Remembering where we once were.
Woking were ever presents during Doncaster Rovers’ tenure in the Conference, and after a brief stint in the Conference South, are back where they will believe they belong.
The Cards – now under the stewardship of former DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE boss Garry Hill – could lay claim to being one of Rovers’ bogey sides with the South Yorkshiremen only defeating the Surrey outfit on two – out of ten – occasions.
Rovers were rendered goalless in the 98/99 season as Woking recorded 1-0 and 2-0 wins masterminded by none other than future Reading and Leeds United boss Brian McDermott.
McDermott was to leave his post in February 2000, but not before Rovers had taken four points off his side in a 3-1 win (Newell and Maamria x 2) for the visitors and a stalemate at Belle Vue.
Rovers didn’t get the better of Woking again until their final season in the Conference, the 2002/03 season.
With a side featuring many local lads including Dean Barrick, Danny Hudson, Ricky Ravenhill and Ben Muirhead, Rovers defeated Woking 3-1 thanks to strikes from Dave Morley, Rob Gill and Jamie Paterson.
The return saw future Rovers star John Doolan make his debut for Dave Penney’s men who came from behind to lead 2-1 at one stage, before the host’s Raphael Nade squared things up in front of 2000 fans.
Woking’s performances season on season gradually got worse before the inevitable relegation kicked in during the 2008/09 season.
The sixth tier awaited the Cards for the first time in 26 years and after back to back play-off heartaches, the title win of the Conference South in 2012 tasted that much sweeter, and with a points tally of 97 to boot!
Hill led Woking to ninth in the Conference last season; their highest finish for nine years.