Can any of our challengers make Worthing work?

The weather forecast suggests we might even have a rain-free Saturday for once. Let’s cross our fingers that everything will have dried out sufficiently to give us a full programme of football, and get on with our Premier Division preview.

Unless we have a plague of plastic-eating frogs, we’ve a reasonable chance that our leaders, Worthing, will get to play whatever the weather. The Mackerel Men haven’t been in the best of form of late, with only one win from their last five, and yet have still managed to establish a seven point lead at the top of the table. They host a resurgent Wingate and Finchley, undefeated in six matches during which they’ve conceded only four goals. A chance of an upset? Well we just gave the visiting Blues our Performance of the Month Award for February for their victory at Folkestone Invicta, so don’t rule it out!

We have three clubs tied on sixty one points, Hornchurch, Folkestone Invicta and Cray Wanderers. The Urchins, who have climbed to second place, have one game in hand over the leaders and travel to face Corinthian-Casuals. Hopefully King George’s Field will be playable after Wednesday’s match for Kingstonian there was called off, and Casuals will certainly hope that as they look to build on the victory over East Thurrock United on Tuesday night which lifted them up to eighteenth. Hornchurch are unbeaten in five, although they did draw the first three of them. When the two sides met in the reverse fixture back in November, they both picked up a point in a one-all draw.

Invicta have slipped to third, but do have two matches in hand over Worthing so could close to within a point if they were to win those. They strengthened their strikeforce in midweek with the signing of Sittingbourne striker Roman Campbell, and welcome Enfield Town to the BuildKent Stadium. Invicta have won only one of their last three, whilst the Towners are three unbeaten, and the visitors will be out for revenge after Invicta defeated them three-one on Donkey Lane in November.

Cray Wanderers, fourth only on goal difference, are our form side- still unbeaten this decade. Wands have taken twenty four points out of the last thirty on offer, and will hope for three more as they host Brightlingsea Regent at Hayes Lane. Regent are bottom of the table on goal difference, but it’s so tight at the wrong end that victory could take them as high as eighteenth if other results go their way- and they’ll be boosted by their win at Lewes last time out.

Two points further back at start of play are Carshalton Athletic. The Robins bounced back after two matches without a win to wallop Horsham last weekend, and will hope for another three points as they host Cheshunt. The Ambers are third from bottom, although have at least one game in hand over everyone around them, and although they’ve won only one of their last seven seem to have been in better form than results might suggest. When the two last met, Athletic won by a goal to nil.

Horsham have slipped to five points off the top five, but they do have games in hand over four of the five sides above them. The Hornets welcome Potters Bar Town to the Camping World Community Stadium- winner of a ‘Groundtastic’ magazine award in midweek. Horsham were three games unbeaten before that heavy defeat at Carshalton, whilst the Scholars had only one defeat in five before they were hammered at Leatherhead in midweek.

Bognor Regis Town are now ten points off a playoff place, but do have games in hand. They travel along the A27 and up the M23- other routes are available- to take on Merstham. The Moatsiders have won two, drawn three and lost five of their last ten, and went down three-one at Cray on Sunday. They are one of three clubs on twenty four points.

Ninth takes on tenth as Leatherhead host East Thurrock United. The Tanners will be in positive mood after their midweek victory, and perhaps might want to take a modicum of revenge over the side who ended their eight match unbeaten run with a three-nil victory in mid November. The Rocks need to get back to form after four defeats from their last five matches.

Kingstonian, in eleventh, travel to Lewes. The Rooks haven’t won a home match since mid October, and haven’t won a match at all for three months, form which has seen them drop close to the relegation positions. The last time that Lewes won was on the same day that the K’s last lost a match, but their rise up the table has been hampered by the fact that they’ve drawn seven of their last ten matches, and fourteen out of the twenty nine they’ve played so far this season.

Bowers and Pitsea will be in confident mood as they travel to Margate. Three wins and two draws from their last five matches has seen Rob Small’s side climb the table, and they start the day in thirteenth; whilst Gate have been doing their best Kingstonian impression, drawing their last four matches. They start the day a place and three points behind their visitors.

Finally, Bishop’s Stortford host Haringey Borough in a battle between two sides who haven’t had much to shout about of late. Borough have taken nine points from their last thirty, whilst the Blues would love such a record, as they’ve picked up only three points- and no wins- from the same period, form which has seen them slump to within four points of the bottom three.

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