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Sam Jones – @samuellejones

Sam looks at Ben Seymour’s goals from the 2023/2024 season

The latest in the tidal wave of #incomings was former Hampton and Richmond Borough striker Ben Seymour. A long with the re-signing of Brad Ash and the capture of Jadyn Crosbie, it looks like we have our forward line for next season. Ben Seymour scored 16 goals in all competitions for The Beavers last season. But, unlike Ash, I haven’t seen a single one of them so I am going to base my analysis on clips on Youtube, which is the source of all knowledge of course. Shall we take a look at what the new man is all about? And can we deduce whether he can steam a good ham?

GOAL 1: WEYMOUTH (H) – 05/09/23

His first goal for The Beavers was a late penalty against Weymouth in a 1-0 win. After a Terras defender manhandled a Hampton player in the box, Seymour was given the chance to secure the win from the spot in the 88th minute. And, of course, he duly obliged. Given that Hall and Jarvis have left, it is good to see a player who can handle the pressure from the spot.

GOAL 2: SOUTHALL (A) – 16/09/23

His second goal for the club came in a 2-1 win at Southall in the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round. In what looked like a glorious day at the 1878 Stadium, he was found by a lovely ball over the top from his teammate. Seymour got it under control with a wonderful touch, then rounded the keeper to score. This was a lovely goal and showed great composure from our new man.

GOAL 3: YEOVIL (H) – 23/09/23

His second League goal of the season was another late penalty, this time in a 2-1 defeat to eventual Champions Yeovil. After a goal bound shot was handled by a Yeovil player, Seymour stepped up to half the deficit.

GOAL 4: DARTFORD (H) – 14/10/23

Another penalty for the man named after the best animated TV Principal. In a crazy 4-3 win at home against Dartford, Seymour stepped up to convert to give The Beavers the lead once again. Watching the highlights below, two things stood out. Firstly, that Hampton changed their kits during the game and it really threw me off. Secondly, he provided a kind of assist for Hampton’s second goal, as it was his run and cross that led to the own goal (55 second mark below).

GOALS 5 AND 6: WORTHING (H) – 24/10/23

His first non-penalty League goal came in a 4-1 demolition of Worthing in October last year. His first one was a penalty, dutifully dispatched while sending the keeper the wrong way. But his second was pure poachers instinct as he prodded home after the Worthing keeper spilt the ball at his feet.

GOAL 7: TORQUAY (H) – 28/10/23

His next goal was against us (booooo) in a 3-1 win at home. He scored a penalty after he was taken down by Marshall(surprise surprise) and sent Halstead the wrong way to double their lead. To be fair to Marshall, which is not something I say often, the penalty did seem really soft. Watching the highlights, he actually had a hand in the other two goals for The Beavers as it was his cross that led to McGavin’s own goal for the opener. It was also his movement that pulled Tomlinson out of position for their player to score the third. He tore us to shreds…

GOAL 8: MAIDSTONE (H) – 11/11/23

Another goal, another penalty. This time, it was the 5th in a 5-2 win over Maidstone. You know the script, he stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to score. The most notable thing about this one was that Covolan was in goal for the away side.

GOAL 9: BRAINTREE (H) – 05/12/23

Another late penalty, another goal for United’s new striker. This time he won it and converted it to equalise in the 94th minute against Braintree and snatch a point by the Skinner of their teeth. And yes, before you ask, he did send the keeper the wrong way.

GOAL 10: SOUTHEND (A) – 09/12/23

The best goal he scored last season was in the 2-2 draw with Southend in the FA Trophy, in a game they eventually won on penalties. After going 2-0 down at Roots Hall, Seymour showed great awareness to intercept a poor backpass, round the keeper and fire it home from a very tight angle. It was a great finish, and great anticipation from the forward. He didn’t take a penalty in the shootout, but if he had he would’ve probably scored and sent the keeper the wrong way in the process.

GOALS 11 AND 12: WESTON (H) – 23/12/23

It was a merry Christmas for Ben, as he scored 4 goals in 3 games across the Christmas period. The first two cam in the home game against Weston. The first was a lovely first time finish from close range, as the ball popped up to him unmarked at the back post. He then hit it first time past a despairing keeper to open the scoring for The Beavers. The second was great centre-forward play as he found space in the box after a surging run from a Hampton player, who found him. Seymour took a touch and scored to give Hampton the lead again.

GOAL 13: SLOUGH (A) – 26/12/23

The 3-3 Boxing Day draw at Slough looked a corker. After going 2-0 down, Seymour set up the first with a nice layup to their number 10 to fire home (2:40). He then scored with a beautifully deft header at the near post that completely bamboozled the keeper. He showed fantastic movement for both the assist and the goal, not giving the defence a moments rest.

GOAL 14: SLOUGH (H) – 01/01/24

It was a Happy New Year for Seymour as he scored the winner in the New Years Day game against Slough. After The Rebels equalised, Seymour converted a sumptuous ball from the right wing to give the home side the win. He found a pocket of space between the two defenders, and couldn’t really miss as he scored his 14th goal of the season. It was a nice run for him which showed that while he is very good at penalties, there is a very good finisher in there too.

GOAL 15: HEMEL HEMPSTEAD (A) – 16/03/24

Another penalty, another keeper sent the wrong way. This time, in the 2-1 win at Hemel Hempstead as he scored the winner for The Beavers in the 72nd minute.

GOAL 16: TAUNTON TOWN (H) – 06/04/24

So, I could not find any highlights of his final goal for Hampton and Richmond, but I did find the commentary from the game which describes it. It sounds like, after missing the previous 4 games with injury, he converted a cross at the near post to open the scoring. It’s a shame, as I was enjoying watching our new striker in action.

CONCLUSION

So, after watching countless hours of footage (30 minutes or so) and studying hundreds of lines of data (his Transfermarkt page to see which games he scored in) I can confidently talk about our new striker with full authority. I’m pretty sure he could steam a good ham. All jokes aside, from the clips I’ve watched I think we have a really good player. 16 goals at this level is a really solid output and, while I’m not sure on the total assist numbers, he seems to be involved in a lot of goals too. The one caveat I will say is that 9 of them were penalties, but it is good to see a player take them with such confidence. He also has a knack for sending the keeper the wrong way, which always make them look better.

Assuming Wotton plays with 2 up top, I would expect him and Ash to be the starting strikers. Hopefully they aren’t too similar in terms of skill sets, but with Crosbie thrown in the mix we have options. Given that he is only 25 and therefore coming into his prime, this could be a fantastic piece of business. I can’t wait to Seymour of him.