Flackwell’s title rivals docked four points
Heathens handed huge boost in efforts to land league title
Flackwell Heath’s hopes of landing the Combined Counties Premier Division North title and claiming promotion to step 4 have been given a huge boost this week, after their main rivals for the title were handed a four-point penalty for fielding an ineligible player.
The official FA website now has Flackwell sitting top of the division, a point ahead of Rayners Lane who’ve been docked four points for the administrative error.
It had looked like this season’s title race would go down to the wire, with both teams matching each other stride for stride in their pursuit of promotion.
However, the Heathens now sit a point clear of their rivals with a game in hand as they look ahead to potentially tricky games at home to play-off chasing Holyport on Saturday and third-placed Bedfont Sports the following weekend.
With six matches to play the Heathens now have the opportunity to put clear daylight between themselves and their main rivals, however, manager Chris Ayres has insisted there is still plenty of hard work to be done yet.
Reflecting on the FA’s ruling, he said: “There has been confirmation, and the change has been made on the FA website. They’ve had a four-point deduction. In two games they played a player that wasn’t signed on.
“We heard a lot of rumours about it, but we’ve just tried to carry on as normal. It’s a difficult one and I imagine they’re devastated by it because it’s an administration error. Obviously, it has given us a little bit of leeway, but it’s something we’re trying not to focus on. We’ll just keep going about our business because it could have an adverse effect. We could start thinking we’re there now when we’re not. But it has happened, for whatever reason, but that’s their business.
We’ve just got to take care of what we’re doing.”
Over the bank holiday weekend, Flackwell defeated Wallingford & Crowmarsh 2-0 on Saturday before going to Reading City and winning 3-0 away.
Leaders Rayners, however, were equally comfortable as they swatted aside Wokingham & Emmbrook 3-0 before claiming a narrower 3-2 victory at Egham Town on Monday.
Even with the points deduction, the title race is still intriguingly poised heading into the final month of the campaign, with the curtain coming down on Flackwell’s season at Chalfont St Peter on April 27.
The in-form Wiktor Makowski, Jethro Odumosu and Jack Shakespeare were all on target in Monday’s impressive display at Rivermoor, and Ayres will need his players to be at their best once again for the visit of a vastly improved Holyport on Saturday. Their own five-game winning run was ended by Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Milton United, however, Sam Lock’s side have surged up the table in recent weeks, overcoming some tough hurdles in the process, so they can’t afford to be taken lightly.
“Holyport are fighting to get into the play-offs now,” said Ayres. “They’ve picked up massively over the last six weeks to put themselves in the picture. We then go to Bedfont who are third, so the next two games are pivotal in terms of keeping up with Rayners Lane. We’ll have to be at our best to get any sort of result on Saturday. In front of a big crowd, they’ll be looking to keep their own momentum going.”