A North Friday double

Pitching In Isthmian North will hopefully see two matches this evening. The most critical of the two comes from the Arena, where Brentwood Town are poised to welcome Grays Athletic- as long as the pitch passes a 2.30 PM inspection. The Blues are in fifth place, five points clear of sixth place Heybridge Swifts with a game in hand, and would be delighted to increase that lead before Swifts take on Redbridge tomorrow. With only two defeats from ten- and having picked up our Performance of the Month Award for March for their nine-nil win over Stowmarket Town- they are in good form, whilst their visitors are also in a fairly positive frame of mind, with three wins from their last five. Athletic are quite safe from relegation after a difficult campaign but will want to end it on a high, but they haven’t taken much from their hosts in recent seasons, losing four of their last five meetings. When the sides met in November the match was goalless until the last ten minutes, and yet somehow finished three-nil to Town.

One pitch which needs no inspection is that at Coles Park, where New Salamis meet Wroxham, fourteenth v twelfth. The sides are safe from any involvement in end of season shenanigans at either end of the table so are playing for mainly pride and a decent final league position, and, so far as the hosts are concerned, for a little revenge after the Yachtsmen defeated them three-nil as recently as March 19th. The Salamina have won two of their last three and hammered former play off chasers Basildon United four-nil on Monday, whilst Wroxham lost against Gorleston on Monday, but that was their first defeat in five.

Kick off is at 7.45 PM.

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