Whilst top flight football ploughs on through May, for most Non-League sides, football has finished.
However, for some achievers, it gets very tense now as the play-offs start. Two of the successful clubs in the Bostik League South Division meet on Tuesday night at the DGS marine Stadium in Eltham.
In what is a repeat of last season’s play-off ‘semi-final’, Greenwich Borough host Corinthian-Casuals hoping for a different outcome. Any neutral in attendance will be hoping for another game with the same amount of excitement as last year’s which had everything.
That game got off to a fast start when Mohamed Eisa put the hosts ahead in the early exchanges. Their lead did not last long though and Shaun Okojie levelled from the spot with less than twenty minutes left on the clock.
Coskum Ekim was then dismissed for the visitors but they went ahead moments later through Reyon Dillon. Greenwich came back and when Malachi Hudson was brought down just outside the penalty area Peter Sweeney stepped up to curl the free kick into the top corner.
Borough were unable to make their one man advantage tell and the visitors again went ahead just shy of the hour through a Mu Maan free kick. They increased their lead through Okojie’s second with quarter of an hour remaining, and although Glenn Wilson pulled one back, Greenwich were unable to strike again and to take the game into extra time.
After their perfect March resulted in Paul Barnes winning the Bostik League South manager of the month award, Greenwich have stuttered a little with just one victory in six games in April. However, they do have the league’s leading hot-shot, Jack Barham, looking to increase his tally for the season.
Casuals sneaked into this season’s play-offs with a last minute Harry Ottaway equaliser at Hythe Town meaning that they leap-frogged their hosts.
Way back to mid-August, Casuals beat Borough 1-0 at their King George’s Field stadium through a last minute goal by Maan. However, when the two teams locked horns again in South London it was Greenwich who came out on top with second half goals scored by Charlie Macdonald and Travis Gregory.
Whoever wins will play either Cray Wanderers away or Walton Casuals at home on Saturday, but neither side is looking that far ahead yet.