve started, they will be fighting at a different end of the table but that isn’t to say we will go there and lie down and accept defeat.
“But at the same time, if you were to offer me a point, I’d take it for sure.”
Despite their tricky start to the campaign, there have been positives for the Kestrels who ran Hellenic Premier side Reading City close in a 3-2 defeat in an entertaining cup tie.
“We should have knocked them out. They were down to 10 men and had we equalised, I think we would have gone on to win the game.
“We had chances and their keeper made some really good saves.
“We were really good and the boys will get a lot of credit for what they did with that performance, but it’s frustrating because we really want to win football matches and we should have done that.
As a result of his superb performance against Reading City, Max Lashchok made the move from Woodley United to the Citizens.
“I spoke to Simon, the Reading City manager, and with Max.
“I said to him that this could be his opportunity to play at a higher level and they have the chance to win the Hellenic Premier this season.
“Worst case scenario if it doesn’t work for him, he’s always got a number nine shirt waiting for him here.
“He scored twice on his debut for them which is great, but it will be tricky for us to replace his goals.
“His goal scoring numbers are phenomenal and he was brilliant against Reading, he caused them all sorts of problems. It would have been wrong of me to try and convince him to stay.”
Meanwhile, the Sumas go into the local derby clash in outstanding form as they look to continue their run at the top of the table.
“To be honest I think the break came for a good time for us,” said Sumas manager Dan Bateman.
“We picked up a few injuries in the Wallingford game and the squad was a little bit threadbare so it allowed us to recover.
“Since the season started, we’ve played 10 games in four and a half weeks so its put a toll on the lads.
“The opportunity to have a week off has allowed us to get some players back and get in better shape for the weekend.
We still have a fairly lengthy injury list, but other than that we still have a strong squad to choose from.”
Despite their contrasting form, Bateman is wary not to underestimate the Kestrels.
“It’s a local derby, our games with Woodley have always been great to watch,” he continued.
“They will be looking to bounce back after a couple of poor results so I’m expecting a tough afternoon.
“I’m sure they will set up well and be tough to beat so we will have to be at our best, its about us and if we perform, we can’t afford to underestimate them.
“They will be coming to get a positive result and doing that in a local derby would be a huge prize so we have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
The Sumas boss has been impressed with his team’s defensive record and has challenged them to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign to achieve their aim of promotion this season.
“We want to keep our unbeaten run going and keep the draws to a minimum. The two draws we have had, we’ve been the better team but didn’t create enough to win.
“We don’t concede too many and that’s given us such a solid foundation. If you don’t concede, then you don’t lose games.
The table looks good but there will be plenty of tough tests to come. Risborough will be up there again, as they were last year.
“Penn & Tylers will also be up there, as will Milton and there will be several teams fighting for the top four spaces, which is where we want to be challenging.
“I like being the pace setters but we need to keep concentrating on ourselves and not look over our shoulders.”
