Trophy times are here again!

We’re going to start at the end of the Heathrow runway, where our so-far-brilliant Bedfont Sports welcome Harlow Town. The only side to defeat Sports during the last seven weeks were Kidderminster Harriers, who triumphed in the cup, and their last three league matches have seen them score thirteen goals and concede two. The Hawks, these days in the Pitching In Southern League Division One Central, have had a decent start to the campaign and are on a ten game unbeaten run in all competitions.

We’ve the first of several all-Isthmian clashes as Bishop’s Stortford host Lewes. Only two points separate them in the League, although the Rooks have two games in hand over the Blues. We expect the Rooks to have some defensive reinforcement following their defeat at Worthing last week- indeed if they were as good at the back as they are going forward they’d probably be top of the table instead of ninth, as they’ve scored an average of three goals per league match. The Blues also have a potent forward line, particularly focused on eleven goal Jake Cass.

From the Rooks to the Rocks, as Bognor Regis Town are at home, where they welcome Waltham Abbey. Bognor lost a thrilling match against Folkestone Invicta in midweek, their first defeat in almost two months, and will hope to get back to winning ways in this green-on-green clash. The Abbotts, these days in Southern League Division One Central, have had an up-and-down sort of season so far, and also fell to defeat in midweek, in their case against AFC Dunstable. They defeated another Sussex side, East Grinstead Town, in the last round.

We’ve an all North Division clash as Brentwood Town host AFC Sudbury. Both sides are in god form, and this could be a cracker- with the hosts hoping that the yellows are thinking about next Friday’s cup clash with Colchester United rather than this match!

Unbeaten North Division leaders Canvey Island host Burgess Hill Town. The Hillians have finally found some form and are four matches unbeaten, whilst the Gulls have just been superb and already have a four point lead at the top of the table. Canvey are looking for an eighth successive victory.

There’s never a good time to be without a manager, but Chertsey Town couldn’t have picked a worse time, as league leaders Worthing head to Surrey. The Curfews have been going well- indeed the only side to defeat them so far this season are Southend United- but they were three-nil down to Bracknell Town in midweek when the match was abandoned, and now they are leaderless. The Mackerel Men are in great form, with seven wins and a draw from their last eight Premier Division matches.

Another side in great form is the aforementioned Bracknell Town, who are on the road to Pitching In Southern League Premier South side Chesham United. Chesham are midtable and haven’t yet found any consistency, The Robins, in contrast, have lost only two matches in all competitions this season, and would surely have taken their fourth win in a row in midweek had it not been for the abandonment.

Chipstead entertain Whitehawk. The Hawks have been a fabulous cup side this season and finally got their league form on track as they walloped Corinthian four-nil in midweek, and in Javaun Splatt have one of the most in-form strikers in the league, up to nine goals so far. The Chips will say that they can do even better, their number nine Tom Collins on thirteen goals, but they’ll need to get back on track after a hammering at Bracknell last weekend.

Thatcham Town are on the road, travelling to face Cinderford Town. The Kingfishers have lost three in a row in the league, whilst their hosts aren’t much better, without a win- apart from in a shootout- from their last five matches.

We’ve an all-Premier clash as Corinthian-Casuals host Cheshunt. Casuals have been better in knockout competitions than in the league, and indeed defeated three of their Premier Division rivals- Worthing, Leatherhead and Wingate & Finchley- in the FA Cup; whilst the Ambers have taken ten points from their last twelve and are in fine form.

Another Premier match-up sees East Thurrock United host Kingstonian. The K’s got back to winning ways in midweek, whilst the Rocks have lost their last five matches, and conceded nineteen goals in the process.

Enfield Town, in second place in our Premier Division, host former Isthmian side Metropolitan Police. The boys in blue are in seventh place in the Pitching In Southern Premier South, with only one defeat all season, whilst the Towners have won four and drawn one of their last five, and walloped eight goals past East Thurrock United last time out. Mo Faal is already on thirteen goals for the season, and surely nobody is surprised!

Bowers & Pitsea will have to put their FA Cup heroics to the back of their minds for another week, as they travel to face Southern Premier South leaders Farnborough. The hosts have won their last six matches, but they will miss striker Elliott Buchanan, scorer of five goals during that run but now back with Kingstonian.

Leatherhead have looked much improved in recent weeks but still haven’t picked up a victory since the opening day of the campaign. They’ll hope to put that right as they travel to Faversham Town, but the Lilywhites will have other ideas. The hosts have only one defeat in their last five.

Folkestone Invicta and Hendon have met many, many times before, but these days they don’t meet with any great regularity and this will be their first encounter since May 3rd 2018, when the Greens walloped them four-nil in the Isthmian Premier Playoff Semi-Final, Josh Walker, Ashley Nathaniel-George, Zak Joseph and Niko Muir with the goals. Hendon were afterwards moved to the Southern Premier, so Invicta have had to wait rather a long time for a chance at revenge- but their supporters won’t have forgotten, and their team couldn’t be in better form.

The only side to defeat Invicta so far this season are National League Eastleigh- and it took them a replay to manage it. Since then, Neil Cugley’s men have walloped five past Kingstonian and four past Bognor Regis Town. The Greens got back to winning ways last Saturday after three consecutive two-one losses, but have failed to find any consistency so far this season and sit in fifteenth place in the Southern Premier South table, with five wins and seven defeats.

Hastings United saw their winning run come to an end in midweek as Ashford United left Pilot Field with three points, but will probably welcome an enormous crowd as Felixstowe & Walton United arrive tomorrow- so far they’ve averaged one thousand, one hundred and fifty five. The travelling seasiders visiting a different seaside lost to AFC Sudbury last time out but have shown some fine form in patches so far this season, and in the previous campaign made it all the way to the Second Round defeating two Step Three sides along the way.

Herne Bay, fourth in the South East Division, welcome Binfield, fourth in the South Central. The visiting Moles- don’t worry, they won’t be tunnelling their way in- have lost only one of their last eight, whilst Bay can go one better with only one defeat in nine. They did, however, depart the FA Cup against South Central opposition, in the shape of Bedfont Sports.

Heybridge Swifts have had some magnificent moments so far this season, and some moments that are rather the opposite- and you suspect they’ll need to be the former tomorrow as Hayes & Yeading United come to call. The visitors are in second place in Pitching In Southern Premier South, undefeated with nine wins and a draw from their ten games, and are still in the FA Cup, too, with a First Round tie against Sutton United to come. Until last week’s defeat to Grays Athletic Swifts had won three in a row.

Another all-Isthmian Premier tie sees Horsham host Carshalton Athletic. The Hornets have been superb in cup competitions so far- they’ve a trip to Carlisle United next weekend to show for that- whilst the Robins haven’t yet hit form but despite that have only one defeat in five. The two meet again in the league in three weeks time.

Margate, who climbed into the top five in midweek, welcome Beaconsfield Town, eighteenth in Southern Premier South. Town ended a six match losing run with two draws last week, but have still gone eight matches without a win- and indeed that win, over Hartley Wintney, was their only one in eleven matches.

We’ve an all South Central tie as Marlow host Westfield. Marlow have done something unthinkable of late- they’ve gone two games without a win- whilst Westfield were impressive in defeating Ramsgate in the last round but have taken only one point from their two league matches since then. The two met in the League in early September, Marlow winning that one by the only goal.

Merstham have been superb of late, and were even rather good in defeat at Worthing last weekend. They may have a reinforcement as they host Welwyn Garden City tomorrow, and it’s a name Moatsiders fans will recognise! City sit in midtable in Southern Division One Central, and picked up a victory at FA Romania on Wednesday night, scoring three goals in the process- three is certainly the magic number for them, as they’ve got three in five of the last eight of their matches.

Northwood have slumped to the bottom of the South Central Division in recent weeks, but they did boost their confidence when defeating leaders Uxbridge in the Middlesex Cup in midweek- and they also defeated then-South East leaders Haywards Heath Town on penalties in the last round of the Trophy. They will need to keep up that form against leaders tomorrow, as visitors Berkhamsted are currently top of the Southern Central Division One, undefeated and having conceded only three goals all season.

Potters Bar Town welcome Haringey Borough, only a month after the two drew at Coles Park in the League. The Scholars are in fine form, six matches unbeaten and having won the last three; whilst Borough have gone six without a win.

South Park have been in great form, with only one defeat in five, three wins and a draw- last week at Hanwell Town, where they drew three-three. Harrow Borough are their visitors, and Borough are looking forward to an FA Cup First Round trip to Portsmouth next weekend. They’ve won their last five matches and kept a clean sheet in their last three.

Staines Town have looked much improved in recent weeks, with wins over Three Bridges and Chalfont St Peter and a draw with Marlow. They will fancy their chances of a giantkilling as Brightlingsea Regent arrive at Wheatsheaf Park, Regent having lost their last six and having only one win from their last ten.

South Central leaders Uxbridge welcome Basildon United to Honeycroft. The hosts have had a superb campaign, losing only one league match, and defeated United’s North Division rivals Aveley in the last round. The Bees haven’t yet found consistency, but have had some good moments, and reinforced their defence earlier today- see our transfer news for details!

Great Wakering Rovers travel to face Walton Casuals, and are still without a manager as we write. Rovers have been much better in cup competitions than the league so far this season, winning two cup matches and two trophy matches- the latter against Stowmarket Town and Chichester City- whilst picking up only one league win. Casuals are ninth in Southern Premier South and lost for the first time in six matches in losing to Yate Town last weekend.

Our FA Trophy holders Hornchurch travel to face Wingate & Finchley. The Urchins have been out of sorts this season, in fifteenth place at the moment and without a win in six matches in all competitions, whilst the Blues are two points and one place above them but also a little up and down of late.

Finally, Witham Town welcome Hanwell Town. The hosts, who defeated Lancing in the last round, have drawn their last two matches- but that victory over the Lancers was their only one in their last eight; whilst the Geordies have begun to look rather dangerous, having won five in a row before South Park held them to a draw last weekend- but they did come from three-nil down to claim that point.

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