17th versus 18th. A couple of months prior you’d have hardly predicted this the situation ahead of tonight’s meeting but, after a tricky Winter period, there’s now plenty on the line in this evening’s matchup.

Despite a strong start to 2024 the Hawks have lost their last three in the league, whilst Cheshunt have been on a run of form akin to our own, winning one of their previous eight league matches.

This is a mightily good opportunity for Shaun Saunders’ side to get back to winning ways, and to move further away from trouble. 

Tonight begins a run of five straight fixtures for the Hawks against sides in the bottom eight, and so the month ahead could certainly be one of importance. 

Team News

Shaun Saunders had options aplenty on Saturday in the defeat against Chatham Town, and will be hoping for a similarly dominant performance that was laid to waste due to a number of missed opportunities.

There hasn’t been a great deal of action in either camps since the recent meeting, as Cheshunt boss Craig Edwards might name a similar squad to the one that claimed three points at the end of last month.

The Opposition

There’s probably a fair amount we could lift from the previous preview just a couple of weeks ago, but we shan’t be too lazy. Cheshunt’s victory over the Hawks breathed life into them, but not for too long as they would lose their next two.

It means they remain 18th, seven points adrift of the Hawks and level on points with the side occupying the final relegation spot. They’ll be pleased Margate have been similarly stuttering, but wins need to arrive soon otherwise the club, who only last season where knocking around in National League South, might be staring at back-to-back relegations. 

One to Watch | Nnamdi Nwachuku

Cheshunt’s leading goalscorer this season with eleven in all competitions, including seven in his previous eight, Nwachuku has been the best of an underperforming attack that is slowly starting to see signs of improvement.

Recording a hat-trick earlier on in the campaign in his side’s 3-1 victory over Bognor Regis Town, the 29-year-old joined ‘The Ambers’ from Braintree Town in the summer, and is a product of Colchester United’s Academy.

He’s played for a host of clubs in his football career, but will be hoping to find a home in Cheshunt after a number of recent years spent moving from club to club in search of consistency. He might just have found it.

Recent Form – LLWLL

13/1 | Chatham Town (A) | Lost 3-2

23/1 | Billericay Town (H) | Drew 1-1 (Lost 5-4 on penalties) | Velocity Cup

27/1 | Whitehawk (H) | Won 2-0

30/1 | Potters Bar Town (H) | Lost 4-2

3/2 | Hornchurch (A) | Lost 1-0

Previous Meetings

The first meeting between the two sides came… literally 10 days ago. Postponements have meant our two meetings with the Hertfordshire club are particularly close together, with the Ambers coming out on top by a 2-0 scoreline despite many opportunities from the visiting side.

So yes, this is the very first meeting at The Enclosed Ground between the two clubs…

How to Follow

If you can’t make it to The Enclosed Ground for tonight’s clash, then you can follow the action via our X (Twitter) channel, which can be found here.