A South East Saturday Spectacular!

Sittingbourne’s four-nil win on the opening day puts them top of our very early table, but the Brickies will be feeling rather demolished after their midweek walloping in Sussex in the FA Cup.
They will be back in the county at Whitehawk. The Hawks started their campaign with a draw at Cray Valley PM and missed out on the Cup as they were given a bye, so the home faithful will be preparing their keys to jangle at their first home match of the season. We expect many key moments.

Haywards Heath Town have had fabulous wins in League and Cup, both of them against Sussex- and Isthmian- opposition, and have so far scored seven goals without reply. They travel to Sevenoaks Town, who will expect to provide a sterner test after winning their opening league match against Whitstable Town and negotiating two rounds of the FA Cup- both after replays. Oaks have played five matches to Heath’s two so far this season.

VCD Athletic have scored three goals in each of their two matches so far this season, but will face stiff opposition in Hythe Town. The Cannons have played two rather exhausting cup ties during the previous seven days, although they will be buoyed by their eventual triumph over Westfield- and they have won three of the last four meetings between the sides, the other ending in a draw.

Ashford United saw their cup dreams expire after a midweek penalty shootout, but will hope to put that behind them as they visit Corinthian. Their hosts have won both of their opening matches and are undoubtedly enjoying life as a Step Four club- can they make it three out of three as green and white plays green and white?

Faversham Town host Chichester City. The Lilywhites left the FA Cup last weekend but started well in the League, defeating Phoenix Sports on the opening day, whilst City lost their first League match comprehensively against VCD Athletic but got back to winning ways at Winchester in the cup on Saturday. Both sides won one of their meetings during 2019-20, so Town will be hoping for more of the same.

Ramsgate look a much stronger outfit this season, and they’ll need to be as they host Hastings United. Both of them drew their opening game, but both progressed in the FA Cup against SCEFL opposition on Saturday. This will be the Rams first league match on their pristine new 3G pitch! United won the last three encounters between the sides; indeed the Rams have won only four of the last seventeen.

Herne Bay followed their creditable opening day draw with Hastings United with defeat at Bedfont Sports in the cup, and they welcome Three Bridges to Kent. Bridges lost a midweek cup replay to South Park, and it will be their second match against a side from the Kent seaside in a fortnight after their opening day draw with Ramsgate.

Cray Valley PM travel to face a Lancing side who have had a painful start to life at Step Four, defeated four-nil by Sittingbourne in the League and four-nil by Haywards Heath Town in the cup. The Millers drew with Whitehawk on the opening day, but their chance of another cup run was ended by Uxbridge last weekend.

Burgess Hill Town followed opening day defeat at Ashford United by scoring three in the FA Cup against Bearsted last Saturday, and look forward to their first home match of the campaign against Phoenix Sports. Sports also lost their opening league match and were victorious in the cup, and just how victorious is deserving of explanation, as they walloped Punjab United seven-nil. Lekan Ojideko and Jeff Duah-Kessie both hit hat tricks. The Hillians won two-nil when they last met in October, but Sports had emerged victorious from the three previous encounters between the sides.

East Grinstead Town and Whitstable Town are both still looking for lift-off- although the Oysterboys did put five past Alfold in the cup on Saturday, a result which becomes more relevant when you consider that Alfold were the side who knocked the Wasps out of the competition in the previous round. As well as that Sussex derby, East Grinstead’s other defeat also came against a Sussex side, Haywards Heath Town, so they’ll probably be delighted to play someone from Kent! The Oysterboys have, however, taken seven points from the last nine between the sides.