The Dolphins had to settle for a point at home to Hungerford last weekend in a match where neither goalkeeper was unduly troubled.  In his post-match interview Luke Burbidge did not hide his disappointment that although we have four quality strikers, and some very pacey wide players we didn’t create anywhere near enough clear-cut opportunities.

We are now in 8^th place in the league (P16 W6 D5 L3 23 points) and a win on Saturday will keep us in touch with the leading pack. It was great to see new signing Luke Nippard come on for the last ten minutes, he was given a special mention by Luke Burbidge. Harry Thomas will be available after serving his two-match ban but we will of course lose captain Jamie Whisken after his red card, but probably from next week.

The Hungerford point is still a valuable one and we move on to this Saturday when we welcome the players, officials and supporters of Hanwell Town.

The Geordies are enjoying an extended run in the FA Trophy and earned themselves a third-round tie against Eastleigh by overcoming Folkstone Invicta at The Powerday Stadium last Saturday. They are one of eight teams in our league to have reached the 3^rd round.

Hanwell are now four games unbeaten in all competitions with things continuing to move in the right direction for them. “I am massively proud to have played my part in creating a bit of history for the club,” said centre-back Harry Seabrook. “We have a special group this year, a real togetherness, so it doesn’t surprise me that we keep picking up results.

They are currently in 14^th place in the league table (P15 W5 D4 L6 19 points) and have won two matches on the road this season. The 3-0 win at Dorchester and the more recent 2-1 victory at Tiverton. Last season we beat them 3-0 at The Powerday Stadium in September 2023 but lost 3-0 at The Black Gold in the following February. They finished the season level on 48 points with Plymouth Parkway and Beaconsfield but Beaconsfield were relegated due to their inferior goal difference.

Hanwell Town are managed by Chris Moore who has a wealth of experience in league and non-league football, he began his playing career at Uxbridge before moving onto Northwood. He then made a name for himself in league football when he signed for Dagenham & Redbridge and later Brentford. After playing a few games for the Bees, Chris moved back to Dagenham & Redbridge. He took sole charge of Hanwell Town at the start of the 2022/23 season.

Top scorer for The Geordies is Jordan Edwards, who has joined the club from last season’s champions Chesham. He bagged nine goals in the Southern League last season, although it would have been 11 had his brace against Hanwell not been chalked off after a torrential downpour caused the game to be abandoned. He has scored 10 league and 5 cup goals this season and is currently 5^th in the Pitching In table of leading scorers for this division.

A win on Saturday will give us 7 points from 9 so that would be a positive outcome to the last three fixtures. With the temperatures forecast to drop over the next few days we’ll need to wrap up for this highly anticipated match.

Enjoy the game,

Neil Wellington.