Blues and Port in contrasting form ahead of derby

Holyport and Burnham will head into Saturday’s derby match in contrasting mood and form, with the Blues having lost their last three matches and Holyport having gained some early new year momentum.

In the week which saw Manny Williams step down from his role as player manager, the Blues were beaten 3-0 at home by fellow strugglers Wokingham & Emmbrook on Saturday, while Holyport were enjoying a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Virginia Water after a string of difficult and pointless returns against several of the league’s top sides.

Williams left his post after

Burnham were beaten 8-0 by Hanworth Villa and there is a sense that not all is quite settled at The Gore heading into the new year.

Holyport will look to add to that unrest when they visit them on Saturday, having had much the better of Saturday’s game with Virginia Water, Ashley Hunt grabbing the game’s only goal late on. It was enough to lift Holyport off the bottom of the Combined Counties Premier Division North table and to within six points of

Burnham.

“Saturday was a well-deserved victory,” said Sweetman. “Apart from the first 15 minutes when they could have scored one or two goals, we dominated the game and could have been further ahead.

“Both sides worked hard on a pitch that was quite a challenge, but we were delighted to get the three points.

“Virginia Water are a good side and they put us under pressure early on, but a few tactical changes helped us, and we had opportunities, hitting the post and the crossbar. That's the first time we've had that sort of side available, and there were three or four others who would have been in contention who couldn't make it.”

He added: “There are three leagues in our division. The top six who are the money boys, the middle six who are comfortable and the bottom six like us who are challenging to make sure we stay in the division.

“We should have maybe scored a few more on Saturday but we're not going to be greedy. The boys enjoyed themselves without going mad and we'll be back and ready to play Burnham this weekend. We'd like to continue our winning streak but I'm sure that Burnham will feel they can win and go further away from us.”