Match Preview: Heather St John’s (a)

It’s landlords versus tenants at St John’s Park tomorrow as Hinckley AFC face Heather St John’s in a game where there is plenty at stake for both sides.

The fourth competitive meeting between the two sides, all of which have taken place on a Bank Holiday Monday, will see relegation threatened Heather, the home side on this occasion, take on a Hinckley side pushing for a top four place.

In an intriguingly tight battle to avoid the drop, Heather are one of three sides on 24 points, just one point ahead of second bottom Bolehall Swifts.

And with Bolehall having scored 24 goals in their last five games, they have quickly applied the pressure on Heather, Stafford Town and Pelsall Villa. Heather, though, responded with a victory of their own yesterday as they won 2-0 at Cadbury Athletic, courtesy of goals from Ryan Nesbitt and Ahkeem Rose, to move out of the drop zone.

The Saints have played the most games out of anyone at the bottom, and will be keen to strengthen their survival chances against AFC tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Hinckley gained ground on Lichfield City and Leicester Road yesterday as both the sides directly above them could only draw in the race for FA Cup qualification.

The victory for Carl Abbott’s side over Pershore Town yesterday moved them to within three points of both sides, and with Hinckley still having to play both sides a top four spot is not out of the question.

Last season, the sides couldn’t be separated over the two fixtures as both games finished level, 1-1 on a wet afternoon in August and 2-2 on a mild Easter Monday.

But Hinckley gained the upper hand earlier this season by beating their landlords 4-1 in August, and will be hopeful of repeating the result tomorrow afternoon.