Woking's Academy Double Header: Youth Teams Face Midweek Test
The Cards' academy sides have their work cut out with back-to-back fixtures on Wednesday, as both U19 and U18 squads look to make their mark in respective league campaigns.
While the senior sides grab the headlines, Woking's academy troops are quietly getting on with the business of development football, and this Wednesday presents a neat double bill for those keeping tabs on the future.
The U19 EDS squad will be first into action at 12:30, welcoming Southend United to The Laithwaite Community Stadium for what promises to be a proper test in the National Academy League South Division. There's something delightfully old-school about a Wednesday lunchtime kickoff at Kingfield – though whether that's down to scheduling pragmatism or giving the youngsters a taste of non-league's wonderfully random fixture planning remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, just thirty minutes earlier and some miles down the road, Woking's U18s will be getting stuck into their own assignment against Eastleigh in National League Alliance Division F action. The timing suggests someone in the academy setup has either mastered the art of being in two places at once, or there's going to be some frantic dashing between grounds for the coaching staff.
Both fixtures represent the bread and butter of academy football – the unglamorous but vital work of giving young players competitive minutes against quality opposition. Southend United, despite their recent travails in the senior game, maintain a reputation for producing decent young talent, so the U19s will need to be sharp if they're to claim bragging rights on home soil.
The U18s face their own challenge in travelling to Eastleigh, where away form and youth football's notorious unpredictability could make for an interesting afternoon. National League Alliance Division F might not roll off the tongue quite like the Premier League, but for these lads, it's every bit as important for their development.
With both matches kicking off at lunch time on a Wednesday, the crowds won't exactly be heaving, but that's rather the point of academy football – it's about learning the trade away from the spotlight, building the fundamentals that might one day serve them well under the Friday night lights.
For Woking supporters with time on their hands, it's a chance to glimpse the potential future of the club. Whether that future involves any of Wednesday's participants remains to be seen, but in the meantime, there's something refreshingly honest about watching young players simply trying to win football matches without the burden of expectation that comes with the senior game.