Right, repair the hearts, clear those minds, and ride the roads north to table-neighbours East Grinstead. Yet another battle with implications one might deem as considerable awaits for two sides once more hoping to drift further away from the peril that lies within touching distance below.

Falling victim to a Riley Alford strike in the final seconds of Tuesday’s trip to Hythe Town, three points crushingly became one as Whitehawk’s twenty-six games spawn as many points, just two adrift of Saturday’s Sussex opponents as the thickening fixtures grow in significance.

 

Last time out

 

An evening of reassurance and positivity, despair and desolation, all intertwined through one final kick of the ball. Looping over the head of Nathan Stroomberg-Clarke after The Hawks had defended supremely for an entire half and more having taken a 2-1 lead into the interval.

Endless, breathless action beneath the Kentish lights saw James Fraser sneak in the opener from the corner of the box before Tyler Sterling slipped it beneath the ‘keeper’s leg midway through the opening segment. But in an instant the visitors replied: Fraser sweeping home his second to slide his side back in front.

Clinging on for the dearest life as the half grew old, Harry Reed was shown a second yellow card with ten minutes remaining as the task became increasingly uphill. And then, when all seemed lost for the hosts, Alford’s inventive lob deep into the additional minutes snatched a point for Hythe.

 

The opposition

 

It’s The Wasps, actually. Form has been…peculiar, to say the least. Tasting that sour tinge of defeat in their recent 4-0 loss at Herne Bay, East Grinstead had been in glittering form since the middle days of December, unbeaten in eight league matches.

That has been the cause for their recent shift upwards, with five victories arriving in that stretch, although against teams lying ninth or below. Truth be told they are one of the league’s form sides, despite their recent rocking on the Kentish shores last Saturday afternoon.

But goals have been a slight issue for our upcoming opponents. Equalling Phoenix Sports’ record for the fewest goals recorded with 25, three goals leads the scoring charts as Seidou Sanogo, Marco Sousa Pina and Troy Walters all share the title.

 

Previous meeting

 

Massage the memory back to October 16, when a certain Javaun Splatt struck spectacularly into the far top-corner of the netting to seal a valuable 1-0 win for Whitehawk, the second victory of the season. The winds were fair and the football cagey, Splatt’s intuitive brilliance on 19 minutes provides the potential for a first Hawks double on Saturday.