On Saturday afternoon Welling United host Weymouth in a Vanarama National League South match.
Although neither side are guaranteed safety from relegation, they have buffers and it would take an extraordinary run of events for either side to be demoted. Both have already exceeded the fifty point mark, normally considered to be sufficient to survive.
Rod Stringer, Welling’s manager, has masterminded a remarkable spell in which they have lost just twice in sixteen matches under him and assistant Kevin Watson following a win before they were appointed. Form like that throughout the season would probably have had them in the top three.
Visitors Weymouth have just appointed Mark Molesley as their manager after Bobby Wilkinson and the Terras parted company by mutual consent. Molesley hasn’t had as instant an impact as Stringer as they have lost both of their games since his start.
When the two teams met in Dorset in November, the spoils were shared. In the last minute of the first half Ben Thomson rolled in Weymouth’s goal after a defensive miscommunication left him with an empty net. However, eight minutes after the break, a Kain Adom special restored parity.
Away from home, Weymouth have won six, drawn six and lost nine. Their one victory on the road since the end of January was an impressive two-nil victory at Aveley. Malachi Linton scored both of their goals in that game.
Last season’s game at Welling ended in a two-one victory for the visitors. Stefan Payne scored an early goal for the Wings but Brendan Wilson equalised on the half hour mark. Ahkeem Rose put Weymouth ahead in the second half and matters got worse for Welling when goalkeeper Myles Roberts was dismissed.
Although they had a substitute custodian on the bench, it meant that they were down to ten men. Despite that, they almost nicked a point when Taylor Maloney struck the bar in stoppage time.
Whoever wins on Saturday will be assured of safety, and results elsewhere may mean that both teams remain in the division regardless of the outcome of the game at the J. Hearnden Skip Hire Community Stadium.
Picture supplied by Dave Budden.