After no game on Saturday due to FA Trophy commitments for our scheduled opposition, we are back in action on Tuesday night at the Maurice Rebak Stadium in London Senior Cup action, for the first time this season.
Our Opponents
Erith & Belvedere play their football in the Southern Counties East Premier, at step five of the non-league pyramid. Last season, "The Deres" were relegated from Isthmian South East division after finishing bottom of the league in 20th place, with 26 points from their 38 games. Despite a good start to the season last year, Erith & Belvedere dropped into the relegation zone in December and stayed there throughout the remainder of the season.
They only had one season at step 4 this time, having been promoted the season before, and in the last decade they have also played at step 6, back in 2017-18. This season, the Deres sit in 9th place, four places below the playoff spots, with 19 points from 13 games (W5 D4 L4).
Head to Head
The last time that we played Erith & Belvedere in a league fixture was in 2004/05 in the Southern League Division One East, the Blues doing the double over the Deres that season including a 4-1 win thanks to a Dean Williams hat-trick. More recently, in 2010-11, we faced the Deres in the London Senior Cup, winning 2-1 on our way to winning the trophy that season, goalscorers on that day were Leon Smith and Dave Laird.
Last Time Out
The Deres were in league action on Saturday, beating Bearsted 3-0 thanks to goals from Ladic Melconian, Joe Chalker and Dieko Falade. Last Tuesday, the Deres were in league action at Glebe and were leading 3-2 with two minutes to play before a floodlight failure caused the game to be abandoned! It is hard to forget our last match, beating Hendon 6-1 last Tuesday in a goal that will live long in the memory of Blues fans. Our last game in the London Cup was also against Hendon, last season, as we lost 1-0 at Silver Jubilee Park last year, after beating Brentford B 2-0 at the Maurice Rebak Stadium.
Players To Watch
Erith & Belvedere's top scorer this season is striker Tunde Aderonmu who joined the Deres from Punjab United. Aderonmu had a previous spell at E&B, scoring 24 goals as they won the Southern Counties East title in 2022/23. Meanwhile another one to watch is Freddie Baker, a young midfielder who has been a near ever-present in the side this season, after joining from a lower division club in the summer.
For the Blues, our only clean sheet this season so far came in the FA Cup with Fergal Hale-Brown in goal, and the former Welsh youth international goalkeeper will be looking to make it two from two if he's between the sticks on Tuesday. Forward Zack Newton made his 50th appearance for the club against Hendon and everyone at the club knows what to expect when Zack is on the field, with his pace, tenacity and work-rate providing many defences with a headache this season and last.
Tickets are available online and on the gate (Adults £12, Concessions £8, 11-18yrs: £5. Under 11s FREE). Cash and card is accepted throughout the Maurice Rebak Stadium. We look forward to welcoming you to N12!
Photos courtesy of Martin Addison.
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