We’ve a three way fight for top spot

Leaders Dover Athletic take only a one point lead into the weekend, so are actually in danger of losing top spot to Billericay Town, with Cray Valley PM also beginning to breathe down their necks. The problem for Athletic has been their home form, so they’ll perhaps be glad to be away, where they have the best record in the league, still unbeaten. Their hosts are Hendon, who are on a terrible run, having lost their last six matches- five of them without scoring a goal. The Greens find themselves only three points above the drop zone, which seems inexplicable for a side who were in sixth place as recently as November 26th. 

Second place Billericay Town welcome Potters Bar Town to New Lodge. After a run of eight unbeaten matches the Blues will be full of confidence, and are looking for a fourth successive win. They also have the only unbeaten home record in the Division, which makes it rather an uphill task for the Scholars, who lost six-nil last time out. Potters Bar have been in mixed form, but have had some excellent moments this season so certainly shouldn’t be written off, but they have lost their last three meetings with the Blues.

Cray Valley PM are unbeaten since the end of September- fifteen league matches- and will hope to make that sixteen as they host Hashtag United. Three points behind the leaders but with an inferior goal difference, victory would have to be of an incredible magnitude to send them top even if Dover and Billericay contrive to lose, but they’ve been rather superb and will again undoubtedly be very difficult to defeat. The travelling Tags are down in twelfth, but their New Years Day defeat against Billericay was their first reverse in eight matches, so they should prove a strong test for the Millers. 

Fourth place Dartford welcome a resurgent Whitehawk to Princes Park. The Darts are our form team, fourteen matches unbeaten and looking for a sixth successive win, whilst the Hawks have been superb since the return of Shaun Saunders to the hotseat and are five unbeaten. Dartford have opened up a ten point gap between themselves and sixth place, whilst only goal difference is holding the Hawks in the bottom four.

Horsham have climbed into the top five after four wins in a row, the last of those against the leaders on New Years Day. They welcome ninth place Carshalton Athletic to Sussex, the Robins six points further back after losing three in a row. The last ten meetings between the sides have seen the Robins win five, the Hornets only two, and the last time the Robins made this trip, in March, they left with a two-one victory.

Seventh place Chichester City play host to the side who are above them only on goal difference, Chatham Town. City are five unbeaten- four wins- whilst the Chats have only two defeats from ten, and will be hoping to take advantage of any Horsham slip to climb back into the top five. 

Bowers and Pitsea should have a new manager prior to their match with Folkestone Invicta (but we don’t yet know who that is!). Bowers find themselves six points from safety as they try to hold onto the Premier status which was so hard won last season; whilst Invicta are looking determinedly upwards, four points away from the top five and hoping to make it three wins in a row. Bowers have only one win from ten. 

Lewes are back at the Dripping Pan, Cheshunt their visitors. The Rooks have slipped to tenth  after a run of two wins from ten, and will hope to end a run of five matches without a victory; whilst only goal difference keeps the Ambers out of the bottom four, but they’ve looked improved of late, only one defeat from their last four. When the sides last met, in April, Cheshunt were four-nil winners- and six meetings between the sides have brought two Amber wins, two Rooks wins and two draws.

One-nil to the Wanderers! Cray Wanderers have become single goal specialists, five of their last seven matches ending that way. They travel to Wingate and Finchley and would undoubtedly be happy with another of those, whilst their hosts will be desperate to end a run which has seen them drop from the top five down to thirteenth, eight matches without a win. The sides have already met twice in the FA Cup this season, Wands triumphing by…you guessed it…one goal to nil in a replay. 

Dulwich Hamlet are having rather a rough time, with one win in ten, and they welcome a side having an even rougher time, bottom side Bognor Regis Town having taken two points from the last thirty available. Hamlet are in fifteenth, six points above the bottom four, whilst the travelling Rocks are ten points from safety. Hamlet took four points from the meetings between the sides last season. 

Hastings United are third from bottom, although only goal difference sits between them and fifth bottom Cheshunt. United welcome Canvey Island to Pilot Field, the travelling Gulls five points better off but looking for a boost after losing three in a row. Hastings have also lost three of their last four, and both sides will be looking for a confidence boost. The sides have met four times since both returned to our top flight, two Canvey wins and two draws the outcome.