Greenie's Friday Preview

You know when I sit down here that the PC in Greenie Towers and write "THE PREVIEW" I never seem to be able to get a train of thought going and then WHALLOP! Here it comes… and it really does hit the target!

"I don’t know what it is about Cray…" said a rueful Dover boss Clive Walker speaking to me after their 3-0 Cup win over Bracknell Town. Under Ian Jenkins and Joe Francis (Kent’s answer to… well I’m still not sure but somewhere between Clough and Taylor and Morecambe and Wise would be accurate) Cray’s rise has been sensational and they’ve become feared opponents mainly because of their in your face attitude. And that is probably what the Dover boss meant last weekend!

Last season Cray took four points off of the Whites, and what would the visitors to Crabble tomorrow do for a repeat?

It’s going to be an interesting afternoon at Crabble and you know that it could be very tight with few goals… More or less guarantees an end-to-end 7-6 classic doesn’t it???

Maidstone United in seventh start life without Mo Takaloo as they welcome the Met Police to Bourne Park, and I must be honest that of all the top League sides I saw last season I thought the Police were amongst the best.

So with Lloyd Hume acting quickly by bringing in Ray Powell to replace the departed Takaloo it could be one of the games of the weekend!

Ninth placed Chatham Town and tenth placed Sittingbourne both face very tricky away days against two of the sides that spent a lot of last season chasing Play Off places.

Phil Miles takes his Chatham side to sixth placed Leatherhead – a tricky place to go at the best of times, but as the Chats have had a week to reflect on throwing a three goal lead away at Winchester in the FA Cup last week will be the first really big test of Miles’ management career!

Steve Lovell takes his Sittingbourne side to Corydon Athletic who have started the season well and are already fifth.

Lovell senior will be hoping that Lovell junior and the returning Andy Doerr (who missed the Cup win over Thamesmead as he was on his hols!) will be able to get an understanding going that will soon terrorise the rest of the Ryman One defences!

So then six Kent clubs in the Divisions top ten… and where’s the seventh? Well Ashford are currently nineteenth but tomorrow go into battle with Burgess Hill Town at Homelands looking for three wins in three games for the first time in an awful lot longer than anyone can remember…

I saw Burgess Hill lose to Maidstone in the Cup last Sunday and I can assure the Ashford faithful that the visitors will be a tough nut to crack! It though will be a good test of just how far Tim Thorogood’s side has come – a test which I wonder if they’ll come through?

On our way to the Ryman Premier, we’ll call into the Conference where the Fleet have another long road trip North – this weeks its off to Emmerdale country and the New Shay in Halifax – a ground where traditionally they don’t usually do very well.

But after last weekends 2-2 draw at Southport took the unbeaten run to three games, Liam Daish’s charges head North full of confidence.

But lets not forget that the ShayMen were only denied a return to the Football league last season by the Play Off final defeat to Hereford.

Listen to full match commentary on this one courtesy of the BBC Radio Kent website and Phil Kinsella and Chas Webster from just before 3:00!