Poole Town vs Chertsey Town – Match Preview
We go into the final weekend of the Southern League Premier South campaign very much as we have been expecting for the last few weeks. With our destiny very much in our own hands, but we cannot afford any slip ups as there are teams around us who are as eager as we are to escape the drop.
Bank Holiday Monday saw Merthyr Town clinch the title with a 3-0 win at Hungerford. The three teams who have already confirmed their play-off places, AFC Totton, Gloucester and Walton & Hersham all picked up wins. The final play-off place is yet to be decided but it will be either Dorchester Town or Havant & Waterlooville.
We welcome the players, officials and supporters of Chertsey Town for our final fixture of the season at The BlackGold Stadium on Saturday with a 3pm kick off. They are unlikely to be involved in the relegation issue but, on 47 points it’s still mathematically possible.
The Curfews enjoyed a profitable run in March and early April with three wins over Bracknell Town, Frome Town, and Gloucester City. However, since then they have lost their last two matches, the 4-1 loss at Winchester City followed by the 2-0 home reverse at the hands of Hanwell Town on Bank Holiday Monday. This leaves them in 14th place in the table (P41 D5 L22 47 points) and for their first season at this level they will no doubt be pleased with that.
Pat & Joe joined us in January and the reverse fixture at Alwyns Lane was their first match in charge. Unfortunately, it was not a dream start as we lost 2-1 on a cold Tuesday evening.
The Curfews were promoted into this league after winning the Isthmian League-South Central Division at something of a canter last season. They finished the campaign with a massive 100 points and scored 103 goals going unbeaten at home, winning 15, and drawing 5 of the 20 matches played. They finished 11 points clear of Marlow who won promotion through the play-offs.
They owe a lot of their success this season to the very experienced striker Jack Mazzone who has scored 26 league goals so far, putting him in fourth place in the Pitching-In table of leading scorers. We have come up against Jack on several occasions so we have a good idea of what to expect.
Our loss at Dorchester was obviously disappointing, as for most of the match we looked good value for at least a point. That leaves us with 17 points from our last ten games and needing just one more real push to get the extra point or points which will guarantee our safety. The ground is bound to be full, in expectation of a winning conclusion to the season. It’s not been easy but the supporters have stuck by the team in great numbers and they have been rewarded with some great non-league football.
For the final time this season, enjoy the game.
Neil Wellington