Dowson back, 13 new faces and an eight-goal homecoming
Saturday 29 August | 3pm | Plainmoor
Three away defeats. No goals scored. Thirteen conceded after four games.
On the face of it, Hampton & Richmond Borough have endured a difficult start to 2026/27.
But there is rather more to Saturday’s visitors than the early table suggests.
Their first three matches were all away while a major redevelopment of Beveree Stadium was completed. Then, in their first home game of the season last weekend, the Beavers produced one of the most extraordinary results anywhere in the National League: beating Slough Town 5–3 after trailing 3–2 with five minutes remaining.
THE 60-SECOND GUIDE
Nickname: The Beavers
Home: Beveree Stadium
Manager: Alan Dowson
Last season: 18th in National League South
This season: 21st after four matches
Summer recruitment: 13 new signings before the opening game
Hampton are now entering their 11th consecutive season at Step Two and have spent the summer substantially rebuilding both their squad and their stadium.
THE STORY YOU NEED TO KNOW
Hampton’s unusual opening schedule was not an accident.
Beveree underwent substantial work during the summer, including the installation of a new Edel Hybridblade 3G pitch alongside new walkways, fencing, expanded concourses and a family zone.
That meant Alan Dowson’s side began the league season with three consecutive away fixtures.
It did not go well.
Salisbury 5–0 Hampton & Richmond
Weston-super-Mare 3–0 Hampton & Richmond
Horsham 2–0 Hampton & Richmond
Three games. Three defeats. No goals scored.
Then Beveree finally reopened for league football against Slough last Saturday – and everything changed.
THE SERIOUS BIT
Hampton led Slough 2–0 through Tobi Sho-Silva and Theo Widdrington before conceding three goals in seven extraordinary second-half minutes to suddenly trail 3–2.
Instead of folding, they responded.
Zanda Siziba equalised on 86 minutes, Luis Fernandez made it 4–3 in stoppage time and Wes Fonguck added a fifth.
From 2–0 ahead to 3–2 behind to 5–3 winners.
It was quite a way to collect their first points of the season and demonstrated that, despite their defensive problems, this is a Hampton side with considerably more attacking threat than their opening three matches suggested.
IN THE DUGOUT
Alan Dowson is back for a second spell at Beveree.
Dowson returned in December 2025 following the departure of Alan Julian and helped steer Hampton away from danger, eventually finishing 18th.
He knows both the club and this level exceptionally well.
His first Hampton spell included promotion and a National League South play-off final, before he moved on to Woking and subsequently managed Dartford and Hemel Hempstead.
Hampton rewarded his work last season with a new contract in July, and former Woking midfielder Max Kretzschmar combines playing duties with his role as Dowson’s assistant.
SUMMER REBUILD
This is not simply last season’s Hampton side starting again.
The Beavers went into the opening weekend with 13 new signings and only six players returning from last season’s squad.
Among the headline arrivals are Tobi Sho-Silva, Theo Widdrington, Sak Hassan and Wes Fonguck – players with substantial National League and Football League experience between them.
Widdrington made more than 100 appearances for Aldershot Town and won the FA Trophy with the Shots, while Fonguck has played extensively for Barnet, Southend and Ebbsfleet.
Dowson has continued adding to the squad since the season began, including young loanees Marco Underwood from Fulham, Uriah Djedje from Norwich City and Adam Reeves from Sutton United.
THREE TO WATCH
Tobi Sho-Silva
A powerful and experienced centre-forward brought in to give Hampton a genuine focal point.
Sho-Silva has played for Bromley, Dover, Halifax, Sutton, Carlisle, Maidenhead, Kidderminster and Solihull Moors, with three promotions on his CV.
Dowson described him as the target man he had been looking for – and Sho-Silva opened his Hampton account from the penalty spot against Slough.
Reece Grego-Cox
Hampton’s Fans’ Player of the Season last year and their leading scorer with 11 goals in 37 appearances.
The former QPR and Woking forward’s goals were calculated by Hampton to have directly earned 14 league points – more than a quarter of the club’s total.
He has the ability to score from distance as well as operate around a more physical centre-forward, and remains one of Hampton’s proven match-winners.
Sak Hassan
Perhaps the most intriguing of Hampton’s summer additions.
The Somalia international winger stepped down from National League Wealdstone, where he registered three goals and nine assists last season.
Before that, Hassan produced 17 goals and 16 assists for Hashtag United in 2024/25.
He is direct, quick and creative, and Hampton highlighted him as one of their brightest performers even during the 2–0 defeat at Horsham.
WHEN WE LAST MET
10 January 2026: Torquay United 4–1 Hampton & Richmond Borough.
Hampton actually took the lead at Plainmoor through Aaron Lacey, before United responded emphatically.
Callum Dolan equalised before half-time, with Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Jordan Young both producing superb finishes after the interval before Dylan Morgan completed the scoring in stoppage time.
The earlier meeting at Beveree finished 2–2, with Jordan Young and Sam Dreyer twice putting United ahead before Hampton fought back on each occasion.
There is a warning in the slightly longer history, though.
Hampton’s previous visit to Plainmoor, in January 2025, ended in a 1–0 Beavers victory – the result that ended United’s unbeaten home league record that season.
MATCHDAY FACT FILE
Fixture: Torquay United v Hampton & Richmond Borough
Competition: Enterprise National League South
Date: Saturday 29 August 2026
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: Plainmoor
The VX3 Popside and Wollens Terrace are both open to home supporters, with travelling Hampton fans allocated Bristow’s Bench Block A.
Adult match tickets are priced at £20 on the Popside, £21 in the Brothwell Irvine Family Stand and £22 in Bristow’s Bench, with concession and junior rates also available.
United go into the game looking for their first home league victory of the new campaign following draws against Horsham and Weston-super-Mare.
THE VERDICT
Ignore the league position at your peril.
Hampton’s opening three defeats were emphatic and 13 goals conceded in four matches tells its own story.
But those three defeats also came during an enforced run of away fixtures, while Dowson tries to blend a heavily rebuilt squad containing some very experienced operators.
The 5–3 victory over Slough showed both sides of them: vulnerable enough to concede three goals in seven minutes, but dangerous and resilient enough to respond with three of their own before full-time.
Sho-Silva provides the physical focal point. Hassan offers pace and creativity. Grego-Cox provides proven goals. Widdrington and Fonguck add National League experience through midfield.
For United, the objective is straightforward: respond to last weekend’s defeat at Dagenham and turn two promising but drawn performances at Plainmoor into a first home league victory.
A wounded Beaver can still bite.
