Following a two week break from league football, Welling United returned to Vanarama National South action with an excellent display against Chippenham Town.

Their four-nil victory moved them up to eighth in the table, a far cry from where they were before four consecutive league wins moved them away from just above the drop zone.

On Saturday they visit Weston-super-Mare looking to extend their six match unbeaten run. Had one of the teams still been in the F.A. Cup the match would have been postponed.

Player coach Jack Parkinson hopes to make the most of the fact that the game will be played saying “Look. We wanted to be in the F.A. Cup but if there’s one bonus of not being in it, we play Saturdays now and there’s no game being called off.”

He also played down Weston’s home advantage. “We’ve only lost one away (first game of the season at Truro).” he said. “Our away form is O.K. At this level, and it’s no disrespect to this league, it’s not as though your going away from home in front of 10,000 people. It’s not really any difference.”

Against Chippenham, Welling won 4-0 at a canter with the first three goals coming from headers. Parkinson said  “We’ve got players here that want to be here and that’s half the problem. The added bonus is that we’ve got some lads with some real quality. Four wins on the bounce. Three clean sheets out of four. We’re moving in the right direction”.

One Weston player who will need watching is Dayle Grubb. He scored at Hemel Hempstead in their one all draw last weekend and was a thorn in Welling’s side in the corresponding fixture in February.

Adam Coombes put Welling ahead just before half time but Grubb equalised on the hour. Danny Waldren put the Wings back ahead however Grubb had the last word with a finish from the edge of the area. One Seagull player who Welling supports may remember is Jake Reid who was part of their promotion winning squad six and a half seasons ago.

Dillon Barnes will miss the game to complete his three match suspension and Kleton Perntreou will continue between the posts. Tom Bradbrook and Bradley Goldberg both scored last Saturday, the former twice, in their comebacks from injury. They will compete for a spot up front with Eli Phipps who’s loan from Colchester United has been extended.

Player manager Jamie Coyle limped off with an impact injury last Saturday but expects to be fit to start. Should that not be the case, it will give Ian Gayle or Sean Francis an opportunity to stake a claim for a regular starting place.

Picture supplied by Dave Budden.