Kent derby football returns to the J. Heanden Skip Hire Community Stadium on Saturday when Welling United entertain Tonbridge Angels in a Vanarama National League South match.
For the hosts, it will be a return to league action after their F.A. Trophy campaign was ended by Barnet last Saturday. They put out a depleted team in that game with seven players cup-tied, four injured and two suspended. Tristan Abrahams and Dominic Odusanya will still be banned and the injured players questionable, but their cup-tied players will be available, and manager Rod Stringer hopes to have a couple of new names too.
They have gone three games undefeated in the league with two wins and a draw but they still have much to do to escape the drop. They are five points adrift of safety and have played a game more than fifth from bottom Taunton Town.
There are no such problems for the Angels. They are comfortable in twelfth place, six points adrift of the play-off zone. Their last game was a home defeat to runaway league leaders Yeovil Town having beaten Chippenham Town one week earlier.
Ethan Sutcliffe has returned for a second spell having impressed so much in his first extended loan that he was called back by parent club AFC Wimbledon. Manager Jay Saunders also has Ebbsfleet United and former Bognor Regis Town striker Nathan Odokonyero for the additional firepower that might take them to the play-offs.
When the two teams met at Tonbridge on August Bank Holiday Monday, Jack Burchell scored the only goal as Welling claimed the first of their two away wins this season.
Just one goal has come between the two teams in every league fixture since 2019. Last season’s corresponding game at Park View Road ended with Welling completing a festive season double over the Angels. All three goals were scored in the first half. Taylor Maloney opened the scoring for the Wings in the sixteenth minute, but Lewis Gard levelled seven minutes later. Ade Azeez scored what turned out to be the winner in the last minute before half time.
Both teams want the three points for very different reasons so it could well be another tight affair.
Picture supplied by Dave Budden.