League opener at Salisbury tomorrow

Greensnet Editor
Fri 18 Sep 2020, 08:46

Tomorrow we finally begin our Pitching In Southern League campaign with a trip to Wiltshire to meet perennial play-off chasers Salisbury at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium.

The Whites were in 7th place when the season was curtailed, four points off a play-off place with eleven matches remaining under the stewardship of former Leicester City and Portsmouth striker Steve Claridge.

The previous season they reached the semi-finals of the play-offs at the first attempt following promotion from Step 4, however they lost at Met Police at that stage, the Police going on to lose to Tonbridge Angels in the Super Play-Off.

There have been a number of changes in Salisbury's squad with a couple of players moving on - notably top scorer Tobias Holmes, who has moved to Taunton Town and our former winger Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick who is believed to have signed for Hayes & Yeading United.

Those incoming, however, have plenty of pedigree. Attacking midfielder Marvin Brooks and striker Harry Baker have joined from Poole Town, whilst midfielder Charlie Davis and centre half Samuel Roberts have come in from Gosport Borough. Wide-man Antonio Diaz has joined from Dorchester Town but the marquee signing is Yemi Odubade, who joins having helped Weymouth to a second successive promotion from the National League South to the National League.

Our record against Salisbury and their predecessors Salisbury City makes bleak reading for Greens fans. In our two matches against Salisbury City in the 2004/5 season, the Whites won both games 2-1 to complete the double.

In 2018/9 we managed to gain a crucial 2-2 draw at Silver Jubilee Park thanks to goals from Hippolyte-Patrick and Connor Calcutt, however the earlier return match was lost 3-1. Last season Claridge's side completed a comfortable double over us with a 3-0 win at SJP on Non-League Day and a 2-0 win over Lee Allinson's side back in February.

Although we haven't heard that the game is all-ticket, the capacity is capped at a maximum of 600 so we would urge you to purchase your ticket in advance if you're intending to travel since we have no idea whether any tickets will be available on the day.

Tickets can be purchased here

We look forward to seeing a good number visiting supporters tomorrow and hope for a positive start to the campaign.