Page 30 - Bath City v Peterborough Sports - Saturday 16 January 2020 - FA Trophy 4th Round

NEXT MATCH PREVIEW

Havant & Waterlooville His club looked like the only one who might challenge
This coming Tuesday evening, Wealdstone for the title last season, eventually finishing
we will welcome Havant and 3 points behind the Stones. A failure to win more than
half of their home matches proved decisive, as an
Waterlooville to Twerton Park for
a rearranged league fixture. The excellent season on the road saw them unbeaten in 17
matches! Despite having home advantage in the play-
original date back in November offs semi-final, the Hawks went down to Dartford.
coincided with City’s first period of
isolation and since then, both clubs have been starved The match at Twerton was scheduled for April and
of league action.
In fact, this will only be the Hawks’ second league HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE LOWDOWN:
game since 12 December and their second away GROUND: Westleigh Park
fixture since October! Tuesday’s match will start to
redress the balance as it will be the first of seven away COLOURS: Blue and White
in their next ten league encounters.
Widely seen as one of the favourites to win the title, NICKNAME: The Hawks
the Hampshire club presently sit in 6th position but with
20 points from only the ten matches played. In their MANAGER: Paul Doswell
three away from Westleigh Park, they have recorded
wins at Billericay and Ebbsfleet, while tasting defeat at 2019/20 FINISH: 2nd
Dartford.
The Hawks have played nearly as many matches in so was never played in the curtailed season. Back
knock-out matches since the season’s start in October. in November, we had travelled to Westleigh Park in
They fought through to the second round of the FA top form, but an Adam Mann goal couldn’t prevent a
Cup when they lost by a single goal at Marine, who, narrow defeat for the City. That proved to be the only
of course, were then given the dream draw with their set-back in a long run of 14 matches extending over
next opponents! nearly four months before ending at you know where.
Three rounds before their exit on Merseyside, they Havant and Waterlooville have made 13 visits to
visited Twerton in late November and handed out a Twerton in the League, starting in 2000, with City’s
comfortable 3-0 defeat to end City’s hopes for another record standing at six wins, four draws and three
season. defeats. The highlight for the Hampshire club came
Havant have also won through two rounds in the in 2001 with a 5-2 win, but goals shared by Dave
Pratt, Andy Watkins and Frankie Artus gained a
Trophy and today, have a home tie with Altrincham,
who will be the first opponents they have faced from a memorable 5-0 win for City in 2015. While watching
our screens on Tuesday evening, we will all be hoping
higher level in ten knock-out matches so far. for something very similar!
No doubt, Tuesday’s match will see the return of
our former captain Anthony Straker, who made 77 MARTIN POWELL
appearances and scored 8 goals for City over two
seasons before moving south at the end of 18/19. If
supporters could be present, I’m sure that he would
receive a warm welcome.

Anthony Straker in action for Havant enjoyed a successful spell at Twerton Park from City and the Hawks do battle during the FA Cup 4th Qualifying round tie here in
2017 to 2019. October.
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