Isthmian League

Match Preview | Concord Rangers (H)

There’s only a few more weeks left in the campaign, yet tonight marks the first meeting of the season between these two sides.

And you find the Hawks safe from any relegation danger, positioned in 13th after Saturday’s enthralling last-minute victory over play-off chasing Carshalton Athletic.

But for tonight’s travellers the same sadly can’t be said, for anything but a victory for Concord Rangers will see the Essex club drop down a division for a second consecutive year.

Team news

Lloyd Dawes returned on Saturday before holding his hamstring moments after coming on, and he will be assessed ahead of kick-off.

Tommy Brewer and Stefan Wright are both recovering from their respective injuries, and could face further time away from the field.

Kai Jennings will be hoping to keep his place in the midfield after scooping Saturday’s Man of the Match award, whilst Josh Nandhra, too, will be pushing for a start having won the points for Whitehawk at the weekend.

The Opposition 

It’s difficult times for the Canvey Island-based club who, just 12 months ago, were fighting to stay alive in National League South. Fast forward a few months, and their fate is almost sealed – much akin to Whitehawk’s back-to-back relegations a few years ago.

They have felt the full force of the weather, too, with myriad postponements owing to their rather low league position over the festive period, and they’ve been playing catch up ever since.

But in recent months they just haven’t caught fire, and with 11 straight league defeats on their minds as they journey down to East Brighton tonight, most of those associated with Concord Rangers would just like this season to end.

One to Watch | Harrison Day

Concord will do well to keep hold of the talented centre-forward who has found the net on 16 occasions in all competitions this season. Not bad, given the second most goals scored by a Concord player this campaign lies at three.

Joining the club at the start of the season from Essex Olympian League Premier side Catholic United, Day has been deadly since bagging a hat-trick in their side’s impressive 4-1 win over Lewes earlier in the season, scoring another hat-trick 20 days later in the Essex Senior Cup.

Recent Form | LLLLL

23/3 | Lewes (A) | Lost 2-1

26/3 | Hornchurch (A) | Lost 1-0

29/3 | Carshalton Athletic (H) | Lost 2-1

1/4 | Billericay Town (A) | Lost 2-0

6/4 | Wingate & Finchley (H) | Lost 2-0

Previous Meetings

The two sides met on numerous occasions during the 2010s, with a total of 12 matches.

Whitehawk earned three wins during that time, with Concord edging the head to head with four wins. The remaining five matches ended in a draw.

The last meeting was back in 2018, when goals from David Ijaha and Kodi Lyons-Foster propelled the Hawks to a 2-0 win over The Beach Boys.

How to Follow

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

Tickets

Tickets can be bought online via this link, or from The Enclosed Ground on the day of the game for the following prices:

Adult: £13 

OAPs/Students/NHS: £8 

U18s: £5

Under 13s: FREE (must be accompanied by a paying adult)

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