By Matt Bishop
The dust is only just beginning to settle on yet another National League South weekend full of action, but already Tuesday is here which means the latest set of midweek fixtures are just a few hours away.
Last night, the only remaining 100% records were put on the line, as table-topping St Albans City ended Chelmsford City‘s perfect start to make it a brilliant four wins from four, while elsewhere Havant & Waterlooville overcame Wealdstone to go third.
Tonight, the rest of the league joins the action, with Havant’s fellow promotion chasers Truro City, Braintree Town, East Thurrock United and Hemel Hempstead all in action.
After an enthralling away draw with Concord Rangers on Saturday, Truro will be hoping they can return to the winning form that saw them top the table when they host Bath City – who are still without a point – this evening.
Breathing down the White Tigers’ necks are Braintree, who managed to beat Chippenham on Saturday afternoon despite going down to ten-men.
The Iron’s showed their steel to win 2-0 and after the game, Brad Quinton told The NLP he gave “full marks to the players for their second half-effort.” He will be hoping for the same effort against East Thurrock United tonight, in what promises to be a great game between two good sides.
TEAM OF THE DAY: The NLP’s select XI for the National League North/South… pic.twitter.com/ARCUhbO0Wx
— The Non-League Paper (@NonLeaguePaper) August 14, 2017
Despite their defeat to Quinton’s men, Chippenham are pushing for the top-seven in these early stages of the season, as are Poole Town. Both sides have four points from their opening three matches, after Poole lost to East Thurrock, and both teams will be keen to get back on track when they play each other tonight.
The Bluebirds and The Dolphins are hunting down Hemel Hempstead Town, who make up the top seven. After a comfortable win at Hungerford on Saturday, Hemel return to action on home soil against a Hampton & Richmond side that drew 1-1 Eastbourne.
Further down the table, The Sports are one of three teams with just one point after their opening three matches, and will look for their first win of the season tonight, as they take on Welling United, who also boast just one point after their lively 3-3 draw with Bognor Regis.
In an early season, bottom-of-the-table clash, Gloucester are also hunting for their first win and take on struggling Weston-Super-Mare, who are yet to taste anything but defeat.
After twice coming from behind in their 2-2 draw with Wealdstone on Saturday, The Tigers should be confident ahead of tonight’s match, while Weston suffered a tough 3-1 defeat to St Albans, and both teams will fancy their chances of claiming victory.
Finally, rock-bottom Whitehawk take on local rivals Bognor Regis Town, and will be hoping to plug the gaps that has seen Jimmy Dack’s men concede three games in their three games this season. The boss labelled the Hawks’ 3-0 loss to Oxford City as a “comedy of errors” in Sunday’s NLP and he’ll be demanding a response tonight.
Tonight’s fixture list in full:
Bognor Regis Town v Whitehawk
Chippenham Town v Poole Town
Dartford v Concord Rangers
East Thurrock United v Braintree Town
Eastbourne Borough v Welling United
Hemel Hempstead Town v Hampton & Richmond
Oxford City v Hungerford Town
Truro City v Bath City
Weston-Super-Mare v Gloucester City
