On Monday evening, Welling United are in Vanarama National League South action when they visit Hemel Hempstead Town.

Rod Stringer’s Wings finished August with a three-one defeat at home to Chesham United but had a reasonable return of two wins, a draw, two defeats and a postponement throughout the month. Their defeat against Chesham was particularly disappointing as before that game they had only conceded twice in four games however, had it not been for the heroics of goalkeeper Rhys Lovett, the scoreline could have been far worse.

After the game, Stringer said “We never got going at all. I can’t put a finger on it. It’s our worst performance since I’ve been here as a manager. You have spells (in a game) when you’re not great but today, we never got near our levels at all. They kept turning us around, they played in good areas. I thought their commitment to the first and second balls was very good. They outfought us at home which really hurts me, 

“It’s a learning curve for us.” he continued. “The goalkeeper, probably (Jack) Burchell, probably Ben Wells came out of it with a little credit, and I also thought Daniel played quite well. They had a go, tried, but for a lot of us, today, were out of sorts. I didn’t think our midfield got anywhere near the second balls and I don’t think our strikers held the ball up.

“It’s the first defeat, since I’ve come at the club, at home since late January. It’s an amazing run. It was always going to end. Some people think it might go all the way through until the end of the season but that’s ridiculous but in the same respect it’s all about how you bounce back.”

There were no such problems for Hemel who beat Bath City four-two. Both teams had players sent off after Hemel had gone one up. However, Bath’s was more pivotal as it was goalkeeper Harvey Wiles-Richards who received their red card and an outfield player went in goal. He kept the Tudors at bay until half time stoppage time when he conceded three times.

Although Bath pulled back two goals after the break, Hemel held on to take all three points. That left them in second place in the table, one point behind leaders Slough Town. The victory over Bath was their first of the season at home having previously recorded draws with Salisbury and Worthing. Away from home they have won all three games played and are yet to concede a goal.

Stringer added “It’s going to be a very tough place to go. They play on astro, they’ve got a lot of pace. They move the ball about quickly so we’ve got to go there and, in a way, the lads know what they’ve got to do. There’ll probably be changes in the squad on Monday and then we’ll go again.

“We’ll have a game plan, we’ll go with it, and that’s what squads are about. We’ve got to have good energy. As much as we want to pass the ball we’ve got to be able to run. Me and Kev will get our heads round it. We’ll probably have a few conversations through the weekend and then we’ll make a decision with who we’re going to go with and what system we’re going to go with. I’ve got somebody watching (Hemel at) Bath today and it will be interesting to see what they come back with. Every game’s different and on Monday night we’ll have them ready.”

Last season’s corresponding game between the clubs was the last Welling game before Stringer took over the hot seat. He was in the stand watching the Wings win two-one. David Kamara put the visitors ahead when scoring twelve minutes into the second half and it appeared that the job was complete when substitute Mbunya Alemanji marked his debut with a goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time. George Williams pulled one back two minutes later but there was not sufficient time remaining for them to mount another foray.

Harvey Walker (broken leg) and Zane Walker, who is having a scan this week to determine the extent of his injury, will definitely miss out. Chiori Johnson is questionable as he had to be substituted in the Chesham game and it was unknown whether he will be fit to face Hemel.

Picture supplied by Dave Budden.