TALKING POINTS

Chris Wade – @tufcchris

Chris discusses the key points

BEING MORE CLINICAL

There has been nothing wrong with our performances in recent weeks, although a return of one point from the last two matches is far from ideal. But if we had taken the chances that we have created in those games, then we would be in a much better position. Being clinical in front of goal is arguably the hardest part of football. So it is by no means a simple solution. But we certainly have the quality to be able to do it. It’s unclear whether all our attacking players will be available, but we need to rediscover our sharpness in front of goal to be able to tally the points up in this crucial stage of the season. It isn’t long until there is no tomorrow.

RIGHT BACK

Jordan Thomas has been dependable at full back in recent months. He had a rocky start to the season, but after finding his feet and making the full back slot his own, he has been the standout performer in some matches. He has found himself benched in recent weeks to accommodate Matt Worthington into the starting eleven. It has been the source of much conversation amongst fans this week, and it will be interesting to see what Paul Wotton goes for this weekend. Worthington has been fine at right back, but is Thomas a better option away from home?

THE FINAL FIFTEEN

There is no doubt that the season is reaching crunch point. Fifteen games to go and five points of leaders Dorking, the time to string a run of results together is now. The two away from home will be the start of a very bust few weeks to the end of March, before we hit the Easter weekend fixtures. The away from has been good in 2026, so the defeat at Chippenham in the last away game came as a shock. As we discussed on GEV this week, how many points do we want in Sussex this week? 4, or is 6 too much to ask for? 4 maybe wouldn’t be the end of the world, and Saturday surely represents a good chance against crisis club Eastbourne.

DEPENDABLE DAN

As noted in his Verdict last weekend by Junior Wade, Dan Hayfield has been very impressive in recent weeks. Taking over from the injured Matt Worthington in November after initially struggling to get game time, Hayfield has been solid and always gives a solid 7 out of 10 performance. He was very good last week, and whilst rotation will undoubtedly be a key factor in the coming weeks, Dan can expect to play more that not. He may in theory be a holding midfielder, but he isn’t afraid to get beyond the forwards and drive through midfield, as he did to lay on Cody Cooke’s first goal at Dover a few weeks ago. A box to box midfield player is key in any team.

THE OPPOSITION

Eastbourne come into Saturday’s game up against it to stay in the National League South. Five points from safety but having only 13 games to play, this week saw the departure of Tommy Widdrington as manager. New manager bounce is an unquantifiable thing, but seems to exist more often as not. Fans arriving in Sussex on Saturday cannot think that it will be a walk over after the 7-0 win at Plainmoor earlier in the season, and they will no doubt be keen to avenge that result in front of a new management structure. It feels like these two games are vital, and a result on Saturday would set us nicely for a midweek trip to Worthing, and then 6 of the 8 games at Plainmoor. The run in starts here.