WARNING - Cards star Adam Doyle knows tomorrow's clash with Thurrock will not be easy

WOKING host basement club Thurrock tomorrow  looking to break their ‘struggling side hoodoo’ after last weekend’s shock 2-1 reverse at Eastbourne Borough.

The Cards have dropped points against almost all of the Blue Square South relegation candidates this term, including away draws at Thurrock and Hampton & Richmond, and home defeats to Staines Town and Maidenhead United.

Thurrock have chalked up just four wins all season and currently sit 13 points adrift at the foot of the table.

But the Essex side did earn a respectable 1-1 draw against Garry Hill’s men back in December – Elvis Hammond’s spectacular overhead kick sparing the Cards’ blushes.

We seem to have a lapse in the first 20 minutes when we play lower teams.  But we know we’ve got to bring the same level of concentration in to every gameAnd heading into another must-win fixture, defender Adam Doyle admits Woking do not always have it their own way against the teams at the wrong end of the division.

He said: “The clubs down the bottom are always scrapping and it sounds a bit quite clichéd but they’re fighting for their lives.

“They always raise their game and if they did that throughout the season they would probably be up there with us.

“They always raise their game and if they did that throughout the season they would probably be up there with us.

“We seem to have a lapse in the first 20 minutes when we play lower teams.  But we know we’ve got to bring the same level of concentration in to every game.”

Woking will be without captain Mark Ricketts who is still some time away from a first-team return, and the same goes for Jay Davies and stand-in skipper Adam Newton.

Paris Cowan-Hall is also likely to miss out after hobbling off last week with more hamstring trouble, but Kevin Betsy and Doyle are both available before their respective suspensions kick in.

THIRD PLACE - Lewis Hamilton

LEWIS HAMILTON grabbed third place at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang as McLaren continued to rack up the points following their one and three in Australia last Sunday.

In a race marred by torrential rain Hamilton clinched his second third-place finish in eight days.

But team-mate Jenson Button – winner in Australia – finished a disappointing 14th.

Fernando Alonso clinched his 28th career victory ahead of Mexican Sergio Perez who could have won the race in his Sauber but for a costly error on lap 50.

In general, we lost some time in the pitstops and I was pushed out of the fight somewhat. But, all in all, it’s been a positive weekend and I’m not too frustrated. My aim for this season was always to be consistent – I did it in 2007 so I’m trying to repeat thatAlonso got to grips with the elements following a 50-minute delay after the race had been halted after nine laps due to the wet conditions.

Hamilton admitted: “It was pretty eventful race. it was difficult trying to judge the best time to change from Extreme Wets to Intermediates, and we were probably a little late on that – but that’s how it goes sometimes.

“Today wasn’t perfect – making the call for slicks is always a risk, and the others went a bit earlier than us.

“In general, we lost some time in the pitstops and I was pushed out of the fight somewhat. But, all in all, it’s been a positive weekend and I’m not too frustrated. My aim for this season was always to be consistent – I did it in 2007 so I’m trying to repeat that.”

Button said: “Today was a pretty difficult day, pretty much everything that could have gone wrong in the race did go wrong.

“And that’s just one of those things – a lot of my issues were brought on when I wiped my front wing off at the start: I locked up the rears, couldn’t slow the car down and hit Narain Karthikeyan, which was a bit frustrating. So I had to pit for a new nose, and that was pretty much it.

“And it’s always going to be tough when you’re down in 14th or 15th position. All the cars were so close and it was difficult to overtake, too. That made it very difficult.

“Big congratulation to Fernando, Sergio and Lewis, who scored more good points for the team – but it just wasn’t a good day for me today. The amazing thing is that I’m still third in the championship after not scoring any points!”

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: “Today certainly wasn’t the day I was expecting. Firstly, this was a terrific race for Ferrari and a great result for Sauber – congratulations to both teams.

“It’s frustrating for us, as the race didn’t really go our way, but today’s result is great for the sport of Formula 1.”

OFF - Kevin Betsy was given a straight red for disputing Woking's disallowed goal

Eastbourne Borough 2 Woking 1

KEVIN BETSY saw red as Woking slumped to a shock defeat at struggling Eastbourne Borough.

But with nearest rivals Dartford slipping up 1-0 at Dorchester Garry Hills’s men remain eight points clear at the Blue Square South summit with their destiny still very much in their own hands.

Borough struck twice in the opening 16 minutes to bring Card’s four-match winning streak to an unexpected halt at Priory Lane.

The game lacked the markings of relegation candidates versus league leaders as Borough caught Cards cold to lead through Alex Lacey and Ben Watson strikes.

Giuseppe Sole’s eighth goal in six games gave Woking hope, but despite sustained pressure in the second half  they could not find an equaliser.

Controversy reigned supreme in the final minutes as Sole had a strike ruled out for offside before Betsy was given a straight red for his protest.

Speaking after Woking’s fifth defeat of the season – their fourth since the turn of the year – coach Steve Thompson admitted he was baffled as to how the Cards managed to lose the clash despite giving their opponents a two-goal headstart.

How we’ve lost the game I don’t know. A couple of individual mistakes have cost us goals but for the next 70 minutes we have absolutely pounded them and were much the better team. But that’s football, isn’t it?Thompson groaned: “How we’ve lost the game I don’t know. A couple of individual mistakes have cost us goals but for the next 70 minutes we have absolutely pounded them and were much the better team. But that’s football, isn’t it?

“I thought we certainly deserved all three points today on the number of chances we created.

“But if you give away two sloppy goals as we did in the first 20 minutes its always going to be an uphill task.

“Luckily we haven’t been doubly punished by Dartford going away and getting three points.”

Eastbourne took the lead after just 12 minutes when Aaron Howe tipped away Matt Crabb’s curling effort from the edge of the area.

From the resulting corner, Lacey was left unchecked in the area and rose to thunder home a close-range header.

And four minutes later Woking were right up against it as Watson latched on to a long ball forward before rounding Howe and slotting in from an ever shrinking angle.

Woking were stunned but not into action and it was Borough that continued to surge forward, Watson unlucky not to do better from Crabb’s wonderfully crafted cross.

A penalty area scramble was the closest the Cards came to testing Mitchell Walker in a sorry opening 20 minutes and it wasn’t until Sole stung his fingertips with a free kick that he was forced to make a save.

Paris Cowan-Hall was largely kept on the periphery but did force Darren Baker to make a goal-line clearance before hobbling off with yet another hamstring problem just before the Cards dragged themselves in for half time.

It was always going to be a huge battle to salvage a point but hope was renewed 10 minutes in to the second half when Betsy’s cross was handled in the area by Simon Johnson.

Sole sent Walker the wrong way from 12-yards and Woking began to pile on the pressure.

Alex Lacey had already cleared a Moses Ademola effort off the line before Derek Duncan flashed a quick free kick just wide of the post.

Sole failed to test Walker with a pair of free kicks and with Woking committing more and more bodies to the siege on Boro’s goal, they were left susceptible to a counter.

The Cards got away with a blatant Duncan handball in the area before substitute Charles Ademeno almost scored without knowing it after charging down charging down debutant Glen Wilson’s loose back pass.

But then came the flashpoint. Sole looked to have stolen a point with a close-range tap in, only for the linesman to declare him offside when the ball was struck.

Betsy made his opinions heard and was promptly dismissed for his ceaseless arguing.

Questioned on what he made of the decision Thompson accepted it mattered little now the game was over.

“I have to see it again but it looks very dubious for me. But its gone now and there’s nothing we can do about it. It hasn’t happened for us today. We haven’t put the ball in the net and we needed a penalty to get our goal.

“They’ve won the game on the back of a good first 30 minute where we’ve made a couple of mistakes. That’s the harsh world of football.”

With just six games to go Woking are somewhat fortunate to still hold their eight point advantage over Dartford. But as injuries and suspensions continue to mount up,  next Saturday’s visit of bottom-place Thurrock to Kingfield takes on even greater significance in the race for the title.

Woking: Howe, Wilson, Duncan (Cestor, 76mins), Murtagh, Inns, Doyle, Cowan-Hall (Gray, 45mins), Davis, Ademola (Hammond, 82mins), Sole, Betsy
Attendance: 1,037

KING KEV - Betsy celebrates after putting Woking 3-0 up at Westn-Super-Mare

Weston-Super-Mare 0 Woking 3

BIRTHDAY BOY Kevin Betsy hit his first goal of his second spell at Woking as the Cards romped to a three-goal win in Somerset.

Betsy celebrated his 34th birthday in style when he rounded Lloyd Irish just before half time to add to Giuseppe Sole’s double and edge Woking over the 80-point mark for the season – but victory came at a cost.

Captain Adam Newton was forced off with a suspected groin problem before Adam Doyle picked up his 15th caution of the term which will see him serve a three-match ban.

Quizzed on the extent of the injury to his stand in skipper, Cards boss Garry Hill said:  “It’s early days but it’s up to the physio and how well Adam responds to treatment.

“We’ll see what the picture is over the next 24-48 hours and then we’ll prepare for the next game against  Eastbourne.

They had a lot of possession in areas but never really hurt us and what Aaron Howe had to do he did very well“It’s a tricky place to come and all credit to Weston they played some good football and we knew it was going to be a tough game.

“We put ourselves in a very strong position at half time. When you are 3-0 up at half time it is really job done, you’ve just got to make sure you keep your discipline in the second half.

“They had a lot of possession in areas but never really hurt us and what Aaron Howe had to do he did very well.”

It was man of the moment Sole who set Woking on their way to a fourth straight league win, opening the scoring inside five minutes.

The in-form striker – who has now hit seven goals in his last five games – tried his luck from long range and, after a wicked deflection that completely wrong footed Irish, watched the ball crash into the net.

Nat Pepperell responded with a glancing header that forced Howe into action but Hill’s side continued to surge forward in ruthless fashion.

Alan Inns wasted a good chance when he failed to connect properly with a Moses Ademola cross and Paris Cowan-Hall should have scored when sent through one-on-one by Keiran Murtagh.

Weston were made to pay for their inability to turn possession in to chances in the 42nd minute when Sole ghosted in to the six-yard box to tap home Cowan-Hall’s low cross.

And the first-half rout was completed two minutes later when Betsy breezed past Irish to fire home.

The introduction of top goalscorer Sahr Kabba gave the hosts a much needed injection of pace but one brilliant save aside, Howe was left with little to do between the posts.

Wayne Gray replaced Cowan-Hall and should have notched a fourth in the final minute only to screw harmlessly wide from six yards.

With second-placed Dartford thrashing Sutton United 6-1, Woking know they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas when they travel to Eastbourne Borough on Saturday.

Woking: Howe, Newton (King, 38mins), Duncan, Murtagh, Inns, Doyle, Cowan-Hall (Gray, 72mins), Davis, Ademola, Sole (Hammond, 80mins), Betsy

WOKING have signed versatile defender Glenn Wilson on loan from Crawley Town.

Wilson will be with the Blue Square South leaders until the end of the season, although there is a recall clause after 28 days of the loan period.

Crawley manager Steve Evans said: “Glenn is an outstanding professional and has played a big part in our progress over the last 20 months.

“He is desperate to play first-team competitive football and joining Woking, who are a team on the way up, will enable him to do this and we wish him all the best.”

Wilson is Crawley’s longest serving player having joined the club in 2007 from Rushden & Diamonds and is just one game short of reaching 150 appearances for the Red Devils.

McLAREN HEROES - race-winner Jenson Button shakes Lewis Hamilton's hand on the podium

JENSON BUTTON kicked off the new Grand Prix campaign in style with a memorable victory in the curtain-raiser in Melbourne.

The McLaren star led  from start to finish to win by 2.1 seconds from reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel after the race was turned into a 17-lap shootout following the late arrival of the safety car.

Button’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton was third, after starting on pole, just ahead of Mark Webber.

The result proves that Woking-based McLaren have at last closed the gap on Red Bull, who dominated the 2011 season.

Button said:  “Every victory means a lot – but today shows just how important it was to have a strong winter. The starts of the past two seasons have both been tricky for us, so today is really encouraging. The guys at the circuit and all the men and women back in Woking have done an amazing job to get us here.

“Today means a lot to me, and I’m sure it’ll mean a lot to all of them too. It’ll make those extra hours worked in the early hours of the morning all the more worthwhile, because we know we can do great things with this car.

“At the start, I really wanted to get away fast in the first two laps to avoid the threat of DRS – it wasn’t easy because I had Lewis right on my tail. But the race went smoothly after that. My biggest worry was the late-race safety car.  I had a 10-second advantage, which was pretty healthy, but the safety car cut that to nothing.

We’ve got a great car and we can fight for the world championship. This is a perfect start to my season and I’m already looking forward to Malaysia“And, since it was 6pm, with the sun going down, it was quite difficult to keep temperature in the tyres when we were running slowly behind the safety car. That was a big worry for me, but it worked out OK in the end.  I got clear of Seb and the DRS zone pretty quickly and was able to pull out an advantage and hold it to the end.

“There’s a huge amount of positives to take away from this weekend. We’ve got a great car and we can fight for the world championship. This is a perfect start to my season and I’m already looking forward to Malaysia.”

Hamilton said:  “Congratulations to Jenson and the whole team for such a great result today.

“While it’s a bit disappointing not to have been able to convert pole position into victory, I’m not downhearted – there are still plenty of races ahead and lots more opportunities to score points.

“I struggled out there a little – it wasn’t my day. But what’s most important is that we showed today that we have a very quick racing car – that’s a massive positive for the team.

“I’m not sure what happened at the start, but I lost ground and then suffered from tyre degradation at the end of the first stint. Then, at the end of the race, I wasn’t able to close the gap to Seb – he was very quick on the straights which meant that it was always going to be difficult to pass him – so I dropped back into some clear air, then Mark  put me under pressure.

“I’ll just re-focus now, get my head down and look to the next race. The world championships are all about consistency, so that’s what I’ll be aiming for.”

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said:  “Jenson was utterly immaculate today.

“He made a brilliant start, slipping past Lewis who got bogged down momentarily, and after that he controlled the race with consummate authority.

“Lewis, too, drove extremely well, but was unfortunately deprived of second place when the Safety Car was deployed late in the race. A Vodafone McLaren Mercedes one-two had been there for the taking but I guess it’s a very good sign when you feel a little disappointed by a one-three, so we’ll settle for that!

“We never under-estimate our opposition, and undoubtedly there’s a long hard road ahead of us between now and the end of the season. But we’ve started well, and in a few days’ time we’ll roll into Sepang, Malaysia, hungry to score a repeat victory.

SOLE MAN - Giuseppe Sole celebrates his stunning strike against Welling

Woking 2 Welling United 1

GIUSEPPE SOLE kept up his stunning recent form as Woking made it three wins in a row to turn up the heat on title rivals Dartford and inflict a potentially fatal blow on Welling’s hopes of automatic promotion.

Sole struck just eight seconds after the restart to complete a memorable Cards’ turnaround after Welling’s 17th-minute opener from Jack Parkinson.

Adam Newton pumped Keiran Murtagh’s pass from the centre-spot forward and  Sole turned his marker as the ball bounced and volleyed it beyond the diving Craig Holloway from 25 yards.

Woking battled back to cancel out Parkinson’s strike with a 36th-minute leveller from new recruit Tom Davis.

Newton and Paris Cowan-Hall combined to play the ball towards Moses Ademola. His back-heel was collected by Sole, who found Kevin Betsy on the left corner of the Welling box.

I thought at half time we would go on and win the game. I felt confident if we stepped the work-rate up in the second half our quality would come through but I didn’t expect it as quick as it didBetsy then teased the defence before playing the ball into the path of Davis, whose shot deflected past Holloway for his first Woking goal.

Woking boss Garry Hill beamed:  “It was a massive result, we knew the Welling game would be tough.

“They’ve done very well recently, certainly away from home, with good wins down at Dover and at Chelmsford last week, so we knew we would have to be at our best and would have to work very hard.

“We started very brightly in the first 15 minutes and could have been in front. Moses Ademola was very unlucky, the goalkeeper got off the line well and made a point-blank save.

“But all of a sudden and we know Welling are very dangerous and very good on set-plays and the warning signs were there. We gave a cheap free-kick away and cleared our lines but four minutes later we gave another cheap free-kick away and they punished us.

“Certainly it was going to be a big test then. In the next 10 or 15 minutes after Welling scored they played with a lot of confidence and it was a case of us making sure we hung in there.

“We did that and got the goal at an important time through Tom Davis. He’s come in and done very well and I’m pleased for him.

“I thought at half time we would go on and win the game. I felt confident if we stepped the work-rate up in the second half our quality would come through but I didn’t expect it as quick as it did.

“There’s no secret about Giuseppe Sole, what quality he’s got, and it was a quality goal from a player who’s gone out on loan and come back to the club and done very, very well.

“We beat a very, very good side today there’s no doubt about that.”

Cards travel to Weston-Super-Mare on Tuesday with the title firmly in their sights.

In fact, the day could have been even better as rivals Dartford trailed Havant & Waterlooville 1-0 with the south-coast side also missing a penalty to go 2-0 up before sucumbing to a 3-1 defeat thanks to a couple of late strikes.

Woking: Howe, Newton, Duncan, Murtagh, Inns, Doyle, Cowan-Hall (Gray, 77mins), Davis,  Ademola, Sole (Hammond, 82mins), Betsy. Attendance: 1,926

SLAM - Keiran Murtagh smacks home Woking's opening goal

Woking 4 Dorchester 1

GIUSEPPE SOLE scored two penalties in as many second-half minutes as Woking thumped Dorchester Town at Kingfield.

Sole was coolness personified as he struck twice from the spot to add to Keiran Murtagh’s vicious first-half strike to move Cards eight points clear at the top of the table.

Joe McNerney headed home a fourth 15 minutes from time before Tom Nichols grabbed a consolation for the visitors.

The one-sided scoreline was made all the more impressive by the fact Dorchester had only lost twice in their last 17 Blue Square South fixtures.

And when the final whistle blew table-toppers Woking were boosted by the news that ­nearest rivals Dartford had been held to a 1-1 draw at ­Maidenhead.

Woking boss Garry Hill could not hide his delight on the night’s results and said: “We’ve stepped up to the mark.

We’re getting into gear at the right time of the season.  We could have had five or six tonight but the boys have done ­extremely well out there“We know we had to step up to the mark and I think we’ve responded very well over the last week, that’s for sure.

“If we play with the hunger, desire and tempo that we’ve been playing in the last couple of games we’re going to be hard to stop.”

Hill’s sentiments were echoed by the players with on-loan star Kevin Betsey ­looking beyond the three points gained against Dorchester.

He is already looking at Saturday’s game against Welling as the next big step towards securing the Blue Square South title.

He said: “Saturday is a massive game for us. If we win that game then we are on course for what we want to achieve.

“The gaffer has assembled a great squad with a good team spirit and hopefully we can kick on again on Saturday.

“We’re getting into gear at the right time of the season.  We could have had five or six tonight but the boys have done ­extremely well out there.

“All the players that performed tonight, including those that came off the bench, put in a good shift.

“We can’t affect anything ­elsewhere, it’s all about our own form and how we get on ourselves – that is all that matters at the moment.”

To prove the point former Fulham star Betsy was on top of his game against Dorchester.

The only thing missing was a goal as he squandered two good chances early on, crashing a volley wide following after a well worked move, before sending a tame header straight at the keeper from six yards.

Sole came closest to opening the scoring soon after when turning smartly to catch Dorchester keeper Alan Walker-Harris on his heels, but his low effort flew inches wide.

Murtagh gave Woking the lead after half an hour, evading two challenges on the edge of the box before blasting low into the corner of the net.

Sole doubled the advantage from the spot four minutes into the second half after Betsy was wiped out by  Walker-Harris, before the same player won another penalty two minutes later.

This time Sole sent his effort to the keeper’s right to net his fourth goal in three games.

There was a let off for Cards when Sam Malsom wasted a great chance.

The Town striker flashed an effort high over the bar from close range.

It was not a move that ruffled Woking as they stormed up the other end of the pitch and forced a  corner.

Derek Duncan swung it across and McNerney rose highest to head home.

Dorchester restored some pride when Nichols escaped his man to turn home Kyle Critchell’s cross but  Woking were good value for the win.

WOKING: Howe, Newton, Duncan, Murtagh, Inns, Doyle (McNerney, 55mins), Cowan-Hall (Hammond, 71mins), Davis, Ademola, Sole (Binns, 65mins), Betsy.
Attendance: 1,268