Steve Jupp, BA11's Club Historian, previews this weekend's clash of the Robins.
On Tuesday night, The Robins had a taste of what life is like at the business end of this
Division and while, in the end, they fell fractionally short, Saturday’s home fixture with
Bracknell Town gives them a quick opportunity to bounce back.
It was their first defeat since the beginning of February, an impressive unbeaten run of
SEVENTEEN games and the only thing to do is build another one. Every defeat last season
(and let’s face it, there weren’t many!) was immediately followed by a positive result and the
Badgers Hill faithful will be hoping for more of the same.
Bracknell, play-off semi-finalists last term, are seeking their first victory of the new
campaign having drawn 0-0 at home to Poole on the opening day followed by a midweek
1-3 defeat at Hanwell.
Our paths have crossed before, but only fleetingly, in Division One South & West of the
Southern League in the 2009-10 season with Frome winning both encounters, 4-0 here at
the Hill and 3-2 away. That was a wretched time for the Berkshire Robins who finished
bottom, losing forty of their forty-two fixtures.
They would fall as low as Step Six but, in recent years, have taken to bouncing back to new
levels. In each of the last five completed seasons, they have either been promoted or
reached the play-offs and, just a couple of years ago, missed out on a place in National
League South when Truro nicked a 90th minute winner in the final.
FA Cup success has gone hand in hand with their league exploits with the TV cameras
rocking up at their Bottom Meadow home in 2022 for a plum First Round tie against Ipswich
Town (which the Tractor Boys won 3-0) and this was followed up twelve months later with a
run to the same stage where they went down by the odd goal in three at Cambridge United.
Tuesday’s attendance of 552 was an encouraging one considering we’re in the middle of the
holiday season and it’s both a sign of the current popularity of non-league football and of
how far the club has come in recent times that in the previous eight-year stint at Step Three
(2011-19), that figure was surpassed only once.
Will Danny Greaves name the same starting XI for the third game running or will he try
something a little different? The touchline managers among you will have your own
opinions and permutations for what promises to be an intriguing contest against opponents
who know what life at this level is all about and how to thrive.
Listen to the latest episode of the Dodge The Question podcast as hosts Steve and Zeb are joined by Steve Jupp, new signing Curtis Jemmett-Hutson and assistant manager Neil Simons to look back on an eventful opening week of the league season!
Secure your entry to all of our league games at home coming up in August and September on the Fanbase app and website!
Well, if we can win on Saturday that'll be two wins out of three ( 6 points) and a more than satisfactory start to the season. All in all , we played very well on Tuesday and if we'd taken a fraction of the chances we made we would have got a lot closer to a very good Merthyr side. whose defensive code we cracked on several occasions.
Curtis Hutson has been very impressive since joining and must be very close to starting? Matt Smith is our best all round midfielder and would certainly compliment the barn - storming form of Monksie who's certainly hit the ground running this season and playing as well as I've seen him play.
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