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TONIGHT’S MATCH PREVIEW – KINGSTONIAN (AWAY) KO 7.45 PM

TONIGHT’S MATCH PREVIEW – KINGSTONIAN (AWAY) KO 7.45 PM

Paula Griffin19 Dec 2016 - 12:08
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Dulwich Hamlet will be aiming to bounce back from Saturday’s last gasp choker when they face the K’s at Kingsmeadow this evening.

It’s been a turbulent season for Kingstonian, both on and off the park, as the club’s future remains uncertain following the sale of their one-time home. On the field results have been mixed but the spectre of relegation raised by early season flirtation with the relegation zone seems to have been lifted of late as the K’s have inched their way up the Ryman Premier Division to currently sit in 9th spot. Four points behind the Hamlet, a further point shy of the last playoff berth, Tommy Williams’ men have played an identical number of games to the Hamlet. Like Dulwich it is on the road that their better form has come, Hamlet beaten just once on the road, K’s having won twice more away from Kingsmeadow.

Early season saw the K’s struggle to find their rhythm, not registering a win until the Late August Bank Holiday weekend. A trip to Staines Town saw Ryan Moss’s double ensure a 2-0 victory swiftly followed by a late smash and grab raid against the Met Police with Moss and Pelayo Pico Gomez score in the dying moments to cancel out Charlie Collins’ opener for the boys in blue.

However, the following Saturday they would crash out of the FA Cup away to Ryman North side VCD Athletic, a hat trick from the experienced Jamie Guy condemning them to a heavy 4-1 defeat. Yet such was the topsy-turvy nature of K’s campaign the trip to then runaway leaders Leiston, a game the travelling fans must have viewed with much trepidation produced a stunning 4-4 draw. The game seesawed from hosts to visitors, twice Leiston led, twice the K’s led but, after Moss and Sam Page had put K’s 4-3 in front by the hour mark, heartbreak came in the form Byron Lawrence penalty hammered past Rob Tolfrey with ten minutes remaining.

The draw provided a rare bright moment in the month of September, only bettered by Pico Gomez’s delightful overhead kick three minutes from time to clinch victory on Canvey Island. Otherwise it was nul points all the way and the end of K’s reign of holders of Alan Turvey Trophy as Merstham sent the K’s packing by dint of a penalty shootout.

October dawned brightly, back-to-back wins over Grays Athletic and AFC Sudbury lifting the gloom over Kingsmeadow as the team climb 8 places to 8th spot in double time. But false dawn it proved. Four straight defeats at the hands of Folkestone Invicta, Enfield Town, Harlow Town and Worthing, the last three all at home, sent the K’s tumbling back down the table to whence they came. Still there might the FA Trophy to bring relief as Lewes came to town, or would it. At halftime K’s trailed the Rooks with Jonté Smith putting the visitors but that man Moss would ride to the rescue once more bagging a brace to ensue his side’s progression.

The win provided the catalyst for an incredible purple patch that eased the fans’ fears of being dragged into the relegation dogfight. Three goals in the space of 5 first half minutes away to Hendon left no doubt about the destiny of the points, particularly in light of the ‘Dons failure to win at home all season in the league. Three meetings with Tonbridge Angels in the space of just ten days followed. Alan Inns’ early goal settled the league encounter at Longmead, Tommy Whitnell’s first half opener at Kingsmeadow was cancelled out by Joe Turner’s leveller in the FA Trophy Second Qualifying Round and back in Tonbridge the K’s found it a happy hunting ground as Turner bagged a quick-fire double after Nathan Elder had struck first for the hosts.

The return to Ryman League action took Kingstonian off to Earlsmead to face a Harrow Borough side in freefall. After much shadow boxing, the game burst into when Moss volleyed home after 51 minutes. Six minutes later the erstwhile Dulwich Hamlet striker tucked away a penalty before completing his hat trick with a quarter hour on the clock. Substituted 3 minutes later, the last word would go to his replacement, Tom Derry, who converted a late penalty past stand-in ‘keeper Lewis Driver after regular custodian Luke Williams had been sent from the field.

Even missing the magic of Moss, donning his lederhosen for his stag do in Germany, the K’s went into their FA Trophy trip to North Leigh bubbling with expectation only for that bubble to be pricked by their Southern League Division One South & West hosts. K’s held the whip hand on the park but failed to crack that whip in front of goal and it was Aaron Woodley’s goal midway through the second half that saw the Millers add another scalp to the collection.

There was no Moss at Bognor Regis Town in midweek, no rebound from defeat as the K’s went down 2-0 at Nyewood Lane to a Rocks’ side picking up a head of steam in the race for the championship. Results wavered. Moss returned to bag another hat trick against a Canvey Island slumping into the drop zone and conceding goals as if the flood barriers had failed. But victory was followed by defeat as they became the latest victim of the Grays Escape, beaten 2-1 by the Gravelmen at The Mill Field. Worse was to follow as Lowestoft Town’s early blitz, going 4-0 up by the 23rd minute, left Kingsmeadow shell-shocked. Moss did tuck away a second half penalty to light a brief candle of hope, the fragile flame fanned when the Trawler Boys were reduced to ten men when double goalscorer Jake Reed was dismissed for a late lunge on Rob Tolfrey. However, it would be the diminished visitors that would score next making it 5-1 before Turner reduced the arrears in stoppage time.

There was the brief distraction of the Surrey Senior Cup in midweek before the K’s hit the road to Billericay at the weekend. No goals in 90 minutes as their second round the with the Met Police last Tuesday but plenty in a nip and tuck penalty shootout, K’s prevailing 7-6 with Aaron Goode ensuring progression with the 17th kick of the night.

For all the recent injections of cash and personnel at Billericay Town, the team seems to have struggled to gel into a cohesive outfit and the K’s took full advantage at the weekend. A superlative volley from Sam Page put K’s in the driving seat after 20 minutes, control they never relinquished and the task was complete when Moss tucked one away from close range to take his tally for the term to 16.

This evening’s game kicks off at 7.45 pm at Kingsmeadow Stadium, Jack Goodchild Way, 422a Kingston Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 3PB.

Match Day Admission Prices
Stand/Terrace

  • Adult: £10
  • Senior (60 & over): £6
  • Student: £4 (upon production of a Student Card)
  • Junior (Under 18's): FREE

Tickets are available on matchdays on the turnstiles at the far end of the ground (next to the Athletics Stadium).

Hospitality

  • Individual: £25

As well as admission to the match, hospitality tickets include entry to the Patrons Lounge from an hour before kick-off, match programme, hot drinks and snacks before the game and during half time, and a food buffet after the game.
These tickets are available on matchdays on the lounge door, which is on the left-hand side inside the main entrance foyer.

Further reading