On Tuesday, Maidstone United entertain Welling United in a Vanarama National League South derby fixture.

Hakan Hayrettin’s team won at Tonbridge Angels on Boxing Day to ease them into fourth place in the table, three points league leaders Oxford City. Michael Phillips scored the only goal in the eighteenth minute.

That was their fourth Consecutive league victory following their October blip. The wins included successes against Dartford and Ebbsfleet United to suggest that the bad spell is long past.

It has been a difficult time of late for Peter Taylor’s side having lost their last five league and cup games. However, their game at hone to Dulwich Hamlet on Boxing Day was postponed due to Covid cases in the visitors camp so they had to settle for a training sesseion.

The table doesn’t look so good for the supporters of the Wings. Welling are in seventeenth place with seventeen points, nine points clear of bottom club Billericay Town, and with by far the worst goal difference of the entire league.

Last season, the two clubs met on the delayed opening day and it was the hosts who prevailed with a come from behind victory. Stefan Ilic gave the Wings an early lead that they held until just past the hour when Scott Rendell levelled. Five minutes remained when Maidstone claimed the winner through Charlie Seaman.

Picture supplied by Dave Budden.