On Good Friday, Welling United visit Eastbourne Borough in the first of two very tough Vanarama National League South Easter fixtures.

They go into the game bottom of the table against the team in fifth place who are almost guaranteed a place in the play-offs and who now are looking at the best possible finish for home advantage where possible.

Warren Feeney’s Wings got off to the best possible start against Ebbsfleet United last week when Tom Derry put them ahead with a diving header. They then held on relatively comfortably for the next half an hour without being too threatening before the game was turned around by what Feeney described as five minutes of madness.

First, they conceded a needless free kick in a dangerous position, and although Coniah Boyce-Clarke did well to push Rakish Bingham’s original header onto the post, Alex Finney was first to the rebound to net. Then an ill-judged tackle in the penalty area presented Ebbsfleet with a penalty and Bingham converted. 

Ebbsfleet scored two more in the second half although Ade Shokunbi pulled one back with a brilliant finish in injury time.

Then, on Tuesday evening, they played out and entertaining two-all draw with Tonbridge Angels before winning the penalty shoot out four-three to progress to the semi-final of the Kent Senior Cup. A lot of players who were short of recent game time were given run-outs and Henry Burnett made his Wings debut. Some of them may have given Feeney something to consider.

Eastbourne have an excellent home record having won ten and drawn three of their seventeen matches at Priory Lane and they have gone seven league games undefeated since losing at Ebbsfleet at the end of February. Their last outing was a two all draw at Slough Town which ended a run of six straight wins.

When they visited Welling in early December, they won two-nil. Charley Kendall put them ahead just shy of the hour mark and Dominic Hutchinson ensured all three points would be heading to Sussex when scoring in injury time.

It is a tough ask for the Wings but they are going to have to get points out of these games if they are to avoid relegation from this level for the first ever time.

Picture supplied by Dave Budden.