By the time kick off rolls around at 3pm, it will have been 39 long days since the Lilywhites suffered their heaviest league defeat of the season, a 4-1 loss at home to the Wodson Park based side. A goal from Marvin Dolapo Hamilton-Omole in between a Junior Appiah hat trick sent Simon Riddle and the boys reeling back in October, with Baresi placed in 15th and Hoddesdon in 9th.

For this game, Hoddesdon remain in 9th and the hosts have only climbed one place to 14th since that miserable Saturday. Heavy defeats to Enfield Borough, Dunmow Town and AS London have hampered manager Tufail Amjad's ambitions to enter the top ten, and only a 2-1 home win on the 9th of November against Hutton, their last game, offers any reasons to be cheerful. Goals from Yannick Kamanan and Teyon Weston were enough to see off the challenge of third placed a Hutton, a win that will have done much to boost confidence heading into this weekend. You can watch Kamanan nod home the winning goal that day by clicking HERE or watch the full highlights from that game by clicking HERE.

Indeed, since the win at Lowfield, Baresi have conceded 18 goals in 4 games, including an 8-0 thumping by AS London, a team that Hoddesdon themselves beat 2-1, on the same day Baresi inflicted a fine defeat on Hutton. In terms of home form, our hosts record reads played 8, won 2, drawn 1, lost 5 with 14 goals scored and 19 conceded, an average of 2.3 goals shipped per game. The two wins came against the afore mentioned Hutton and a 5-0 demolition of relegation threatened St Margaretsbury, back on the 18th of September.

FC Baresi was originally formed in 1993 as Santos FC by Amjad Mahmood, who is the current chairman, and affectionately known as 'Mr FC Baresi'. They started playing as friends and formed a team. There were other friends who had teams and so they formed a league which was called Suraaj Basmaati League. Then in 1994, there was the Asian Football League which was formed, so both leagues decided to become one. A name change to Royal Antwerp followed, because the founder of the Asian league and his team Gapelle had a big rivalry with Santos FC. In 1997, they changed the name to FC Baresi after the ex-AC Milan and Italy legend Franco Baresi. The club went on to win three titles in six years.

The club folded in 2009/10 season due to players leaving for university, however in 2017 they reformed with a new batch of young players, with a few old faces to help guide the youngsters. In the first ever season in the Essex Alliance Football League, the club went on to win the league and cup double and were the first team in the history of the Essex Alliance Football League to have gone the whole season unbeaten in the league. The following season saw them promoted two divisions and went on to win the league for a 2nd year running which resulted in being promoted to the Premier Division, which is now known as the Senior Division. Our opponents currently groundshare with Ware at Wodson Park, after previously playing at Britannia Sports Ground and the George White Ground, both in Walthamstow.

Amongst their ranks, there are one or two names well known to a few in non league circles, none more so than Murat Karagul.

The former Ware FC centre forward has a real pedigree in non league football and has already proved to be a key figure in the Baresi dressing room. His time at Ware started when then manager Tony Faulkner brought him in to the side for an FA Trophy game against Whitehawk on the 2nd October 2010. Three days later, Ware beat Cheshunt 3-1 in the league with Murat scoring twice. Murat went on to make another 20 appearances that season and scored a total of seven goals before trying his luck with Wingate & Finchley following his final game away to Romford on 5th February. He had a second short loan spell with Ware the following season playing six games and scoring once under the management of Stuart Nethercott before returning to Summers Lane. He was back for his final period with Ware when Kem Kemal took over as manager in 2013/14, with Murat making his third debut in Kem's first game at Heybridge Swifts on the 28th of December. Murat has a great wrok ethic and 'cam do' approach, always ready to fill in as appropriate in defence, midfield or attack and never giving less than 100%.

Murat played only twice more before an injury to his left knee brought an end to his Ware career at 232 appearances. That said, he signed for FC Baresi back in July of 2023 and with his new side playing their football at Wodson Park, Karagul finds himself in familiar surroundings that hold happy memories for him. Murat certainly played his part last season, with FC Baresi winning the Essex Alliance Senior Division in convincing style.

Right back Junior Appiah will have given Lilywhite manager Simon Riddle a few sleepless nights after the 4-1 defeat, his hat trick at Lowfield inflicting a shock defeat on his side.

The Manchester United supporting 35 year old plyed his trade at Waltham Abbey for over 100 games, scoring 4 goals between 2015 and 2023, before joining FC Baresi. Appiah has bundles of experience at a higher level, having also played for Cheshunt, Ware, Harlow Town, Thurrock and Aveley and brings so much to the dressing room and the pitch for manager Amjad. In 2023 he spent 5 months out of the game through injury but has returned to the side and is one of their favourite son's.

Back in the 2006/07 season of the Middlesex County Football League, Junior was starting out on his senior footballing journey, playing for FC Baresi in the Division Three East. During the 2006/07 season, Junior played alongside current FC Baresi manager, Tufail Amjad. Junior showcased his skills by scoring an impressive nine goals in just 12 league appearances. That season, FC Baresi dominated the division, including an extraordinary 18-0 victory against Freezywater. Versatile on the field, Junior is capable of playing across the defence—both as a central defender and full-back—as well as a winger and centre-forward. Junior is a technically gifted player with exceptional ball control and remarkable pace for his age. This season, while playing in central defence, he has displayed strong leadership and smart decision-making. His ability to read the game is outstanding, and his ball distribution from the back is both precise and high-quality.

Appiah's hat trick against us last month are his only goals of the season so far, so we thank him enormously for saving them up and using them against us!! Kishawn James leads the FC Baresi scoring charts with 5 goals in 19 appearances this season.

For Hoddesdon, they will be slightly disappointed with the 1-1 draw on Saturday against local rivals St Margaretsbury, but must take pride in their never say die attitude, coming back as they did with a 96th minute equaliser in front of a packed Lowfield. Bailey Eden once again proved to be the ace in the pack and underlined just how important he is to the team, belying his age and showing a cool head to finish well and nick a point for his side.

Liam Nugent returned to action on Saturday for the first time since the 14th of September after sustaining a lengthy injury. An 80th minute injury to Ethan Gannon saw 'The Viking' climb off the bench in the local derby, and what a cameo appearance it was, denying St Magaretsbury on three occasions in quick succession to keep his side in the game, before Eden went on to grab the leveller. The status of Gannon is currently unknown at the time of writing but if he is fit, the gaffer will have a selection headache to mull over, with Ethan having performed superbly in Nugent's extended absence.

Prior to the derby, Simon Riddle commented 'Liam Nugent will be pushing for his no.1 shirt back from Ethan Gannon, Harrison Cage feels that he is fit enough to be on the bench. Connor Casey who made such an impact at the beginning of the season is still a few weeks away. Dhillon Lee who dislocated his shoulder at Harlow Town does not feel he will be fit until after Christmas...'.

Eden's last gasp goal at the weekend drew him level with Ben Clarke for the season on four a piece, just one behind current top goalscorer, Connor Bolton. Eden does however lead the appearance charts this season, all be it jointly with Jonah Evans, both registering 19 appearances, although Evans does have one more starting berth (17) over Eden (16).

Kick Off at Wodson Park, the home of Ware FC, is 3pm.

Entry is Adults £6, Concessions £4 and U12s Free.

Enjoy the game.

#COYL