TT PREVIEW
Ben Wade
ANOTHER DEPARTURE
On Monday afternoon, TUFC officially announced the departure of Munashe Sundire for family reasons. He has been our tough-tackling midfield warrior for the past 16 months but unfortunately, he has been extremely injury prone throughout his spell with us. It is ultimately the right decision with his partner due in a few months, and moving closer to home by joining fellow NLS outfit Slough Town seems like a sensible choice. We wish him good luck for what the future brings. However, with this loss in the middle of the park, there is a slight hole in squad depth. We already have been struggling with the number of injuries and we have 3 players to fit into potentially 2 starting spaces: Dan Hayfield, Matt Worthington and loanee Caleb Roberts. That seems OK but the 2 permanent players have both had time at so far this campaign with suspensions and knocks, so Jimmy Ball might be wanting to strengthen our numbers in that area of the pitch.
WINS REQUIRED
With these two must-win away fixtures coming up, it is crucial that we get positive results. We play AFC Totton and then Walton and Hersham on Halloween and this is pivotal. Our season just hasn’t really had that spark so far and Jimmy will be hoping these matches will kickstart our year. Sitting 14th in the table, we aren’t where we want to be and it’s important to get up into the play-offs as fast as possible. With more and more of our first-team squad becoming available, Jimmy is now able to switch the line-up at will rather than selecting on availability only. Deon Moore and Cody Cooke (amongst others) worked their socks off in dreadful conditions so 3 games in a week could possibly be a dilemma. After the Devon Bowl match against Holsworthy, Isaac Westendorf is yet again ruled out so it is plausible that we use one of Moore and Cooke and play with wingers unlike on Saturday. Whichever way we go with team selection, three points are needed.
FORMATION UNCERTAINTY
For this game versus the Stags, it’s anyone’s guess which formation we will setup in. We have generally played with a wider 4.2.3.1 with dynamic wingers and a number 10 or a 4.3.3 with narrow forwards in attack. However, the conditions definitely played a part in our choices ahead of the Maidstone match on Saturday. Ball went with a 3.5.2 which actually worked pretty well. Harry Shield played especially well at right-wing back with three compact central midfielders and two target men up top. If Sonny Lo-Everton returns you would expect us to return to playing a 4.2.3.1 as all three of our wingers, Jacob Beaumont-Clark, Angelo Capello and Sean Robertson, all left out at the weekend. That does seem unlikely though as SBLO would likely be eased into playing rather than immediate game time if he is getting back to full fitness. The players, style of play and formation is totally unpredictable, let’s hope the decisions we make pay off on the night.
THE OPPOSITION
AFC Totton, nicknamed ‘The Stags’, play at Snows Stadium on the outskirts of Totton (a suburb of Southampton). They currently sit at 19th place in the always changing NLS table. In their last 5 league fixtures, they have lost 4 and won their last game, away at Hemel Hempstead 3-1. They will absolutely pose a threat at home on a blistery Tuesday night, and beat us 1-0 last year when we rued missed chances.
COYY – Ben
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The midfield depth point is an interesting one: a compact three can protect the centre, but with Sundire gone it also places more demands on the remaining options across a busy week. The contrast with a wider 4-2-3-1 shows how availability can shape the choice as much as tactics. Thanks for the thoughtful preview.
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