On Saturday October 4th Hampton & Richmond Borough return to the Bev for the first time in three weeks to face Slough Town on Matchday ten of the National League South 2025/26 season.
The Beavers return home after a 3-3 draw away to Dover Athletic on the 20th and most recently a 1-0 win away to National League North side Merthyr Town which saw the team through to the FA Cup 4th qualifying round where they will face National League Eastleigh.
It was a very disciplined and tireless display in south Wales as the home side enjoyed most of the possession and were spurred on by an enlivened atmosphere at Penydarren Park.
The first half saw the Beavers tweak their formation to a four at the back which has not been a common occurrence this season, but manager Alan Julian and his coaching staff have been consistent in making tactical adjustments in the middle of matches as and when they see fit.
This allowed the team to match up better in midfield and took away the home sides space which meant they did not play through the lines as easily as they did in the opening minutes, forcing them to go long frequently.
The Martyrs did have the better of the chances in the first half, with a dangerous ball to the back post being met by a diving header, only to be denied at point blank range by goalkeeper James Holden.
The second half saw the Beavers play with more physicality and looked the better of the two sides in the opening ten minutes, but a sloppy mistake at the back when shielding the ball out of play allowed a Merthyr player to hook it back into the area to a teammate who was brought down for a penalty in the 54th minute.
Holden once again rose to the occasion, producing a save via a strong right hand down to his right from a Ricardo Rees penalty which was admittedly not the best of his career.
This shifted momentum, and HRBFC’s goal game 20 minutes later courtesy of some good pressing from Soul Kader who nicked the ball from Martyr’s captain Tom Handley into the path of Ronan Silva who played a reverse pass to Craig Fasnamde who made no mistake a dispatched his 6th of the season and 3rd in two games.
That was enough for the win, and the Beavers will be back home in good spirits and good form.
Their opponents for this Saturday also progressed in the FA Cup, besting step 4 side Bedfont Sports 2-1 even after going down to ten men rather contentiously in the eyes of player-manager Scott Davies.
In the National League South Slough Town are sitting in 19th on just nine points in what has been a difficult start to the season.
The have two wins, three draws and four losses so far. Victories over Ebbsfleet and Chippenham provided six of their nine points so far, and their last two results in the league where a 2-5 defeat to first placed Hornchurch and a 2-4 defeat to Torquay.
Former Beavers keeper Adam Debois is denied a reunion with his former fans after his red card against Bedfont, which will most likely see Henry Upstell make only his second appearance of the season.
Nineteen-year-old forward Josh Adepoju notched a brace last time out and will be one to look out for.
The elder statesman in the side as well as the manager Davies is midfielder Johnny Goddard who has played multiple seasons at League 2 and National League level, gaining a cap for England C in 2024. The 31-year-old has 30 goals for the Rebels in two spells.
Last season’s edition of this fixture finished in a 2-2 draw, and in the last 12 fixtures HRBFC have only managed to best the Rebels on two occasions.
Alan Julian and his side will be determined to put an end to the poor recent head-to-head record in this fixture and extend their unbeaten run to 9 games.
Be sure to support the lads in our first match of October. Secure your tickets here.
Up the Beavers.
By Jack Lonergan