In form Cray Valley PM entertain Whyteleafe on Tuesday night, both with ambitions to finish the season on a high.
The Bet-Victor Isthmian League South East table shows Cray Valley in fourth place at present, eight points behind leaders Hastings United, but having played one game fewer. Whyteleafe aren’t too far behind in seventh place, six points off the play-offs but also with a game in hand.
Kevin Watson, the Millers manager, was named league Manager of the Month for February with a one hundred percent record and any concerns about the curse of the award were allayed when they beat Ramsgate five-three on Saturday, their seventh consecutive victory in which they have scored twenty four goals.
At home, Cray Valley have won ten, drawn three and lost just two but Whyteleafe will be keen to dent that record. Away from home they have won four, drawn three and lost four. Until their defeat at home to Hythe Town on Saturday they were also in excellent form with three consecutive league wins and a Surrey Cup victory since their last defeat.
That loss was when the Millers visited on 1st February and was ultimately an emphatic win for Watson’s side. Having gone into the interval level, Ali Tumkaya opened the scoring eight minutes after the break before two goals in three minutes, scored by Gavin Tomlin and Denzel Gayle, put the game beyond the hosts. Tumkaya put the icing on the cake with a fourth unanswered goal.
Their victory over Ramsgate on Saturday featured five different goalscorers. Ashley Miller put Ramsgate ahead in the tenth minute and it was not until four minutes from the break that Cray Valley levelled through Lee Noble on debut at the start of a one month loan from Dartford.
Liam Hickey and Francis Babalola put the Millers well in charge after the interval only for Henry Arnold to reduce the arrears. Goals from Hassan Ibrahiym and Ryan Flack made the game safe before Mitchell Thomas came off the bench to mark his Ramsgate debut with a consolation goal.
Both teams know that a win will boost their chances of realising their ambitions so the game should be an exciting encounter.