Something For The Weekend: National League South

There’s plenty of juicy fixtures to get your teeth into - well, with some many teams still in the title hunt you would expect nothing less!

It’s as exciting as it comes, with five points separating the top five clubs as the stuttering leaders Dartford having played at least one game more than anyone else.

The question we posed a week ago was if the top two could recover from the set-back of rare defeats.

They couldn’t - and will want a response on Saturday for sure.

There’s a lot of great football to get your teeth sunk into, so here’s the three stand out games ahead and why we think they are the ones to watch this weekend.

Wealdstone v Dartford

If you could pick one thing the league leaders didn’t want this weekend, this would probably be it.

The Stones have won six in a row and are on their best run of form for a number of years. It’s taken a bit of time but Bobby Wilkinson has the club looking like genuine play-off contenders coming up on the inside.

The fixture will be a feature game on BT Sport’s highlights show and how Tony Burman needs it to be a good watch. Back to back defeats, including a cruel one against rivals Chelmsford City last weekend, will test the table-topper’s character.

Welling United v St Albans City

Ian Allinson really didn’t want his side to be the only victims of a postponement last weekend. It totally stopped them in their free-scoring tracks.

After clawing their way back into the title race, an enforced break wasn’t what was wanted. But the Saints will be recharged - and 11 goals in the previous two games shows they are a real danger. Though they need December’s away form to return, a month in which they won on the road three times.

They face a Welling United with a point to prove after an error-strewn 3-2 home defeat to Gloucester City last weekend. But having taken nine points from nine before that, Jamie Coyle’s men will be keen to demonstrate that result was little more than a fluke.

Chelmsford City v Hemel Hempstead

Rewind a few weeks ago when these two teams met and things were very different.

Dean Brennan’s Tudors sat joint second after an easy 3-1 win and Rod Stringer, sent to the stands, probably thought it was play-offs at best after a miserable opening to 2018 for the Clarets.

February has changed things. Since that game Hemel have been well beaten by two relegation candidates and Chelmsford have come on strong, including a vital late but great win over leaders Dartford last time out. This is an intriguing match up of two sides still very much in the title hunt.

National League South fixtures in full:
Bath City v Whitehawk
Bognor Regis v Braintree Town
Chelmsford City v Hemel Hempstead
Chippenham v Hampton & RB
Gloucester City v Concord Rangers
Havant & W v Hungerford Town
Poole Town v Eastbourne Borough
Truro City v Oxford City
Wealdstone v Dartford
Welling United v St Albans
Weston-super-Mare v East Thurrock