The Midland Premier League preview is written by Gary Hazelhurst.
Premier Division
Thursday night sees the re-arranged game between the top two, Alvechurch and Hereford at LyeMeadow. The fact that it is a Thursday evening hasn’t reduced the interest any and a full house of 1500 is anticipated. While the result will not decide the title, a win for either could be crucial at this stage of the season. Highgate United are aiming for a top 6 finish and they travel to Walshes Meadow to face mid-table Stourport Swifts.
On Saturday, the top two have home fixtures and will expect to pick up three points. Alvechurch welcome Long Eaton United to Lye Meadow with the visitors on a poor run of form.
Hereford welcome Brocton to Edgar Street with the Badgers unbeaten in their last 5 away games. 3rd placed
Sporting Khalsa have had an excellent first season at Step 5 and they will want to ensure that they finish no lower than 3rd place. They welcome Quorn to the Aspray Arena with the visitors still needing points to be mathematically safe from the drop. There is an attractive looking game at the Dovecote with Coleshill Town visiting Shepshed Dynamo. Shepshed won the reverse fixture 3-1 at Pack Meadow so expect goals in this one. Another side striving for a top 6 finish are Heanor Town and they welcome bottom club Continental Star to the Town Ground. With Heanor needing a win, I can’t see anything other than a big home win.
The battle to avoid the drop gets more and more intense as we enter the final weeks of the season. Dunkirk are in need of a run of victories if they are to give themselves a chance of finishing outside the bottom three. They travel to Stourport Swifts with home side comfortable in the middle of the pack. Bardon Hill are in a battle with Coventry Sphinx and they have a 2nd home game in three days against Westfields. The sides drew 1-1 earlier in the season at Allpay Park but a point won’t really be enough this time round for the home side. Highgate United play their 4th game of the week when they welcome Boldmere St Michaels to The Coppice. With games in hand, a top 6 finish is still within their grasp. Walsall Wood have had another good MFL season and they travel to Rocester 9 days after the two sides drew 1-1 at Oak Park. Lye Town have won 7 out of their last 8 league games which has moved them up to 9th in the table and they travel to 10th placed AFC Wulfrunians for what promises to be a good open game.