After facing Hanwell Town for the first time last week, it’s another freshers’ fair for the Fleet as we get acquainted with Taunton Town having never met the Peacocks before now.
It’s all a far cry from last season, the first campaign since 1970/71 during which we had no new opposition to test ourselves against.
Concentration is the key for the Fleet (and for Taunton, too) as we enter a period of competition-hopping between league and cup football, with points up for grabs in one week and progress the aim in the next.
It can be a tricky balance but Dennis Kutrieb’s squad showed no problems in that department at Hanwell last week, in command of that game amidst seven changes to the starting lineup. Josh Wright missed out through injury, while regular starters Luke O’Neill, Joe Martin, Christian N’Guessan, Dominic Poleon and Craig Tanner were also not involved so there’s plenty of options this league weekend. Added to that were more minutes in the tank for the likes of Ben Chapman, Jack Paxman, Franklin Domi and the returning Elliott Romain and once more the race for selection is a keen one.
“We go into this fresh and healthy,” Kutrieb said ahead of the visit of Taunton. “We have to prepare very carefully because they have only conceded seven which is outstanding. If we think we can just turn up and play a little bit of football, we will not be good enough and we’ll get punished.”
While Kutrieb and his staff will know plenty about Taunton given the usual careful due diligence carried out on opponents, Fleet fans will know little about the newly promoted Peacocks. Their lineup isn’t entirely unfamiliar, however, with former Bath City men Lloyd James, Nick McCootie, Dave Sims-Burgess and Dan Ball having played against us several times, while the likes of striker Nat Jarvis and midfielder Ross Stearn are others well used to National South football.
James, who played with both Mark Cousins and Josh Wright in the league, may be in the swansong of his career at 34, but he boasts plenty of Football League experience and holds down a regular place in midfield in a small squad that doesn’t tend to shift in personnel too much.
Taunton are something of an enigma this season. Alongside the best defensive record in the division, they also hold one of the worst scoring records with just seven goals – no player has scored more than once in the league, they have found the net just once on their travels and six of their 10 games so far have resulted in firing blanks.
As if to underline this enigma, they rattled in that same amount of goals in one game in midweek, albeit against Western Leaguers Odd Down in the county cup, winning 7-0 – a scoreline that will be sure to have done their goalscorers a power of good.
Having been promoted twice in recent seasons and made it to play-offs as well, Taunton have been well used to scoring goals up to this campaign – they lost top scorer Toby Holmes to Poole Town over the summer, however, and haven’t quite managed to replace him at this level just yet.
Nonetheless, a team with as good a defensive record as Taunton don’t need to score too many to earn points and they have beaten Dartford and Chippenham already this season while frustrating the likes of Chelmsford, Bath City and Welling United in sharing points.
And like the Fleet, they have an FA Cup tie to look forward to the following week, having been landed a plum local affair against Yeovil Town. That’s all put to one side, however, as the quest for three points returns in a run of four games at the Kuflink Stadium.
MATCHDAY SMALL PRINT ——–>
ONLINE SALES
Our online ticketing sales platform at fleetlive.club has tickets available until 12.00pm on matchday. We would advise pre-purchase for both your and our convenience in gaining admission to the ground.
On-the-day ticket sales are available from the windows by main reception, accepting card and cash payments. Turnstiles open at 1pm but they will only accept online tickets (printed out or on your device) and tickets bought at the windows on matchday. There is a dedicated gate for season-ticket holders but they may also use their cards through other turnstile gates.
MAIN STAND BAR
There is no segregation for this game – so all supporters are welcome in our Main Stand Bar and Social Club bar. To access the Main Stand bar, enter through the turnstiles and walk the length of the gangway in the Main Stand to the door at the Swanscombe (uncovered) End. There is signage pointing you in the direction. Dennis Kutrieb does a pre-match teamsheet run-through and he and other players attend the bar post-match as well for the man of the match presentation.
CATERING OUTLETS
Check out our food stalls (to the left of the main turnstiles entrance, there is our Würtsel Haus German sausage experience and straight ahead as you enter the ground is the Manhattan Grill for all your burger, hot dog and more needs!). Pop-up bars are also situated near to the turnstiles and by ‘Geeks Corner’ between the Plough End and old stand. We have a Hofmeister popup to be found in the marquee between the main turnstiles entrance and the Main Stand.
CAR PARKING
Car-parking as per usual on matchdays is available at Ebbsfleet International Car Park C for £3. Please have the correct change if possible to aid our parking staff and again, we would recommend an early arrival. Please note that the areas near to Northfleet Station, namely Railway Street and Hamerton Road, are resident/permit-only parking and non-valid vehicles will be ticketed. The area on Thamesway before the roundabout as you approach the Kuflink Stadium is a designated clearway – though that is not particularly apparent as you approach – so you are advised not to park here because of the risk of being ticketed.
MATCHDAY PROGRAMMES
If you wish to purchase your programme in advance for collection from our club shop before you enter the ground, you can do so either via our online shop or when booking your matchday tickets online.
Programmes are also on sale at the ground from the club shop, the popup bar as you enter the turnstiles, the Main Stand tea kiosk or in the Social Club behind the Plough End, costing £3. Advance-order programmes will be available to pick up from the club shop before the game and before you enter the turnstiles.
