For the third season in a row, Sittingbourne are into the play-offs in the Isthmian South East, but for the first time they’re not playing at the Staxson Stadium, Woodstock.
Instead, Reece Prestedge’s side, as they finished in the final qualification place, must now travel to face the side that finished second in the table – AFC Croydon Athletic, for the right to play either Jersey Bulls or Whyteleafe in Friday’s Final.
Back to Tuesday and the Brickies head to south London having won three of their last five games and having won three of their last four on the road.
On the back of last season’s heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat to Burgess Hill Town in the play-off final, it’s been a season of rebuilding and consolidation for the club, and so just by making the post season, Prestedge and his players have achieved something.
Especially when you consider that the manager only took charge for the first time on November 18th when the Brickies won 2-1 at Crowborough Athletic four days after taking Ebbsfleet United to penalties in the Isuzu FA Trophy and having Ryan Maxwell leave and take over at Welling United.
The return of Prestedge sparked a remarkable run of results and it was ironically the league game at Mayfield Stadium that ended the run after fifteen games when Athletic won 3-1 at the end of February, but that was after Prestedge’s side didn’t kick a ball between January 17th and Valentines Day because of the weather.
In the eleven games since, the Brickies have stuttered to regain the form they first showed under Prestedge but have only been beaten three times and go into Tuesday having won 2-0 and 5-0 in their final two games of the season against Hassocks and VCD Athletic.
Sittingbourne will travel as under dogs, but after heartbreak in the last two campaigns in the post season, will this be third time lucky for the Brickies? Yes, they will have to do it the hard way but the battling attributes they’ve shown in the past month alone shows that they won’t go south London to make the numbers and who knows, a weekend in Jersey anyone?
Image courtesy of Paul Golding