Saturday 7 November
PREMIER DIVISION
AFC Greenwich Borough v Hollands & Blair
Bearsted v Petts Wood & Holmesdale
Beckenham Town v Corinthian
Chislehurst Glebe v Sutton Athletic
Erith & Belvedere v Larkfield & New Hythe
Faversham Strike Force v Rusthall
Phoenix Sports v Kennington
Snodland Town v Fisher
Tunbridge Wells v SE Dons
Premier Division Preview – Top Two Face Testing Encounters as Full League Programme Returns
A full programme of nine fixtures awaits in the SCEFL Premier Division on Saturday, with the leading sides facing some interesting challenges and the battle at the bottom becoming increasingly important.
After recent weekends dominated by cup competitions, attention returns to league matters, with Fisher looking to protect their three-point advantage at the summit and Hollands & Blair hoping to keep the pressure on.
Second-placed Hollands & Blair face a potentially difficult trip to AFC Greenwich Borough, who have made a solid start to their first Premier Division campaign.
Blair have collected 23 points from 11 matches, winning seven of them, and have the best defensive record in the division, conceding just ten goals.
Greenwich Borough sit eighth with 17 points but have played only nine games, meaning they remain well placed to challenge the leading pack. Victory would bring them level on points with Saturday’s opponents.
League leaders Fisher travel to Snodland Town looking to strengthen their position at the top.
The Fish have won eight of their opening 12 league matches and lead the standings with 26 points, having scored an impressive 38 goals along the way.
Snodland have found wins harder to come by recently, drawing five of their 11 matches, but will be keen to make home advantage count against the division’s current pacesetters.
Third-placed Phoenix Sports welcome Kennington in another attractive fixture involving two sides with ambitions of challenging near the top.
Phoenix have been in outstanding goalscoring form, hitting five against both Tunbridge Wells and Corinthian in their last two league outings. Those victories have lifted them to 19 points and third place, although they have played two games more than their visitors.
Kennington sit sixth with 17 points and will be looking to close the gap on the promotion places.
Bearsted are another side firmly in contention, sitting fourth on 19 points from just ten matches. They host a Petts Wood & Holmesdale team who have enjoyed a remarkable improvement in fortunes.
Holmesdale have climbed to seventh following consecutive five-goal victories over Beckenham Town and Sutton Athletic, and their meeting with Bearsted offers another opportunity to demonstrate how far they have progressed.
At the other end of the table, Beckenham Town will be desperate to end their alarming run of defeats when Corinthian visit Eden Park Avenue.
The Becks have lost nine consecutive league matches and remain in the relegation zone with eight points from 13 games. Last weekend’s home defeat to fellow strugglers Erith & Belvedere was another setback, leaving them facing an increasingly difficult task to turn their season around.
Corinthian arrive following a 3-0 defeat at Chislehurst Glebe, where they finished with nine players, and will also be looking for an improvement.
Erith & Belvedere, meanwhile, will hope their Halloween victory at Beckenham proves to be a turning point.
The Deres remain bottom with six points, but that welcome success has given them renewed hope ahead of their home meeting with Larkfield & New Hythe.
Larkfield sit 12th on 15 points and have shown signs of improvement themselves, making this an important fixture for both clubs.
Chislehurst Glebe host Sutton Athletic with both teams looking to build on their respective positions in mid-table.
Glebe moved into the top ten with their convincing 3-0 victory over Corinthian last weekend, and gained an impressive cup victory midweek thanks to the returning talisman Jamie Philpot. Sutton meanwhile will be hoping to recover from their 5-2 league defeat at Petts Wood & Holmesdale but come into this off a surprise league cup win at SE Dons.
Just one point separates the sides, adding further interest to their meeting at Foxbury.
Faversham Strike Force welcome Rusthall in another closely matched encounter.
Strike Force currently occupy fifth place with 18 points, while Rusthall are three points behind in 11th, having played two games fewer.
With both clubs looking to establish themselves among the leading contenders, there is plenty at stake.
Finally, Tunbridge Wells face a difficult home assignment against SE Dons.
Wells have endured a challenging opening to the campaign and sit 16th with nine points, having lost six of their 11 league matches.
SE Dons, meanwhile, have played just seven league fixtures due to their cup commitments and sit 15th on ten points. Their limited league programme leaves them with several games in hand on the teams above them, and they will be keen to begin making those count.
With the top two both facing away fixtures, several clubs looking to break into the promotion places and the bottom sides fighting for much-needed points, Saturday promises to be another significant afternoon in the Premier Division.