The Hawks arrive into this Tuesday evening floodlit affair with Chichester City on the back of a hefty defeat to Ashford United at the recent weekend. In a game of few chances for the hosts, Javaun Splatt did record his first goal for the club with a clinical finish that could breathe confidence into the forward for the fixtures ahead. Ross Standen and his side will hope to put the past behind him as his troops make the journey west to the city of ‘Chi’.

Last time out

It was to be a day to forget. The travelling Ashford United party would be rejoicing every mile of their journey home through the countryside as they produced an emphatic display. Three goals in the opening 41 minutes effectively put proceedings to bed and, although Splatt fired one home soon after the restart, Luke Burdon added a fourth to condemn Whitehawk to defeat.

Things just never really got going for Standen’s squad. An improved second half followed a despondent opening 45 minutes, owing to the damning scoreline. There was belief in that second half; fight was shown in large spells but the Hawks could find no route back into the contest.

A win, a draw and now two defeats from the first four matches find the Hawks in 16th position at this desperately early stage of the season.

The opposition

The ‘Lillywhites’ arrive into this clash with much the same record as their opponents. They too have one win, a draw and two defeats from their opening batch of fixtures.

An underwhelming start to the campaign, an opening day 3-0 loss at home to VCD Athletic was followed by a narrow defeat at Faversham Town. Miles Rutherford’s side would have their first taste of victory three days later: a comprehensive 4-0 win over Lancing. Having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Northwood ten days ago, their recent result was a well-earned 2-2 draw at Ramsgate in the league.

Amongst the attacking line is the in-form Scott Jones. The forward has four goals to his name in all competitions this season, including a brace in the convincing win over Lancing. The West Sussex side currently occupy 12th position, only ahead of the Hawks on goal difference.

Previous meetings

Surprising perhaps, there have been no previous meetings between the two sides. Indeed, there would have been a fixture last campaign had the pandemic not obliterated the season schedule. Time to add another opponent to Whitehawk’s acclaimed list, then, as the visitors hope to shove the past events of Saturday down the forgotten road on Tuesday evening.