Can anyone stop the Trawler Boys?

We've four North Division sides in FA Trophy First Round action on Saturday.

Grays Athletic and Stowmarket Town meet in a clash of two of the form sides in Pitching In Isthmian North. Athletic bounced back from a rare defeat at Lowestoft Town at the weekend to defeat Gorleston three-nil in midweek, whilst Stow have gone ten games without defeat. The visitors did the double over Athletic last season.

We say a welcome hello to one of our former clubs, Leiston, as they welcome Wroxham. The Yachtsmen have had a fine run in the Trophy with big wins over Lowestoft Town, East Grinstead Town and Lincoln United, whilst Leiston are having a fine campaign, second in Pitching In Southern Premier Central. Their current unbeaten run stretches eight matches.

Royston Town of Pitching In Southern Premier Central are the hosts for Heybridge Swifts. Town sit in fifteenth and haven’t yet found a consistent run of form, whilst swifts have had a fine campaign, with only one league defeat this season- and they knocked Pitching In Isthmian leaders Potters Bar Town out of the competition in the last round.

Into the Pitching In Isthmian North now, Lowestoft Town, with twenty eight points from thirty, are deservedly six points clear at the top- and the Trawler Boys will hope to at least maintain that gap as they travel to Hashtag United. The Tags saw a run of three league victories crash down to earth at Felixstowe last Saturday, but have shown that they are good enough to compete with anyone in the Division and won’t be cowed by the arrival of the leaders.

Felixstowe and Walton United followed that win over the Tags with a narrow, late defeat at AFC Sudbury in midweek- but will go second if they can get back to winning ways against Great Wakering Rovers. The Seasiders have won every home league match so far this season, scoring seventeen goals and conceding only three- so Rovers will do well, on this Halloween weekend, not to be afraid- very afraid. With only one defeat from their last four league matches, however, the side from the other side of Southend are in decent form themselves.

AFC Sudbury, still undefeated in the league, are eight points behind the leaders with two games in hand. They can move as high as second place if they can defeat visitors Tilbury. Only Basildon United and Bury Town have taken anything from the yellows this season, and with Nnamdi Nwachuku scoring goals as if he’s worried they are about to be rationed- sixteen so far- the Dockers will have their work cut out if they are to take anything from the match. Tilbury conceded five at Heybridge Swifts last weekend, but were much better in a two-one defeat against Premier side Aveley in the Velocity Cup in midweek.

Bury Town have seen their previous positive form stutter during the last few weeks, taking only four points from their last twelve. They’ll be hopeful of three more as they welcome a side who have only one, Maldon & Tiptree. The Jammers are still searching for that first win but at least ended an eight match losing streak last time out in a draw with Coggeshall Town.

East Thurrock United have been climbing the table whilst visitors Witham Town have gone the other way. The Rocks are six unbeaten in the league, winning four of those, and are beginning to look like the promotion challengers we expected them to be. Town, in contrast, have gone six without a win in League, Velocity Cup and FA Trophy.

Finally, nineteenth hosts eighteenth as Gorleston welcome Coggeshall Town (to Lowestoft Town). The hosts eleven league matches have seen one win and ten defeats, whilst the Seed Growers don’t yet have a victory at all, but have drawn four matches to stay just outside the bottom two.

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