(05/01/2009) W&DFL - Sunday Division Four - preview (week 20)

Week 20 Preview:

Fixtures:
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Arrow 2000 Reserves Vs Whitehall (Ref: J Widdett) at Archdales 73 Club.
Blue Star Vs AFC West Midland (Ref: R Storr) at Diglis.
Goodrest Juniors Vs Perdiswell House (Ref: M Stephens) at Stephenson Terrace.
Inter Town Vs Beauchamp Victoria (Ref: A Davis) at Pitchcroft.
The Raven Vs Old C0CK (Ref: B Mason) at Little Perdiswell.
Worcester Bosch Vs Glovers Needle (Ref: C Cooper) at County Sports.
Wychbold RBL Reserves – Blank Sunday.

Fixtures addressed alphabetically –

For bottom of the table club Arrow 2000 Reserves (played 9 with 4 points) this will be their first league match since snatching a draw from the jaws of victory by conceding two late gaols away to Beauchamp Victoria on 07/12/2008. Whereas for their visitors, and current second placed Whitehall (played 11 with 28 points), the last league game was the week previous to that when they won the previous encounter between these two clubs by 5 goals to 1.
Prediction: Whitehall victory.

The division’s club with the longest run of league inactivity is Blue Star. Their last league match was way back on 23/11/2008 when they beat Old C0CK 6:3 at their Diglis home. That win was Blue Star’s second win on the trot at home and their third in total for the season and they currently hold eight place in the league (played 11 with 10 points). Their visitors are AFC West Midland, who are currently two places below them in tenth place but having played three games less (Played 7 with 9 points). West Mids are currently on a two game losing streak. This will be the first game between the two clubs.
Prediction: Draw.

Potentially the closest tie of the weekend takes place at Stephenson Terrace where fourth placed Goodrest Juniors (played 13 with 19 points) host fifth placed Perdiswell House (played 12 with 18 points). In the season’s previous league encounter between the two sides Perdiswell House won 7:5 at their Pitchcroft home pitch, which is adjacent to Stephenson Terrace. However Perdiswell House have not won since November 2008 and are currently on a 4 game losing run that includes defeats to then bottom half of the table Beauchamp Victoria and Old C0CK. Goodrest Juniors have shown patchy form however they have only lost one of their last eight league matches.
Prediction: Goodrest Juniors win.

Having won their first three league matches of the season Inter Town (Played 10 with 9 points) have now gone on a seven game losing streak that has seen them drop from the top three to eleventh in the league. That losing streak includes a narrow 4:3 defeat away to this weekend’s opponents Beauchamp Victoria (played 12 with 11 points) who currently occupy seventh place in the table. After a mini run of good form the Vics came down to earth with a thud last game out when they were hammered 0:9 at home by Glovers Needle.
Prediction: Too tight to predict, so stick this one down as a draw for now.

Were it not for being deducted 3 points for playing an ineligible player early in the season The Raven would currently be eighth in the league. However as things stand they are in twelfth, and second bottom, place (played 10 with 7 points) whilst this weekend’s visitors to Little Perdiswell, Old C0CK (played 13 with 10 points), are sitting in a respectable ninth place above them. When the two teams met earlier in the season, in Droitwich, it was The Raven who took all three points with a 2:4 victory. Old C0CK put an end to their five game losing streak last time out when they won 1:4 away against Perdiswell House. In a similar vein of form The Raven have only won one of their last five matches.
Prediction: The Raven to win and complete a league double.

Worcester Bosch (played 10 with 13 points) could have been in fourth place now and with their own designs on the divisional title, however a six point deduction for playing an ineligible player in their 0:6 away victory over Blue Star and a few poor results see them sitting mid table in sixth place. This weekend they host the rampaging Glovers Needle (played 12 with 27 points) at County Sports ground. The Glovers themselves were also found guilty of playing an ineligible player and were deducted 3 points for doing so. Since losing two of their first three matches the Glovers have gone on a nine game winning run, notching up no fewer than five victories in which they have scored nine goals or more and hold the division’s highest winning margin for this season after thrashing Old C0ck 0:12 away. The previous meeting between these two ended in a 3:2 home victory for Glovers Needle. Added spice to this match is the fact that Glovers needle recently lost one of their main strikers when he transferred to Bosch.
Prediction: Glovers Needle win.

Top of the table Wychbold RBL Reserves do not have a league match this weekend.