Lordswood host Lydd Town at Martyn Grove in a battle of the bottom two in the Southern Counties East Premier Division

lcawdell@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 05:00, 27 February 2025

Lordswood take on Lydd Town this Saturday in a crucial battle at the foot of the Southern Counties East Premier Division table.

The two teams are level on points, occupying the bottom two places in the table and in prime position for relegation to Division 1.

Lordswood joint manager Ross Wiles looks ahead to a crucial weekend match Picture: Lordswood FC

Lydd head into the game with form on their side after picking up seven points from their last three games without conceding while Lordswood will hope to end a run of 12 matches without winning.

Now would be the ideal time to break that sequence for the Wood.

Joint boss Ross Wiles said: “It’s a massive game for us and with Lydd picking up some points in the last few games they seem to have hit a purple patch at the right time.

“We are still in a transitional period, a lot of the boys who were there when we came in (as managers) are not there now and we changed the brand of football. I am a big believer in making your own luck but sometimes you are unlucky and things are going against us at the moment.

“We still massively believe we can do what we need to do. Lydd have a quality squad and we know exactly what we’re going into. The best team will win on the day - it’s like a cup final for both of us.

“We’re massively looking forward to it - this is why you’re involved in football, games like this. If you can’t get up for a game like this and get yourself going then what are you doing in football!?”

Lordswood beat Lydd 2-1 at the end of November - the last time they registered a win in the SCEFL Premier Division.

Draws and defeats have seen them remain in trouble at the bottom end of the table but Wiles doesn’t think they’re as bad as the results suggest.

Last Saturday’s game at Sutton Athletic was postponed and the two games before that they had lost 2-0 at Rusthall and 4-1 away to title-chasing VCD Athletic.

The other games have been drawn or lost by the odd goal.

Wiles said: “For 60 minutes we were really good against VCD. We nullified what they had, went 1-0 up and forced them into a tactical change. Had chances to go 2-0 up but they have a lot of quality.

“Barring that result, since myself and Lee (Garlinge) came in (as joint managers) we’ve been in every game.

“We were scratching our heads after losing 3-2 to Punjab after being 2-0 up.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who you play, three points is what counts. We’re not getting hammered but ultimately we need to be better in both boxes, take our chances when they come and defend the area when the opportunity arises.

“We signed a few players, the morale in the squad is good, everyone is upbeat, for a team that hasn’t picked up a win in so long, it’s good to see. We all know it’s there but it is just getting that one over the line.

“Hopefully we can emulate what Lydd have done. They picked up one result and then went two and three, if you get a run it can get you out of trouble.”

Southern Counties East Premier Division table

Medway rivals Hollands & Blair are a prime example of how a few positive results can change the whole outlook.

Blair are now nine points clear of the bottom two after picking up a couple of recent wins, including one against Lydd Town.

Wiles said: “We were dominating that game against them, 3-1 up, it ends up 3-3, they pick up a few draws and a couple of wins and they are well out of it. We’re sitting where we are.

“It’s no good being a good team for 70 minutes, we need to do put the whole package in for 100 minutes.”

Goalkeeper Aaron Lee-Wharton has returned to Lordswood and is likely to be in between the sticks this weekend. He started the season in goal for the team.

Conor Beattie has been playing since January but picked up an ankle injury which hasn’t helped him.

Wiles said: “I’ve always kept in contact with Aaron and when we came in he had already agreed to go and his words to me was that if we had come in two days earlier he would have stayed with us.

“He is a good, honest lad and he could be picking up a lot more money than we can give him but he wants to come back in and play.

“Conor picked up a slight injury and we’re not in the realm at the moment where we can leave anything to chance. I would rather have two players fighting for one spot.”