On Saturday October 18th Hampton & Richmond Borough will host Weston-Super-Mare for our eleventh match of the campaign.
The Beavers, after enjoying an unbeaten run of eight matches have sleep-walked into losing three on the spin, but the downturn in form is not indicative of a problem with the players or coaching staff.
The last league match against Slough Town saw us have 26 shots but fall 2-3, then last weekend we faced a very good Eastleigh side from the National League who put in as professional a performance as we will likely face this season.
Finally, the latest loss came to Step 4 Rayner’s Lane on Tuesday in the Middlesex senior cup. The squad was heavily rotated and featured youngsters from our U18s squad and senior players who have not had many minutes this year.
In the 1-4 loss, bright sparks were provided by Andrew-Flower who scored his first senior goal, and the second debut of new signing Mike Atkinson, who played alongside Rohan Ince for his own first significant minutes of the season.
All eyes turn back to the league campaign which so far has proven to be a good one thus far.
Saturday’s opponents have also enjoyed a good start to their season. The Seagulls sit second in the standings with seven wins from ten.
Eastleigh’s Scott Bartlett was Weston’s manager since 2019 and he guided them on this good start, but his replacement Scott Rogers has picked up where Bartlett left off.
However, in the last match in the league they suffered just their second defeat of the season and first since opening day. Even in these losses there is evidence that there is no sign of slowing. They fell to first-placed Hornchurch on opening day 2-3, conceding a late winner in the 85th minute. In their latest loss to AFC Totton, the scores were level before the Seagulls went down to ten men.
In their latest match Weston progressed to the FA Cup first round proper, besting Step 3 Needham Market 1-0 at home.
Last season’s 8th placed side beat the Beavers 3-1 at home last season, but drew 0-0 at the Bev, and have not won at Beveree Stadium since 2017.
Alan Julian and his men will be bolstered by the addition of Atkinson in midfield and the potential return of Ince, as well as Silva who missed last match out through personal reasons.
The opposition has plenty of players to be aware of, not least the National League Player of the Month for September, Max Harris. The 26-year-old shot-stopper did not concede a goal for the whole month, and has kept nine clean sheets in all competitions so far.
The Seagulls have conceded the second-least goals in the league, only shipping eight in ten matches.
At the other end of the pitch, is the National League South’s August Player of the Month Louis Britton. The former Bristol City man has netted nine times in thirteen appearances.
Luke Coulson is another forward to keep an eye on. The number 7 scored 23 goals and registered 22 assists last season for the seagulls, and this season has added 4 to his tally, notching in two of their last three matches.
It will no doubt be a tough test for Alan Julian and his men, but HRBFC continue to surpass expectations and there is no reason for them not to continue to do that, especially when the home support is as good as it has been in the last few fixtures.
We will need the fans voices more than ever this Saturday, so get yourself and a mate down to the ground by securing your tickets in advance using this link.
Up the Beavers.
By Jack Lonergan