Isthmian League

PREVIEW: SEVENOAKS TOWN (A)

And so we arrive into December. A time for family, friends and, most importantly of course, football. Indeed, a festive feast of fixtures is on the way throughout this month but before we get ahead of ourselves, a trip across the border to Sevenoaks beckons.

Won five, drawn two, lost eight – it’s been the identical story for both the Hawks and the Oaks. Separated by goal difference alone — Whitehawk boasting a slightly superior differential — it’s onto Saturday with the opportunity to halt their three game losing skid. 

Last time out

A slim defeat at the hands of Herne Bay, it will be known for a momentous first: Billie Clark’s sublime solo effort. On another dark and gusty night the Hawks were the masters of their own downfall. Momentary lapses in concentration and communication led to the visitors’ and Bradley Schafer’s first and second goals either side of the interval.

And with the hawkish flame so meagre for many of the minutes, Clark struck beautifully into the distant far corner to make the remaining sands all the more exciting. Javaun Splatt was denied by a leaping Jordan Perrin deep into the additional seconds as the Bay escaped with all three points. Both sides lacking in consistent quality, a draw probably would’ve been a fairer reflection…

The opposition

But ah, who’s this we see lurking over the horizon? Sevenoaks Town, that’ll be. 16th in the standings but buoyed unequivocally by their most recent result: a 1-2 triumph at Faversham Town. That’s no easy task, as Whitehawk discovered 41 days ago on the same turf.

It’s not been all sunshine and rainbows for the north-west Kentish outfit. September harvested just the one win and saw 19 goals shipped from their six games in all competitions. Consistency the overwhelming issue, it’s been a really rather similar tale for Whitehawk as we approach the mid-season with the peculiar likeness of both clubs continuing.

Although, unlike the Hawks where Splatt continues to steadily drift further away from his colleagues in the goal ranking, the Oaks’ goals have been far more evenly spread. Fourteen different goalscorers in all fixtures thus far sees Louis Collins atop of their hierarchy with four in the league and nine overall. 

Previous meetings

Cast your mind back to last year and last September as the Hawks returned to the TerraPura Ground following a long layoff due to the opening lockdown. Sevenoaks were the tourists that day, and they departed those blades of grass with ten men and a point as Dan Parkinson struck late to cancel out Ahmed Abdulla’s early fizzer through a crowded area.

And cast your minds back even longer…to the year prior to the one above in what is the Hawks’ only visit to the Bourne Stadium. An early season point was to be on the script once more as Lucas Rodrigues powered the ball home moments from the break, before Tyrell Richardson-Brown equalised late on. Hmmm, it’s almost as if a draw is meant to be. Not long to wait…

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