Thursday, 23 September 2021

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE - WEEKEND PREVIEW

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE
Aldershot Town v FC Halifax Town 
Altrincham v Notts County
Barnet v Weymouth 
Boreham Wood v Yeovil Town 
Chesterfield v Torquay United - 5.20pm - Live on BT Sport 
Dagenham & Redbridge v Solihull Moors 
Dover Athletic v Bromley
Eastleigh v Woking 
King's Lynn Town v Wealdstone 
Maidenhead United v Grimsby Town 
Stockport County v Wrexham 

Eleventh placed Stockport County versus eighth placed Wrexham is the game of the day for me. Stockport were one of the pre-season favourites for the title but have only managed two wins in their games so far against Southend United and Maidenhead United who are in the bottom half of the table. Along with struggling Dover Athletic they are the joint lowest scorers in the league with just four goals netted so far. 

Big spending Wrexham were well beaten at Grimsby Town in their last away game but followed this up with a 1-0 home win against Dagenham & Redbridge who were top of the table. 

Wrexham's starting XI last weekend included seven players all of whom were signed from football league sides over the summer so you can see they have recruited some very experienced players as follows - 

Tyler French - Signed from Bradford City 
Aaron Hayden - Signed from Carlisle United 
James Jones - Signed from Lincoln City 
Harry Lennon - Signed from Southend United 
Liam McAlinden - Signed from Morecambe 
Paul Mullin - Signed from Cambridge United 
Ben Tozer - Signed from Cheltenham Town 

Match odds (via skybet.com) 
Stockport County 6/4 
Wrexham 9/5 
Draw 21/10 

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH 
AFC Fylde v Kidderminster Harriers 
AFC Telford United v Brackley Town 
Boston United v Guiseley 
Chester v Blyth Spartans 
Curzon Ashton v Bradford Park Avenue
Darlington v York City 
Farsley Celtic v Alfreton Town 
Gateshead v Gloucester City 
Hereford v Leamington 
Kettering Town v Spennymoor Town 
Southport v Chorley 

In the North division AFC Fylde, under the management of former Morecambe boss Jim Bentley, have made an excellent start to the season and they look like they are going to give it a real go in getting back to non-league's top table where they played from 2017 to 2020 going so close to promotion to the football league in 2019 when they lost to Salford City in the play-off final at Wembley. They have won five games and only dropped points in a 1-1 draw away to Kettering Town. Nick Haughton had scored 6 goals in 4 league games so far for The Coasters who lost in an FA Cup replay at Spennymoor Town in midweek. 

Harriers will be putting in the miles over the next week with the trip to the Lancashire coast at the weekend and an FA Cup journey down to Ware on Saturday 2nd October. The total combined round trip for both journeys is around 460 miles.  

Kidderminster have won two and lost one home game with an impressive opening day victory at York City followed by draws at Southport and Guiseley on the road. 

Match odds (via skybet.com) 
AFC Fylde 8/11 
Kidderminster Harriers 14/5 
Draw 13/5 

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH 
Bath City v Maidstone United 
Billericay Town v Hemel Hempstead Town 
Chelmsford City v Dulwich Hamlet 
Concord Rangers v Chippenham Town 
Eastbourne Borough v Braintree Town 
Hungerford Town v Slough Town 
Oxford City v Hampton & Richmond Borough 
St Albans City v Havant & Waterlooville 
Tonbridge Angels v Dorking Wanderers 
Welling United v Dartford

In the South Division the game of the day for me comes down at the bottom of the table between two teams who are yet to win in the league so far and if things don't improve they could return to Step Three on the non-league ladder. The Tudors have played at Step Two since 2014 and Billericay Town (with their ups and downs of ownership) since 2018. 

The Hertfordshire side's only positive result in the league came in a 2-2 draw at home to Eastbourne Borough who have also been struggling for the season so far.
 
They have recently parted company with boss Lee Bircham and appointed former Oxford City boss Mark Jones who was unveiled on the the same day as their FA Cup replay upset at home to Step 4 side Ware. Jones has also coached at the Watford and Stevenage academy - He has most recently been first team coach at Yeovil Town.

The Blues also have just one positive result in the league which was a 2-2 draw at home to Braintree Town whom they beat in the FA Cup last Saturday in a 1-2 win at Cressing Road so Kevin Watson's side will be in a confident mood. 

Several South Division sides fell to shock results in the FA Cup. Oxford City lost at Frome Town, Dulwich Hamlet lost at home to Bedfont Sports, Tonbridge Angels were thrashed 5-0 at Hayes & Yeading United, Slough Town fell to defeat at home to Whitehawk, Welling United lost at home to Harrow Borough and as mentioned Hemel Hempstead were beaten 0-1 in their midweek replay against Ware. 

Match Odds (via skybet.com) 
Billericay Town 6/5 
Hemel Hempstead Town 13/8 
Draw 5/2 

Top Scorers 
NATIONAL
Joe Sbarra (Solihull Moors) - 7 
Kabongo Tshimanga (Chesterfield) - 7 
Billy Waters (FC Halifax Town) - 7 

NORTH 
Nick Haughton (AFC Fylde) - 6 
Macaulay Langstaff (Gateshead) - 6 
Glen Taylor (Spennymoor) - 6  
Adam Thomas (Curzon Ashton) - 6 

SOUTH 
Shaun Jeffers (St Albans City) - 8 
Cody Cooke (Bath City) - 5 
8 players have scored 4 goals. 

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