After two games in three days last weekend, Welling United do it all again in the Vanarama National League South on Saturday and Monday, starting with a home game against Chesham United.

Last Saturday, Rod Stringer’s Wings defeated Farnborough four-one to end the only remaining one hundred percent record in the league. They followed that up with a hard earned point at Hornchurch on August Bank Holiday Monday in a goal-less draw.

Meanwhile, Chesham visited St. Albans City on Saturday and picked up their first ever win at step two level. Nathan Minhas put them ahead midway through the first half but Shaun Jeffers levelled ten minutes later. Minhas was again on target eight minutes from time to seal the three points.

Two days later, they hosted Torquay United and suffered late heartbreak. Joe Grant put them ahead ten minutes before the break but Cody Cooke levelled from the spot a minute before half time, at which time Chesham were reduced to ten men.

Despite that Grant restored their lead twenty minutes into the second half however Dan Hayfield equalised four minutes later. They looked like they were going to claim a point until Brad Ash broke their hearts in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Newly promoted sides aren’t always easy to play at the start of the season as they come up with momentum and optimism. After the Hornchurch match, Stringer said “They’re a little bit unknown. I knew more about Hornchurch as I know a lot of their players. Chesham, I don’t. I know that the boy, Minhas from Slough went to them. We’ll do a bit of homework on them.

“It is difficult to play the teams that are coming up because they’re in their honeymoon period, probably not so much Hornchurch who’ve been here, but Enfield and Chesham that’ve probably never been here before. They’re going to give it their all.

They’re going to come to Welling and they’re going to try and get a result so we have to be good, we have to be on our game if we’re going to get anything out of that on Saturday.”

It will be the first ever meeting between the two teams in the league but Chesham did visit Park View Road in the F.A. Cup in 2018. The visitors went ahead on the half hour mark through Jefferson Louis. They only held on for five minutes before Jack Jebb levelled from Gavin McCallum’s pull back. Just under fifteen minutes remained when Steve King’s Welling scored the winner through McCallum’s header.

Images courtesy of Dave Budden