Both Welling United and Eastbourne Borough go into their game on Saturday following 4-1 New Year’s Day defeats against local rivals.

Whist Welling were going down at top of the league Dartford, Eastbourne were beaten by bottom club Whitehawk. It was the Hawks first win of the season.

Now both managers, Jamie Coyle and Jamie Howell will be looking for a reaction. Welling have not won a match in the last two months whilst the Sports have only won three of their last seventeen league and cup games.

Only Whitehawk have conceded more than the fifty goals that Eastbourne have shipped in but Welling have conceded twenty-one in their last seven so both managers know where their major weaknesses lie.

After the Dartford game, Coyle said: “I’m getting bored with saying the same thing. We can say if this didn’t happen and if that didn’t happen but the reality is that we’re on a bad run and we need to turn it around.”

There could be a newcomer to the squad. Coyle explained: “I’m hoping that we’ll have one player tied up for Saturday. We’ll trying to get that sorted to strengthen the squad and give more variety to what we’ve already got.”

Given the two teams’ defensive problems it seems almost inconceivable that when the two teams met by the south coast back in August, they played out a goal-less draw.

Coyle will make changes again this weekend but one player whose place shouldn’t be in danger is Elliott Romain whose immense work rate was rewarded with Welling’s goal at Princes Park. He will be keen to test himself against the team who he played for at the start of last season.

There will be a player in the Eastbourne team who some Welling supporters will recognise too. Jack Richards had a very brief loan spell at Park View Road earlier in the season. He has played three games for the Sports currently on loan from Maidstone United.

In the corresponding fixture in September last season, Welling’s first home victory of the season took them off the foot of the table and out of the bottom three. Pierre Joseph-Dubois put the Wings ahead after a quick break following Chris Lewington’s save from Romain.

Craig McAllister levelled before the break but Joseph-Dubois added his and his team’s second four minutes into the second half. Another break ensured Welling claimed victory when Dan Walker opened his Welling account in injury time.

Joseph-Dubois is the one Welling player who will definitely not be available. He will have an operation next week on the injury that has kept him out for the season so far. He is hopeful that he will be back playing in March for the last two months of the season.

Picture supplied by Dave Budden.