Athletic and the Blues continue to battle over top spot

Leaders Dover Athletic are back at home, although given their home form has been their achilles heel so far this season they’d probably rather be on the road. Athletic host Lewes, who are down in eleventh place and have won only two of their last ten, but the Rooks will be given some confidence by the fact that their opponents have lost their last three home matches despite remaining unbeaten on their travels. That said, Lewes haven’t won in seven attempts away from home. Athletic won their first meeting this season by three goals to one.

Billericay Town, only a point behind the leaders, are nine unbeaten and looking for a fifth successive win as they travel to Horsham, in what looks to be our match of the day- although there are a number of other candidates for that label. The fifth place Hornets are ten points behind their visitors, but are looking for a sixth win in a row and have been particularly impressive on their own patch. The Blues defeated these opponents as recently as December 3rd.

Dartford have climbed to third after a fabulous run, but they have a tough match in prospect as sixth place Chichester City make the trip to Kent. The Darts are looking for a seventh win in a row and are fifteen games unbeaten, whilst City- who drew two-two with these opponents in November, are six unbeaten and looking for a fifth win in a row. The hosts are four points behind the leaders, the visitors three points away from fifth place. 

Cray Valley PM saw a long unbeaten run crash to an end against Hashtag United last weekend, and slipped to fourth as a consequence. They’ll hope to quickly put that aberration behind them as they travel to Bowers and Pitsea, the hosts eight points from safety and with only one win from ten- but looking to build on a positive performance under their new management duo last weekend, when they drew with Folkestone Invicta. The Millers defeated their Essex opponents two-nil at the Artic Stadium in November.

Hashtag United have been in fine form. The Tags, who travel to bottom side Bognor, have only one defeat from ten, and during the last week have defeated promotion chasing Cray Valley and Chatham Town, both on the road, so won’t be deterred by a trip to Sussex as they try to narrow the four points separating them from the top five. The Rocks are ten points from safety but will have taken great heart from their battling win at Dulwich Hamlet last weekend, a match that saw them go down to ten men, go three-one down, and somehow come back to deliver a four-three triumph. This will be the first meeting between the sides this season, but they’ll need to wait only ten days for another.

Chatham Town and their visitors Wingate and Finchley have both lost their way recently. The Chats have lost their last three, each of those defeats to nil, whilst the Blues have slipped from the top five down to fourteenth after a run of eight matches without a win, including six defeats in their last seven. The sides drew one-one in North London in November, and were each victorious at home when they met last season. 

Folkestone Invicta, who saw a four match unbeaten run come to a dramatic end when hammered at home by Cheshunt in midweek, are on the road to managerless- as we write- Dulwich Hamlet. Invicta are six points short of the top five, whilst Hamlet have been in freefall, six points further back and six points above the drop zone after a run of one win in ten and four defeats from their last five, a run which saw them part company with their manager this week. Invicta won the first meeting between the sides two-one, in mid November, but Hamlet took four points from the meetings between the sides last season, including a three-one win at Champion Hill watched by three thousand and sixty nine spectators. 

Potters Bar Town, in tenth, travel to take on the side three places and two points behind them, one-nil specialists Cray Wanderers. Wands have won five of their last seven matches courtesy of a single goal, and indeed have lost only two of their last ten; whilst the Scholars were impressive in defeating Canvey in midweek and are rather good on the road- particularly given that they are technically always on the road as their home ground is still having a new pitch and associated improvements completed. Town will want revenge after being hammered four-nil by Wands in November. 

Carshalton Athletic welcome Hastings United to South London. The Robins have hit a bump in the road, losing their last four to slip away from play off contention; whilst Hastings are third from bottom and three points from safety after a run of two wins from ten. The sides drew one-one in November.

It’s sixteenth v seventeenth as Canvey Island entertain Cheshunt. The Gulls would perhaps rather be away from home as they’ve struggled on their own patch, their midweek defeat against Potters Bar Town their eighth home loss of the campaign; whilst the Ambers were superb on the road on Tuesday night, hitting Folkestone Invicta for four to increase their unbeaten run to four- and their lead over the bottom four to four points. When the sides met at the end of October, the Gulls were victorious, one-nil the final score. 

Whitehawk’s defeat at Dartford last weekend was their first in six matches under returning boss Shaun Saunders, and the Hawks will hope to get back to winning ways as they welcome the side one place and three points above them in the table, Hendon. The Greens will- barring a miracle- stay out of the bottom four whatever the result due to a superior goal difference, but they really need to turn around a disastrous run of form which has seen them lose seven in a row- and go four hundred and eighty one minutes without a goal. This will be the third meeting between the sides this season, and the first two both ended in three-nil wins for Hendon, but we suspect the Greens won’t find this one quite so easy.