Tadley Calleva vs Shaftsbury Preview

After a disappointing 4-1 loss in midweek away to Horndean, Shaftsbury are the visitors to Barlows Park this Saturday. Shaftsbury were established in 1888 and are managed by Nick Ward. They play their home matches at Cockrams which became their home in 1974. The pitch has been moved slightly from where it was first due to the arrival of a Tesco Supermarket.

Head-to-head:

Tadley Calleva last played Shaftsbury in the 2016/17 season in the Sydenhams Wessex Division One. The first game between these two in that season was a 9-goal thriller on the 3rdDecember 2016 as Tadley won 5-4. Brett Denham scored a hatrick, while Andrew Charsley and Scott Kinge both scored once for the away side. Mark Ford scored twice for Shaftsbury as Robert Hatchard and Szymon Matuzewski completed the scoring.

The goals didn’t dry up in the reverse fixture on 17thApril 2017 as Shaftsbury nicked it 3-2 away from home. Brett Denham and Danny Vickers scored for the Yellows while Sebastian Dawes, Daniel Finnigan and David Cull won the game for their team. One thing is clear after the last two games; this fixture is full of goals!

Last Five Games:

Tadley Calleva: LWDLL

Shaftsbury: LLLWW

Overall This Year:

Tadley Calleva sit in 10thhaving won 5, drawn 5 and lost 5. In comparison, Shaftsbury are 15th, winning 5 drawn 3 and lost 9. Shaftsbury have scored 4 more goals than Tadley scoring 26 compared to the 22 of the latter. However, Tadley have conceded 1 less goal than Shaftsbury with 29 conceded. This leaves Tadley on a goal difference of -7 and Shaftsbury have a goal difference of -4. Ultimately, Tadley have 20 points while Shaftsbury have 18.

Tadley captain Shaun Dallimore has the most appearances this year with 20, whereas, Jonathan Hill has 23 appearances for his side. On the goal scoring front, Brett Denham has got the 12 goals for the Romans, which is 7 more than any Shaftsbury player. Jack Mitchell has the most goals for Shaftsbury with 5 in the 2018/19 season.

Captain Shaun Dallimore said “We know once again it’s going to be a tough game but we’re ready for the challenge.” When asked about new signing George Hallahan, Dallimore answered “with George Hallahan available for Saturday hopefully he’ll start finding the net for us.” New signings George Hallahan and Luke Neller are both available for Saturday’s game which could give Danny Dolan some selection headaches.

The Referee for the game is Andrew Dunn, while his assistants are Steve Strong and Scott Russell.