Craig Tanner expects another tough battle when Tooting & Mitcham United face Sittingbourne on Saturday as they look to win back-to-back league matches for the first time since November.
Tanner’s side have had an inconsistent season so far, but they will take confidence from having beaten the Brickies 2-0 when they came to south east London in October.
Sittingbourne have lost four of their past six matches, dropping them to 14th in the Ryman Division One South table, but Tanner says they will face a big test this weekend.
Spot king: Frankie Sawyer's penalty is too good for the Casuals' keeper
“It will be another difficult game for us. Last time we went there we got turned over,” he said.
“They are a very physical side and they don’t have the best pitch so it won’t be easy over there.
“They need the points just as much as we do and I expect it to be a challenge to come away with a win.”
Terrors beat strugglers Walton Casuals 4-1 last weekend with goals from Stefan Cox – who also saw red – and Frankie Sawyer from the penalty spot.
Dan Summers was also on the scoresheet with a brace, taking his tally to 26 in all competitions.
The three points lifted Terrors to 12th in the table, and Tanner felt the result was a fair reflection of his side’s efforts in recent matches.
“It was definitely coming because our performances in recent weeks have been good,” he said.
“We have played really against Metropolitan Police in the Surrey County Cup before that and we showed what we were capable of.
“I was really pleased with how we played against Walton Casuals. We took an early lead and got stuck in from the start.”
Goal machine: Tooting & Mitcham United striker has 26 goals in all competitions so far this season
He added: “It was a shame that Stefan Cox retaliated to an elbow in the face and got sent off, but in the second-half we looked comfortable and went 4-0 up.”
Tanner also hoped the next two matches would allow his side to push for a top 10 finish.
“Hopefully we can pick up some more points from now on,” said Tanner.
“We’ve played better in the past couple of weeks so we need to build on that and get a good run of results together.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here