Tony Rickson Previews Sittingbourne v Greenwich Borough

After playing the worst team in Bostik League South on Saturday, Sittingbourne play one of the best on Tuesday evening.

In-form Greenwich Borough have won their last four games and look nailed-on for at least clinching one of the play-off places in their challenge for promotion.

And they were on fire on Saturday, winning 8-1 away to South Park.

Though for the home club it was their third game in five days and they were probably a bit knackered by the end of it.

One of those South Park games was against Sittingbourne, of course, the Brickies ending a seven-game run of defeats with an excellent 2-1 away win.

Top scorer Kane Rowland and debut-making Lewis Chambers got the goals, and it was another new player, Germaine Dua, who got the winner in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat of bottom club Shoreham.

Dua was in the right place at the far post to divert a fierce drive across goal by Tom Loynes, who by then was proudly wearing the captain’s armband after Chris Webber went off injured.

Webber was not the only defender hurt in that game, as right-back Josh Dorling also had to go off in the second half.

But fit-again Chris Elliott and youngster Harrison Hatfull successfully replaced them and helped Sittingbourne keep their first clean sheet in ten games.

Whoever’s fit to play will have to be on the ball against Greenwich, who boast the division’s highest scorer in 26-goal Jack Barham.

He got a couple in Saturday’s win and was joined on the scoresheet by Tom Carlse, a favourite with Sittingbourne last season who has been a regular in the Greenwich team all season.

He was in the Greenwich side that beat Sittingbourne 5-1 just before Christmas, which remains their heaviest defeat this season.

Greenwich have been through some traumas since then, with their manager and some of their leading players going, but they’ve survived the rejig and stayed in promotion contention.

Sittingbourne themselves have been through a huge transition in the same period, but new players like Lewis and Dua have added much needed strength and commitment to midfield.

And of the other new players who have joined since Aslan Odev took over as interim manager, Fabrice Blewordah has been a bit of an unsung hero at left-back, defending solidly and bursting forward whenever there’s an opportunity.

Sittingbourne follow the Greenwich game with another home match on Friday when Thamesmead are the visitors for a 1pm kick-off.