Can the Rams extend their lead- or will the Chats or Becks close the gap?

Leaders Ramsgate are unbeaten under new manager Jamie Coyle, but after drawing three of their last five find themselves only two points clear at the top- whilst second place Chatham Town have a game in hand. The Rams are at home to VCD Athletic, Vickers without a manager after Grant Basey’s departure last weekend and on a run which has seen them go nine matches without a win. The two sides drew two-two in October.

Chatham are back at home, a place where they are unbeaten, and welcome a side who are very much on the up- Sittingbourne. The Chats needed a last minute goal to take three points at Corinthian last weekend- their first win in five- whilst the Brickies have lost only one of their last five and have moved out of the bottom four with wins over Haywards Heath Town and East Grinstead Town. The visitors may need more points if they are to remain outside the danger zone, given they are sixteenth only on goal difference, whilst the Chats can’t really afford to drop points at this stage of the season. The last meeting between the two ended goalless.

Beckenham Town , three points behind the leaders, face a tough challenge at Chichester City. Their hosts are seven games unbeaten, a run which has seen them climb to within four points of the top five, whilst Becks have suffered a bit of a downturn in fortunes with one win from five. The last time they met Town won four-one- a repeat of that result, or indeed three points, could see them climb to second place. Mathematically they could also go top, but that would require a win of unlikely proportions.

Whitehawk are nine points behind the leaders- albeit with two games in hand- and with only three points between fourth and eighth will need to quickly put their Velocity Cup Semi-Final defeat in midweek behind them. The Hawks host a contender for match of the day, Sheppey United- the side in eighth- travelling to the East Brighton seaside. Hawks are five matches unbeaten, whilst the Ites unbeaten record is twice that long, but their progress has slowed a little with four draws from their last five. It would take an unlikely margin of victory for the visitors to overtake their hosts, but they do know that victory could carry them back into the top five. The two sides drew one-one in October.

Fifth place Ashford United welcome Littlehampton Town. The Nuts and Bolts have put together a five match unbeaten run, whilst the visiting Golds are experiencing a bit of a slump, having taken only one point from the last fifteen available. A home win could take United up to fourth, whilst defeat could see them drop to eighth!

Sevenoaks Town are back at home, and welcome an improving Faversham Town to Greatness Park. Oaks have lost only two of their last ten and will be confident, whilst the Lilywhites are in their best form of the campaign, with only one defeat from six, but still find themselves eleven points from safety with ten matches left to play. The two sides last met in November, when Oaks triumphed two-one.

Hythe Town have been superb of late. Outside the top five only on goal difference, they welcome a Three Bridges side who have fewer away points than anyone else in the Division- and whom they defeated in Crawley as recently as January 31st. The Cannons have won their last five matches, keeping three clean sheets and conceding only two goals. Bridges are one point above the drop zone, although they have as many as three games in hand over the sides around them.

Cray Valley PM find themselves four points behind fifth place Ashford United after a run which has seen them go winless in their last six matches, five of them ending in defeat. That slide needs to be arrested before their previous good work is entirely undone, and they welcome Lancing to the Artic Stadium hoping for three points. The two sides have already met in League and Trophy this season, the Millers winning four-one in the knockout format, the league match ending in a one-one draw. The Lancers are three points clear of the bottom four, having lost their last two matches.

East Grinstead Town and Burgess Hill Town meet in a West Sussex derby, Hill’s new boss Matt Longhurst heading back to a club at which he enjoyed great success. The Wasps are five points ahead of their visitors and, prior to midweek defeat against Sittingbourne, were five unbeaten. The Hillians, in contrast, have only one win from their last ten- but will take heart from the fact that they’ve been better on the road than at home.

Eighteenth hosts nineteenth as Haywards Heath Town welcome Corinthian. Heath, with new manager Jay Lovett in the dugout for the first time, are a point from safety and without a win from six; whilst their visitors, ten points further back, have also managed only two draws from their last six matches. So close is it at the bottom that a home win could take Heath as high as fourteenth!

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