First v third and second v fifth- Sudbury and the Tags will need to fight to continue their long winning runs...

It already looks as if we have a two-team battle for top spot, but those two sides both face tricky tests tomorrow. Our leaders, AFC Sudbury, have won their last ten matches- and are still not the league’s form side! They welcome third place Lowestoft Town, the Trawler Boys- lest we forget, leaders for most of the early stages of the season- seventeen points behind their opponents, although they do have two games in hand. Six games unbeaten, they seem to be getting back to their best- and surely have to get revenge for Novembers two-nil defeat on their own patch if they are to have any chance of hauling back that seemingly unsurmountable lead?

Image from Clive Pearson.

Hashtag United have the longest winning run in the country- twelve matches. The Tags are back at the Len Salmon tomorrow hoping to narrow that four point gap between themselves and Sudbury, but they have a tough match in prospect as fifth place Grays Athletic make the trip. Just how good the Tags have been of late can perhaps be summed up in statistics- over the last ten games they’ve averaged 3.4 goals a game, and have kept six clean sheets. They ended last week’s match with Wroxham with ten men, conceded two goals, and still won! Athletic saw a six match winning run come to an end at the hands of Sudbury last time out, but with Sam Bantick in fine goalscoring form will hope to get revenge for their narrow defeat in November.

With only two points between third place Lowestoft and seventh place Felixstowe and Walton United, the battle for the play off places is almost as close as it could possible be. With another nine points between seventh and eight place Bury Town it looks as if Lowestoft, Heybridge Swifts, Grays, Stowmarket Town and the Seasiders are battling for three places- and swifts, currently occupying fourth place, face a potentially difficult task as Wroxham head their way. Swifts have only lost one of their last five, whilst Wroxham have two defeats from their last three- but those defeats came against our top two, and prior to that the Yachtsmen were on a magnificent unbeaten run. The two played out a one-one draw in early December.

Stowmarket Town, still- as we write- without a permanent boss after Paul Musgrove’s departure, are at home to Tilbury. They’ve won two and lost three of their last five, but were victorious at Brentwood Town last weekend and know that another win could see them back in the top five. After seven matches without a win, a late, late Alex Clark goal delivered three points for the Dockers last time out- and Tilbury look a changed side from the team that lost three-nil to Stow less than a month ago.

Felixstowe and Walton United had been fearless and unbeaten at home until midweek, when local rivals Bury Town arrived and took home three points. The Seasiders will hope to get that result quickly out of their system, and they welcome a fourth bottom Hullbridge Sports side who have lost their last five matches- and indeed have lost eight of their last ten. The Seasiders defeated Sports two-one as recently as November.

Bury Town, boosted by the return of Olly Hughes and by that win at Felixstowe, will look to begin closing the eleven point gap between themselves and the top five as they welcome Great Wakering Rovers to Ram Meadow. That win for Town was their first in five matches, but they welcome a Rovers side in freefall, having lost their last nine matches and without a win in nearly four months.

New Salamis are back at Coles Park, Maldon & Tiptree their visitors. With one win from their last seven Salamis are on their worst run of the season, whilst with one defeat from six the Jammers are on their best run- and will be looking for revenge for the five-two hammering they took at the hands of these opponents in November.

East Thurrock United have gone off the boil of late. The Rocks have lost their last four, and will hope to get back to winning ways against a Coggeshall Town side who have finally found some confidence, and will be on a high after their first win of the season last weekend. The Rocks won their first meeting of the season by four goals to two.

Brentwood Town, having won for only the second time in ten matches last time out, will hope that is the start of a winning run. Town travel to Lowestoft to face an improving Gorleston side, the Greens having recorded two impressive wins in their last two matches, vanquishing Great Wakering Rovers and New Salamis on the road. Town won their home match against the Greens by three goals to nil, almost five months ago.

Finally, fourteenth place Basildon United host sixteenth place Witham Town. The Bees have lost their last two, and will have been particularly disappointed last weekend after taking an eighty third minute lead at Coggeshall Town and returning home with nothing. Town delivered their first win since November 5th last time out, defeating Bury Town- and followed that up with a County Cup triumph over East Thurrock United in midweek, so should have rediscovered a little of their swagger. Only two points separate the two sides, and Town will be looking for revenge after falling to a two-one defeat the last time they met.

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