A North- and Trophy- Saturday

FA Trophy

We’ve a battle of the Blues as Billericay Town welcome Bury Town. Billericay, in third place in Pitching In Isthmian Premier, have bounced back from that FA Cup defeat against Sheppey United to take four points from their last two league matches, are five unbeaten at home, and defeated Bury’s North Division rivals Felixstowe & Walton United in the last round- but their visitors will perhaps take heart from just how close the Seasiders ran the Blues in that match. Bury have gone three without a win- but have already defeated a Premier Division side on the road to reach this stage, and will believe that lightning can strike twice.

Haringey Borough are having a strange season, very good in Cup competitions, struggling badly in the League. The Coles Park faithful have been vociferous in support of their side on good days and bad, and they’ll undoubtedly be at the top of their game as Redbridge come to call. The Pitching In Isthmian North visitors were on an eight match unbeaten run before taking a hammering in felixstowe on Tuesday night, and will hope to bounce back from that. They have already visited Coles Park this season, an FA Cup defeat against New Salamis in early August.

North

With Lowestoft Town having a Saturday off, Felixstowe and Walton United have the chance to replace them at the top of the Pitching In Isthmian North table if they can win at Grays Athletic (Tilbury). The Seasiders have been scoring goals for fun, more than any other side in the Division over the season so far and four in victory over Redbridge in midweek, and they travel to face an Athletic side who have had their struggles this season, and are still looking for their first win. That victory will surely arrive soon, but they might have to work particularly hard to deliver it this weekend.

Third place Bowers and Pitsea could also- mathematically- go top of the table with victory, but it would have to be rather a hefty victory and we suspect that visitors Brentwood Town will have something to say about that! Bowers saw a four match winning run come to an end against Lowestoft last time out, whilst Town saw a five match unbeaten run ended by Heybridge Swifts.

Brightlingsea Regent, newly reinforced up front with the signing of Derek Asamoah, are on the road to the Norfolk Broads where they face Wroxham. Regent start the day in fifth place and will go level with the Trawler Boys with victory, whilst the Yachtsmen are comfortably in mid table but have won only one of their last six in the league. That said, they only lost two of those, so it isn’t as if their form has been questionable- and they are unbeaten on their own patch.

Heybridge Swifts will hope to crash into the top five with victory over Walthamstow- whilst Walthamstow will be hoping to crash into the top five with victory over Heybridge Swifts! Swifts have won their last three and looked good on each occasion, whilst their visitors have delivered three one-one draws in a row, although the last of those was followed by a shootout and they lost that.

Maldon & Tiptree welcome Stowmarket Town. With three wins from four the Jammers have finally found some form, and begun to climb the table as a result- whilst their visitors haven’t managed a win yet, but came very close last time out in drawing at Ipswich Wanderers, so will hope to build upon that performance.

Gorleston are back in Great Yarmouth, and Witham Town make the trip to the seaside as fourteenth takes on fifteenth. The Greens have lost their way a little, and come into this match without a win in six and having lost their last three, whilst the visitors are difficult to defeat- they’ve drawn more than half of their matches- but currently have only one victory to their name. The last time the two sides met, back in March, Gorleston won four-one, some revenge for the three-nil defeat they’d suffered earlier in the campaign.

Ipswich Wanderers look to be on the up, having taken seven points from their last nine. Their visitors, New Salamis, have only one defeat from their last four- but it remains to be seen how they cope with the loss of their talismanic striker Derek Asamoah.

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