Something For The Weekend: National League South

With two of the top three meeting, and the deposed long-term leaders needing to get over a mental blow by beating another promotion contender all eyes will be on the results at 4.50pm on Saturday.

As always, we take a look at the three stand out fixtures and guide you as to why they matter so much.

It’s a crucial time for so many sides with time running out with under a month and a half left on the the calendar.

Will we know more regarding the destination of the championship by Saturday night, or will there be another twist to come?

Let’s take a look at what’s going on this weekend and why it’s perhaps the most important fixture card of the season so far.

Havant & W v Hampton RB

The sides with the longest names anywhere in football hope to put on a show this weekend.

The permutations for Havant in this top vs third clash are obvious. Win and they pretty much kill off a rival - and could even possibly go seven points clear with a game in hand. The pressure on Dartford would multiply.

Watching Hampton manager Alan Dowson cut a frustrated figure at West Leigh Park on Tuesday night as Havant nicked it against Wealdstone. He vowed to ‘give it a go’ in this game, this biggest match of the season so far.

Dartford v Hemel Hempstead

Tony Burman won’t need to be told how important it is that his Dartford side don’t slip up again at home on Saturday. The long term leaders haven’t been in bad form, but they suddenly find themselves with little room for error.

The Darts manager needs to ensure last weekend’s shock defeat to struggling Poole doesn’t undo their season. They lost top spot and the boss knows his players have to react.

But Hemel will be fresh. Playing just once in three weeks, Dean Brennan will have seen the sides below them in the play-off pecking order pick up form. Fifth, but with just a two-point gap to eighth, nobody can afford to take anything for granted.

Poole Town v Bath City

A game with a long hanging on it, you can’t hide the fact that both sides badly need another three points to add to their recent collection.

Poor old Poole. They go away to the league leaders and win only to find out others down the bottom have been successful as well. But victory at Dartford sent out a clear message. Now they need to collect a strong set of results at home.

Bath, since beating Braintree away 2-0, haven’t won in three. They fluffed their lines at home to Eastbourne on Tuesday when they needed a result to close the gap on the top seven. With leaders Havant up after this, Jerry Gill’s side know it’s now or never if they want to reach the play-off Promised Land.

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