Crucial Tuesday!

Our Pitching In Isthmian Premier fixtures tonight may not be large in number, but they are large in importance at both ends of the table.

Our League Leaders Worthing have opened up a thirteen point gap at the top, and with such a lead the outcome of their match against second place Bishop’s Stortford tonight might not be critical to their title chances, but with only five points between second and sixth it could well be incredibly important to the hosting Blues. Stortford are unbeaten since Saturday 8th January and won’t be short of confidence- particularly after their six-nil win at the weekend, but their visitors have won their last seven matches and conceded only one goal in doing so.

Level on points with Stortford and with a game in hand, Folkestone Invicta will replace them in second place with victory at Brightlingsea Regent- but with Regent scrapping for points at the other end and aware that they’ll move up to eighteenth with victory, Invicta will have to be prepared to work hard if they are to make it six wins in a row. The last time they met, back in October, Invicta overwhelmed the side from the Essex seaside, winning five-one, but as Regent showed on Saturday, coming from two down to win at Horsham, the Regent of March is a much tougher proposition than the Regent from last Autumn.

Potters Bar Town have been in fabulous form of late, and entertain Margate having lost only one of their last seven. Gate have also only lost one from seven, and that defeat came at the weekend against Champions-elect (is it too early to start calling them that?) Worthing. Ten points behind the play off chasers, if the Blues still harbour any ambitions in that direction they’ll probably need to win tonight.

Into the Pitching In Isthmian North next, and we have three sides separated by only goal difference in the race for the last play off place. All three of them are in action tonight, and two of them play each other.

Brentwood Town, who occupy fifth spot, welcome sixth place Hashtag United to the Arena. The Tags have lost only one of their last eight, whilst their hosts got back on their feet after a slip by winning narrowly against Barking at the weekend. When they met at the Len Salmon on August Bank Holiday Monday Town triumphed by three goals to one, but the Tags were still acclimatising to life at Step Four at that point, and they seem entirely used to the altitude now.

The other member of the tied trio, Felixstowe & Walton United, welcome AFC Sudbury, the Yellows two places and four points behind. The Seasiders are already confirmed as having their best ever season at this level, and after losing only two of their last ten will be confident of making it better still. Sudbury, however, still have promotion aspirations of their own, and their sticky patch seems well and truly over as they’ve gone six matches unbeaten and haven’t conceded a goal in any of them. The last time the two met, the Yellows won two-nil.

Third place Aveley can hit the top of the table tonight, but they’ll need to win at Maldon & Tiptree to do so. The two have already met three times this season, in the League (Aveley win), the FA Cup (Aveley win) and the Velocity Trophy (Maldon win), so the Jammers need a victory to level things up, and they also need a victory if they are to close the five point gap between themselves and the top five. The Millers, however, are thirteen games unbeaten, and as you might imagine are the form side in the Division.

Coggeshall Town host Tilbury as fourteenth plays thirteenth. The two have probably got little more than pride to play for as they are a long way from the top end and probably have enough of a cushion to avoid getting drawn into a relegation fight, and both have only two wins from ten, but the Dockers latest victory was just on Saturday, a four-goal hammering of Hullbridge Sports, whilst the Seed Growers saw their three game unbeaten run come to an end when walloped by Aveley.

Our Pitching In Isthmian South Central focus is at the bottom end of the table. Second bottom Chalfont St Peter have fallen six points behind Sutton Common Rovers, who are one place higher, so will be desperate to close that gap as fourteenth place Guernsey come to call. The Saints have conceded twelve goals in their last three matches, all defeats, whilst the Green Lions have lost their last two but are nine points and four places better off than their hosts, and have three games in hand.

Westfield find themselves only one point and two places above SCR, and will be worried about being dragged into a relegation play off, if such a thing comes to pass. They welcome Binfield to Woking, The Moles on a five match unbeaten run which has seen them win their last three, a period when their hosts have picked up just a solitary point.

Finally, we have only one match in the Pitching In Isthmian South Central. Ramsgate welcome Corinthian, knowing that three points would take them up into second place, close the gap on leaders Hastings United to nine points, and perhaps more importantly extend their lead over sixth place Herne Bay to eight points. Corinthian are, barring a mathematical miracle we suspect, safe from relegation and unlikely to trouble the play off places, but have had a very solid debut season and will be hoping to spoil and Ramsgate party. The did beat the Rams the last time they met, and have a reasonable record against the top sides, having also defeated Hastings United and drawn with Ashford United, Haywards Heath Town, Cray Valley PM and Herne Bay.

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