Vanarama National League: Matchday 25 Round-up of the teams from London and the South East

How did the National League sides from London & South East get on in Matchday 25?

Here’s an in-depth take on the fixtures which includes Bromley’s trip to Blundell Park and Dagenham & Redbridge’s evening kick-off at home to Stockport County.

Southend United 2-1 Kings Lynn Town

The Shrimpers returned with another Friday night game as they hosted a Kings Lynn Town side who have been well and truly cut adrift over the festive period.

Southend fans have suffered a lot over the last few years and looked to be hitting another low as they fell behind against a Linnets side that had lost 11 of their last 12 games. Harry Phillips netted his first Kings Lynn goal in front of the traveling fans to start them dreaming of a famous victory.

Kevin Maher’s side had found some form though, unbeaten in their previous three league matches heading into this game. As such, the players were desperate to let that continue. So when 19-year-old Norwich City loanee Matthew Dennis netted from a pinpoint Shaun Hobson cross, momentum shifted in favour of the hosts.

The game looked to be ticking over into a 1-1 draw until second-half stoppage time when Sam Dalby was brought down inside the Kings Lynn penalty area. The former Watford youngster stepped up to take it himself and made absolutely no mistake, providing Southend with a third straight league win for the first time this season.

Southend will no doubt look to make it four wins on the spin in midweek as they travel to the EBB Stadium to face Aldershot Town. They could go above their opponents and move into 17th should they claim maximum points.

Boreham Wood 1-1 Weymouth

It was a frustrating afternoon at the office for Luke Garrard’s side against struggling Weymouth, as they looked to keep tabs on the league’s front runners. Everything started smoothly for the hosts after Frankie Raymond’s tame effort somehow found its way past Ross Fitzsimons.

However, the script was swiftly torn up by halftime as Weymouth found themselves level in peculiar circumstances. A floated ball played towards the front post looked to be completely harmless, but a mix-up between debutant Jamie Reckford and Taye Ashby-Hammondas saw the ball ricochet off Reckford and find the back of the net.

After a lengthy delay of almost half an hour for what looked to be a broken arm for Weymouth’s Omar Moussa, the Wood were unable to get back into the swing of the game, and were lucky to come away for a point were it not for a late Ashby-Hammond save to deny the Terriers a winner.

Dropping points at home to a side that had lost seven on the trot in the build-up to this game will certainly not please Garrard or the Boreham Wood fans. Next up, a crucial game against FC Halifax Town on Tuesday.

Grimsby Town 1-2 Bromley

Bromley made the rest of the National League sit up and take notice with a terrific 2-1 win at Blundell Park against Grimsby Town.

There is no love lost between these two sides over comments made regarding their previous fixture, and Grimsby looked as if they were going to gain the bragging rights as they went ahead following a tidy finish from Jordan Maguire-Drew.

Andy Woodman’s side have shown they have the character to come from behind throughout this season though and did so again after Mariners captain Giles Coke ran himself into trouble, allowing former Millwall youngster George Alexander to calmly slot home.

It was jubilation for the 78 traveling Ravens as young Jude Arthurs flicked home a header from a corner in the 83rd minute to take all three points back to Kent.

Bromley have now won four of their last six games, and are now one of the form sides in the National League as they rise to 4th. They will look to continue that run when they host Woking in midweek.

Woking 2-0 Wealdstone

The Cards got their first three points of 2022 with a straightforward 2-0 victory over Wealdstone.

After a stuttering start to the new year, Woking were on top from the get-go against the Stones as they looked to bounce back from their derby defeat to Aldershot previous to this.

Alan Dowson would have been delighted with the reaction of his players as Woking started the game in dominant fashion. Inih Effiong fired the ball into an empty net following an almighty corner scramble inside 20 minutes.

The second came when debutant Nicke Kabamba proved his quality. An audacious no-look pass to Jamar Loza, who wilfully rounded the goalkeeper and slid the ball into an empty net.

Wealdstone had long spells of possession and territory throughout, but nothing in the way of end product or a final pass.

Stuart Maynard’s side were restricted to a couple of speculative Joshua Umerah efforts, and had salt rubbed in their wounds when substitute Douglas James-Taylor was sent off for a dangerously high boot that caught Woking’s Kyran Lofthouse – just moments after coming on.

The hosts will be delighted to have gotten their new year inflow, as well as keeping distant playoff hopes alive. What’s more, Dowson will be extremely pleased with the way his players adapted to a new formation, employing three at the back and keeping a rare clean sheet.

Both sides are back in action in midweek, with the Cards traveling to high-flying Bromley and Wealdstone hosting promotion-chasing Notts County.

Dagenham & Redbridge 0-2 Stockport County

Dagenham’s playoff hopes took a blow as they suffered a 2-0 home loss to in-form Stockport County, handing them their seventh win on the bounce in all competitions.

Two quick-fire goals in the first five minutes were enough to see off Daryl McMahon’s East London outfit. Defender Ashley Palmer scored a back-post header from a floated free-kick into the box. Whilst another came just two minutes later when Will Collar stabbed home from close range following a wicked deflected cross.

The early collapse completely threw Dagenham off their game-plan, and they were unable to trouble Stockport for the majority of the match. If anything, Stockport may be disappointed it wasn’t three or four.

A hammer blow to Dagenham’s playoff credentials, but they are very much still in the mix as they travel to struggling Weymouth with hopes of moving back up into the playoff picture.

Here is a full list of the Matchday 26 fixtures including the London & South East sides:

Aldershot Town v Southend United

Bromley v Woking

FC Halifax Town v Boreham Wood

Wealdstone v Notts County

Weymouth v Dagenham & Redbridge

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