2021/2022 Vanarama National League Matchday 39 Preview : London & South East

Almost every team in the league has less than ten games to make their seasons count, as the climax of the Vanarama National League for 2021/2022 comes ever closer. Here is how the London & South East sides shape up for this weekend’s fixtures.

Aldershot Town v Boreham Wood

Luke Garrard’s Boreham Wood side have faced the feared consequences of a lengthy cup run, with their league form taking a nose dive directly after their valiant showing at Goodison Park last month.

The North London side have failed to win in any of their previous seven National League outings, losing four of them. Such form has seen them go from genuine contenders for the top three to a team that is on the outside looking in at the play-off berths.

Increasingly worrying is how rapidly the goals have dried up for the Wood, who have failed to hit the net in their last five outings.

As such, a clash with the league’s joint-most out of form side probably cannot come quick enough and will seem like the perfect opportunity to get back into the win column.

Aldershot Town have endured a torrid couple of months, in which they have lost eight of their last nine.

With the sudden and somewhat unexpected revival of Kings Lynn, the Shots have now been dragged into an unlikely relegation battle and will be desperate to stop the rot in front of a home crowd at the EBB Stadium that is slowly turning on the team.

A victory for Boreham Wood could slingshot them back into the top seven should results go their way. However, a defeat could see them fall up to six points behind the postseason places.

Barnet v Solihull Moors

The Bees will look to bounce back from midweek embarrassment against Wrexham as they welcome another of the league’s heavy hitters in Solihull Moors.

Dean Brennan’s side have experienced a torrid 2022, but after three clutch victories in March, the North Londoners have all but secured their National League status for another season.

Now the onus will be on finishing the season on a high note and building towards what they will hope is an eventual return to the football league.

However, after their 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Wrexham, the visit of Solihull Moors could have perhaps come at an inopportune time with the confidence so low.

Neal Ardley’s Midlanders have not tasted defeat in 15 games, and have now established themselves as a major player heading into the postseason.

Furthermore, Barnet’s record against playoff teams has been less than impressive, conceding 21 goals in their last four outings against the current top seven. The Bees will have to be on their best game if they are to topple their lofty visitors in this game.

The home fans will place some hope in Crawley Town loanee Reece Grego-Cox, who has scored three times in his first eight appearances for the club.

Bromley v Dagenham & Redbridge –

The Ravens and Daggers will go head to head in a huge play-off crossroads match.

Bromley are another side who have witnessed their form take a dramatic nosedive.

January was a hugely successful month for the Ravens, picking up four consecutive wins over Solihull Moors, Grimsby Town, Woking and Notts County. Sadly for Andy Woodman’s side, that was as good as it got.

The Kent side have since been without a win in nine league games, and have slipped out of the play-off places altogether. Now with eight points to makeup, they face a Dagenham & Redbridge side who have seen inconsistency mar their hopes of the top seven.

In the last month, the East Londoners have claimed impressive wins at Southend United and Eastleigh, but have failed to have similar success in the crunch games against their play-off rivals, with just a draw to show from games against Notts County, Grimsby Town and Boreham Wood.

One disadvantage Daryl McMahon’s side have is the lack of games left to rectify their situation, playing twice more than Bromley below them and Boreham Wood ahead of them. As such, victory is even more paramount for them in this contest.

This game pits together two sides who are looking to find form and consistency at the right time to plot a late push for the play-offs. The likelihood of both teams making it is very slim, so the importance of this result will not be lost on either Woodman or McMahon.

Should Bromley stop the rot and claim three points, they would go ahead of their opponents and could move to within five points of 7^th placed Grimsby, of whom they have two games in hand on. However, Should the Daggers win, they would pierce the wounded hope of a playoff run even further for the Ravens and could see them rise into 8^th.

Dover Athletic v Maidenhead United

In Dover’s last outing at the Crabble Athletic Ground, just 511 people witnessed the already relegated outfit’s 1-1 draw with Kings Lynn Town.

However, whilst this season has been an utter disaster by all accounts, there is optimism around the club that there can be a response next season in the National League South. With Andy Hessenthaler confirmed to stay on, the continuity will be there for the Whites to build momentum and attempt an immediate return to the top of the Non-League pyramid.

For now though, they will face Maidenhead United in the first of nine games they have to avoid finishing the season on minus points, a feat that has never been completed before in the fifth tier of English football.

In Maidenhead United, Dover face a side that are 11 points clear of the drop zone but will be determined to get just one more win under their belt to ease any lingering relegation fears for the time being.

This game will also pit Dover against one of their former players in Will De Havilland, who incidentally scored in the Magpies’ last league victory over Southend United.

A victory for Dover Athletic would haul them on to 0 points, thus clearing them of their damning debt of points for the season.

FC Halifax Town v Woking

The Cardinals have experienced a refreshing turnaround since the dismissal of Alan Dowson, winning four of their last five. Now under the stewardship of Darren Sarll, the club hope to gear towards a potential play-off challenge for next season.

Sarll’s first game in charge was a roaring success, claiming an impressive win over Boreham Wood at Meadow Park, despite the dismissal of Rohan Ince just after the hour.

The former Yeovil manager’s baptism of fire continues with a trip to the Shay Stadium to take on 3^rd placed FC Halifax Town.

The Shaymen bounced back from a disappointing end to March with a victory over Wealdstone and a solid point against Solihull Moors in Yorkshire. Pete Wild’s side will now look to keep the pressure on Wrexham and keep a foothold of a home semi-final slot with a victory here against the Surrey outfit.

In their previous two wins, Woking’s Max Kretzchmar was on the scoresheet from 12 yards, but the Cards will be hoping they do not require assistance from the referee to claim all three points in Halifax. Should they be successful, they could move into 12^th and keep alive hopes of a top-half finish to round off the season.

Wealdstone v Chesterfield

The Stones are unbeaten at home since the 19^th February but will be pushed to maintain this record as they welcome a determined Spireites side to Grosvenor Vale.

Coming off the back of a lacklustre 0-0 draw with Maidenhead United, the Greater London outfit now face a run-in that includes five of their next six opponents coming from the league’s top 12.

With safety all but guaranteed, this will not concern Stuart Maynard all too much, although the 41-year-old will be keen to avoid Wealdstone’s season capitulating altogether. In fact, he will want the part-timers to build on their March victories over Maidenhead United and Weymouth and push as close to the top half as possible.

Their visitors are a Chesterfield side who have seen their season come crashing down thanks to the injury to one key player, that being their star striker Kabongo Tshimanga. After the 24-year-old suffered a leg break In February, the Derbyshire side have won only three of their previous ten games and have seen an automatic promotion push deteriorate into the task of merely holding on to their play-off place.

Paul Cook’s side are reeling off the back of a 4-1 home pummeling to the oncoming Mariners. With seven games to go, the visitors will be desperate to get back to winning ways and fend off the challenges of those outside the top seven.

Wealdstone currently sit in a close-knit pack of clubs from 12^th-19^th, and a win could bring them up to 15^thoverall.

Stockport County v Southend United

Southend United will look to get back to winning ways and cause an upset against the league leaders in front of the BT Sport cameras.

It is fair to say that the revival of Kevin Maher’s side has lost it’s head of steam, with the Shrimpers losing four of their last five.

A solitary victory over Altrincham is all the Essex side have to show for the last month, so now they face a run-in of eight games to push for a top-half finish.

However, a trip to Edgeley Park is about as difficult as National League games come these days, with County unbeaten in 2021, and remarkably dropping points in just one game since the turn of the year.

It is perhaps unsurprising when the Greater Manchester outfit have the best attack in the league with 74 goals, paired with the division’s second-best defence, conceding just 29 goals in 35 games.

During this run, Stockport have scored 38 goals, averaging out at over 2.5 goals per game, whilst conceding just six in the same period of the time.

Consequently, it would take a late capitulation for Stockport to give up the National League title and a long-awaited return to the football league, and Paul Cook will certainly not be looking for the freight train to stop here against Southend.

Should Southend pull off the impossible, then not only will they do so in front of a massive TV audience, but they can haul themselves into 12^th place in the league, and put their top half hopes back on track.

Another weekend of drama awaits in the National League, and the teams from the London & South East will hope that the twists and turns fall in their favour as the season nears its end. Here is a full roundup of this weekend’s action involving the region’s sides:

Aldershot Town v Boreham Wood

Barnet v Solihull Moors

Bromley v Dagenham & Redbridge

Dover Atheltic v Maidenhead United

FC Halifax Town v Woking

Wealdstone v Chesterfield

Stockport County v Southend United