A four-way battle for top spot

Leaders Potters Bar Town are on the way to Sussex, where they will face mid table Horsham. The Scholars defeated Sussex opposition in the shape of Hastings United last weekend, and will hope to maintain a one hundred percent record from their trips to the county this season, having also beaten Bognor Regis Town on the road. The Hornets have lost their last three matches in League, Trophy and Velocity Cup, and will be looking to get back to winning ways. Horsham have won five of the last six meetings between the two sides.

Bishop’s Stortford, a point behind the Scholars at start of play, are also on the road- in their case to Canvey Island. The Blues are eleven matches unbeaten in all competitions, and have delivered nine clean sheets across those performances. The Gulls are only two points away from fifth place and will be no pushovers, having got back to winning ways with a comprehensive defeat of Kingstonian last time out.

A further point back in third place are Hornchurch, who still have a game in hand over the top two. The Urchins are the only one of our leading quartet to be at home, as they welcome Wingate & Finchley. The visitors crashed out of the FA Trophy at Pitching In Isthmian South Central Uxbridge last weekend, but will hope that was nothing more than an aberration as they’d won their previous two league matches against Canvey Island and Brightlingsea Regent by an eight-nil aggregate. The Urchins are eight league matches unbeaten, but after five consecutive wins have drawn two of their last three. Striker Sam Higgins already has fourteen goals in all competitions and leads the way for the Golden Boot with eleven in the league, with attacking companion Liam Nash on ten; whilst the Blues have Dylan Kearney in fine form and on double figures, having scored in his last three matches.

Aveley, in fourth, are on the road to Cray Wanderers. The Millers are on a four match unbeaten run and won three of them, the only exception being a draw in rain-lashed Lewes in midweek. George Sykes, on eleven goals, is their main threat. The Wands will have been buoyed by their defeat of Leyton Orient in the London Senior Cup in midweek, and are on a four match unbeaten run of their own.

Enfield Town, in fifth, have described their match with Hastings United as the “biggest in North London”- but surely the same would be true most weekends? The Towners have slipped off the pace a little of late, with two draws and a defeat from their last four, but they did stick four goals past Herne Bay last weekend so will hope that their mini blip is over. United have lost their last two league matches against Potters Bar and Billericay, albeit narrowly, and should prove difficult opponents for the Towners. A win for the visitors would put them level on points with their hosts- a big win could even take them into the top five.
Billericay Town are rapidly climbing the table after winning their last five league matches. Hastings, Bognor, Wingate, Lewes and Haringey have been despatched during the last few weeks, and they’ll want to make it six from six as they travel to South London to take on Kingstonian at Imperial Fields. The K’s are having a bit of a hit and miss campaign- brilliant on occasions, the opposite on others, and having drawn six of their thirteen matches so far. With only two wins from their last ten across League, Cup and Trophy, the K’s start the weekend four points behind their visitors, having played three games more.

Carshalton Athletic, who have won four of their last five league matches by one goal to nil, would be happy with a similar outcome as they travel to Bowers & Pitsea. The side from the Len Salmon remain in the bottom four with just one victory all season, although they are our draw specialists, taking one point from fifty percent of their matches so far. The Robins, in contrast, have drawn only one match all season- and they’ve not yet lost to Bowers since the hosts were promoted to our top flight.

Lewes have looked greatly improved over recent weeks, and will hope for three more points to take them closer to the top five as they travel to Brightlingsea Regent. The Rooks are five games unbeaten, victories over Enfield Town, Margate and Chesham United (in the Trophy) supplemented by draws against Hornchurch and Aveley. Regent, in contrast, have gone ten matches in all competitions without a victory, and don’t have a league victory since August Bank Holiday Monday. They’ve conceded fourteen goals in their last three matches including three against Bowers in the Velocity Trophy in midweek. The Rooks Joe Taylor, on twelve goals for the season, will be hoping to take advantage of any defensive generosity.

We’ve a match between two sets of seasiders as Margate welcome Bognor Regis Town. The hosts come into the match on run which has seen them lose their last three, and manager Andy Drury will hope to put that right; whilst the travelling Rocks have a fairly long trip for the second weekend in a row, although they’ll have enjoyed the last one, winning at Weston Super Mare last Saturday. The visitors are also still searching for consistency, although striker Nathan Odokonyero has consistently found the net, with thirteen goals so far. Last season the Rocks took six points from Gate, with a six-two aggregate score.

Sixteenth welcomes seventeenth as Haringey Borough play host to Folkestone Invicta- and take exception to the idea that the biggest game in their part of the city is on Donkey Lane! Borough let a two goal lead slip away at Hornchurch in midweek but did take a point, and have only two defeats from their last eleven league matches. They have drawn six times this season, however, which is what sees them in such a lowly position- albeit six points above the bottom four. Invicta have saved most of their best performances for cup competitions and are a point behind their hosts, albeit with two games in hand. Wins in the FA Trophy and Velocity Cup during the last week will have given them a boost as they look to start climbing the table. The two matches between the sides last season brought thirteen goals, nine of them going the way of Invicta courtesy of a five-nil win and a four-four draw.

Two of our bottom four meet in Tolworth, as Corinthian-Casuals- under new management- welcome Herne Bay. Three points separate the two at kick off, but Casuals have lost their last eleven matches in all competitions and are without a win since the opening day. Bay have looked good on occasions, but have lost their last three.

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