Preview - Welling United (H) - Saturday 21st December
Wealdstone return to National League South action and begin the Christmas schedule, hosting Welling United at The Vale on Saturday afternoon.
The league-leading Stones have a seven-point gap at the top of the division as the push to promotion hits a busy period of the season.
Stones Manager Dean Brennan on Welling: “They gave us a good game in September, I remember their performance was better than ours in the first half”.
“Their league position [16th] doesn’t reflect their league performances, they don’t have the point’s total that their performances deserve.”
After no clean sheet for over two months, the Stones have gone 270 minutes without conceding, reminiscent of August’s solidity.
With the busy Christmas period beginning this weekend, this schedule reminded Brennan of the first six weeks of the season.
“You do have plans in your head and look forward a little bit but it’s important we take it one game at a time like we have been all season.”
Welling gave the Stones a competitive game in the reverse fixture back in September; the Stones narrowly beat the Wings 2-1 at Park View Road.
“We had a twenty-minute period in the second half where we were clinical to get a two-goal lead”, explained Brennan.
The Wings have picked up their league form in recent weeks, losing just once in five games. New forward Moses Emmanuel has made a positive impression since joining from Billericay Town, scoring two goals.
Brennan on his former players: “They have a couple of players that I used to manage, Moses Emmanuel [and] Adam Coombes…are top players in this division, if not, the division above.”
The league leaders will be looking to improve on the best home record in the division, Stones home fans have witnessed eight league wins already this season.
An on-the-whistle report will be available on the official Wealdstone FC website at full-time on Saturday (subject to the 10:30am pitch inspection); you can follow live updates on the official Stones Twitter feed from 3pm.
Preview by Dec O'Reilly
Full quotes from Dean Brennan HERE