2021/2022 Vanarama National League Matchday 41 Preview : London & South East

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With the Easter Monday fixtures approaching, here is a look ahead to how the London & South East sides will be looking to cap off their Easter weekend in the Vanarama National League

Aldershot Town v Dagenham & Redbridge

The Daggers have kept themselves just about still in the running for the top seven with an unbeaten start to April, and will be desperate to get more points on the board against a revived Aldershot Town side at the EBB Stadium. 

After a treacherous run that saw the Shots win just once in four months of National League football, Mark Molesley’s side bounced back with wins over Boreham Wood and Yeovil Town to ease any lingering relegation concerns. They now face the test of playing Daryl McMahon’s Dagenham & Redbridge side, whom themselves are coming off the back of two successive wins. 

After a crucial win at Hayes Lane against Bromley, the East London outfit put seven past Barnet, after going 5-0 up and being reduced to 5-3 by half-time in a Good Friday thriller. The Daggers once again called upon their potent attack force, with Junior Morias scoring a 12 minute hat-trick as well as Paul McCallum grabbing a brace to match his tally of 16 from last season with six games to go. 

The two sides last met in the last game of 2021, with the Daggers coming out on top with a narrow 1-0 win at the Chigwell Construction Stadium. A win for Dagenham in North Hampshire would keep them in arms reach and ready to pounce on any slip-ups from Grimsby Town or Notts County. 

Barnet v Southend United  

The Bees are set to return to the Hive hoping to stem the worrying flow of goals against them as they welcome an out-of-form Shrimpers outfit. 

Barnet may be 18^th and comfortably safe with regards to relegation, but the North London side will still be concerned at their alarmingly brittle defence that has led to them bearing the second-worst defence in the league (only behind bottom club Dover Athletic). 

Having conceded 17 goals in their previous four games, Dean Brennan’s outfit are leaking goals at a rate of more than four per game. 

The calamitous backline were put to the sword once again as they let seven slip by against Dagenham & Redbridge. Whilst this was the Bees’ heaviest defeat of the season, it is concerning that this was the eighth time they had conceded 4+ goals this season, and their second in just three games. 

Southend’s new year revival was somewhat of a miracle, with the club languishing in relegation trouble at the back end of 2021 after a disastrous start to their maiden National League campaign. At one point, it looked as if the Shrimpers were on target to make the most unlikely of late pushes for the play-offs, but a run of six defeats in seven has brought the Essex side to a hault. 

Off the back of a 5-0 humbling at the hands of the league leaders Stockport, it was a disappointing 1-0 home loss to Wealdstone courtesy of a Rhys Browne strike that slumped the Seasiders to a fifth straight loss. 

However, with a trip to the Hive against a brittle Barnet defence, Kevin Maher will be hopeful that this could be the game to once again turn the tides for Southend with the season coming to a close. 

A win for the Bees could lift them as high as 16th, whereas a defeat could see them fall to 20th and would leave the outside chance of the North London side being hauled into trouble should Kings Lynn continue to pick up results. 

Should Maher’s Shrimpers emerge victorious however, the Essex outfit would remain in the hunt for a top 12 finish. 

Bromley v Maidenhead United 

Kent’s Ravens look to keep themselves in play-off contentions as they welcome Berkshire’s Magpies. 

Whilst Bromley are nine points off 7th placed Grimsby Town, their two games in hand mean they could still have a part to play in the race for the postseason. 

A 2-0 win at Eastleigh thanks to goals from Billy Bingham and James Vennings have kept Andy Woodman’s side in the running despite a 10 games without a win. 

Maidenhead United will be the visitors at Hayes Lane, coming off the back of two straight wins. However, Alan Devonshire will have been disappointed in how difficult his side made it against both Dover Athletic and Weymouth. 

It took a 95th minute goal from star man Josh Kelly to kill off Weymouth at York Road, with the 23-year-old striker scoring his 15th of the season. If Maidenhead are to get something from this game, you would not bet against it being courtesy of this player. 

A win for Bromley could lift them up to 9th and within six points of the play-offs with two games in hand should results go their way. 

Dover Athletic v Woking 

Dover look to move into positive for the first time this season as they welcome Darren Sarll’s Woking side to scrabble Athletic Ground. 

An upset victory at Meadow Park for Dover ensured that they would not finish this difficult campaign on minus points. Now the onus is on the Whites moving into positive points for the first time this season, with 38 matches played. 

A penalty from Michael Gyasi was swiftly cancelled out by Scott Boden, but Koby Arthur would score what would be the winning goal after just half an hour for only Dover’s second win of the season. 

It was also a win at Meadow Park that signified the perfect start for the Cardinals’ new boss after Sarll joined from Yeovil Town in late March. However, subsequent defeats to FC Halifax Town and Torquay United have  quickly deflated the bounce of the new man in charge. 

As such, a game against the league’s bottom side could be coming at an ideal time for Woking, as it is the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways. 

However, with Dover now looking to move into positive points, Andy Hessenthaler’s side will hope they can muster an unlikely second consecutive win for the first time this season. 

Victory for Woking could move them up to 13th, and would keep them in the hunt for a top half finish. 

Wealdstone v Boreham Wood 

Boreham Wood will make the short trip to Grosvenor Vale desperate for a win to end this treacherous run and to keep their hopes of the play-offs alive. 

At one stage of the season, there may have been concern from some Wealdstone fans that they could be drawn into a relegation battle in just their second season in the division. 

These concerns were quashed when the part-timers earned four victories in just over a month from February to March. Now building towards next season, Wealdstone would pick up a famous win at Roots Hall to put on the resume of Stuart Maynard and the entire Stones’ squad following their Good Friday 1-0 success. 

Meanwhile, the story of Boreham Wood’s season has been one of elation at their FA Cup run to pure capitulation in the league. 

A side that was at one point challenging for automatic promotion places are now having to rely on the demise of those ahead of them and a miraculous turnaround in form for them to even make the top seven. 

Thankfully for Luke Garrard’s side, with two games in hand, Boreham Wood can still keep themselves in the running with a win against Wealdstone. 

Back-to-back wins could move the Stones into within a point of Southend in 15th position. 

A list of all of the Easter Monday National League action involving teams from the London & South East region. 

Aldershot Town v Dagenham & Redbridge 

Barnet v Southend United 

Bromley v Maidenhead United 

Dover Athletic v Woking 

Wealdstone v Boreham Wood 

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