Havant & Waterlooville gear up for an exciting away fixture against a struggling Bath City side at Twerton Park. With Hawks putting together a late push for an all-important play off place, and Bath desperate to pick up points to avoid relegation, this clash is a must win for both teams.
The Hawks are looking to secure back to back wins after an exhilarating second half display against Braintree Town, resulting in a dominant 4-0 win off the back of a poor away result to the league leaders. Goals from Manny Duku, James Roberts, Tommy Wright and Scott Rendell fired the Hawks into 9th place, level on points with the ‘up for grabs’ playoff spot.
Bath City come into the game off the back of a 3-1 away loss to Concord, with two late goals from the home side cancelling out Fletcher’s equalising penalty just after half time.
The last time Hawks picked up a win against Bath was a dominant 3-0 display during last season’s FA Cup qualifying round. Although, in the two most recent fixtures, it was Bath who got the better of the Hawks, with a narrow 2-1 win last season and a 3-1 win just before Christmas during this year’s campaign. After a poor start to the game, Hawks levelled it up in the 35th minute via a Tommy Wright strike but goals from Cooke and Fletcher gave Bath the three points.
Since the 3-1 away win, Bath have only picked up four league wins and 16 points from a possible 60, which leaves them in 18th place having played an extra game over the bottom three. Hawks, on the other hand, have gone from strength to strength as of late, only losing one of their past nine games and sitting two positions below the playoffs solely because of goal difference.
With so much at stake and both sides looking to finish off the season strong, this contest is set to be a thrilling one.
Other games in the National League South this weekend are: Oxford v Hungerford, Dorking v Chippenham, Ebbsfleet v Dulwich, Braintree v Concord, Tonbridge v Slough, Hemel v Hampton, Eastbourne v Welling, Billericay v Dartford, St Albans v Chelmsford