All eyes are on the National League once again this weekend as the campaign starts to hot up ahead of Matchday 13.
Visiting Mill Farm this weekend are Woking FC, who come into this game sitting just outside the play-offs and we cast an eye on them.
The Lowdown
As Storm Agnes hits the UK, the Coasters are cooking up a storm of their own, looking to go undefeated for the third game in a row for the first time this season.
Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw at home to Boreham Wood saw the Coasters take four points from their last two games and are currently on their best run of the season.
Goals from Danny Whitehead and Owen Evans saw the Coasters grab a point against the Wood in a game which could have gone either way.
The Cardinals come into this game on the back of two straight defeats to York and Wealdstone and will be looking for their first win in three games.
Darren Sarll’s men have started the season strongly, sniffing around the playoffs – however, this recent run has seen them drop out of those places. Can the Coasters capitalise on the Cardinal’s blip of form?
The Manager: Darren Sarll
Sarll started his youth career at Ipswich Town before quickly dropping down to non-league football, where he found himself gaining more game time.
Spells at a variety of clubs such as Hitchin Town, Bedford Town, Biggleswade United, St Albans City, Hemel Hempstead Town and Dunstable Town saw him become one of the more experienced lower league players – however, a career hampered with injuries saw him turn to coaching at an early age.
At the age of 23, Sarll started his coaching career at Conference side Stevenage Borough as a youth coach. He stayed at Boro for two seasons before moving to League Two side Brentford. Sarll joined Brentford as a youth coach but was soon promoted to the first team coaching team, joining as assistant to Andy Scott.
Sarll once again departed after two seasons, this time following Scott to fellow League Two side Rotherham United. After Scott got the sack, Sarll departed again at the end of the season, this time to former club Stevenage.
He re-joined in 2012 and spent three years as the Head of Youth Development. Sarll once again got promoted to the first team coaching staff in 2015 when Teddy Sheringham got the manager’s job. After the sacking of Sheringham, Sarll took over as the Caretaker Manager and was tasked with keeping Stevenage up.
The 40-year-old managed to keep Stevenage up and was given the job permanently in 2016. In his first season as a manager, Sarll took Stevenage to a 10th-place finish, and Boro fans thought this was the sign of things to come.
However, the following season Sarll got fired for winning four games out of 23, but he stayed on until the end of the 2018 season in a different role. At the end of the 2018 season, Sarll got another permanent managerial move to Yeovil Town.
In his three-year period there, he took the club to two play-off finishes but never managed to gain promotion back to the National League, and when ownership issues came about, Sarll left the club in March 2022.
He then moved to the Cardinals, where in his first managerial season, he managed to gain a playoff finish, and he will now be looking to improve on last season’s finish.
Key Players
Ricky Korboa – An attacking player with that bit of flair that every National League side would want. Goals are in his game, and his play style is not too dissimilar to Boreham Wood player Angelo Balanta.
Jim Kellermann – A midfielder with a bit of steel and an eye for goal. The ex-coaster knows how to do the dirty stuff in the game but also has the class to win a game.
Greg Taylor – The experienced defender was a brilliant addition to the Cardinals in the summer and could be one of the signings of the summer. A strong defender who loves a tackle and will be a tough player to beat for the Coasters.
Recent Form
AFC Fylde: DWLLL
Woking FC: LLDWD
From The Coasters Camp
Previous Meetings
23rd September 2017 – AFC Fylde 1-2 Woking FC – National League
Goalscorers: Fylde – Jordan Tunnicliffe
Cardinals – Joe Ward & Jordan Philpot
27th January 2018 – Woking FC 1-0 AFC Fylde – National League
Goalscorers: Cardinals – Lazar Stojsavljevic.
17th August 2019 – AFC Fylde 1-4 Woking FC – National League
Goalscorers: Fylde – Lewis Montrose.
Cardinals – Dave Tarpey, Kane Ferdinand & Jake Hyde (X2).
Opposition form:
The Cardinals are currently on their worst run of the season, with no win in three games and will come to the Fylde Coast looking to change that.
A positive start to the season – however, has seen them gain a place just outside of the playoffs. A good finish to the last season saw them finish in the playoffs, but they got knocked out in the quarter-finals and will be looking for a similar result this time around.
Match Preview is written by Benji Jenkinson.
