OPPOSITION NOTES- Hanwell Town

Hanwell Town head into the final eight games of the Southern Premier League South in a much better state than they did this time last season having only survived in the division by virtue of having a greater goal difference than the relegated Beaconsfield Town.

The Geordies who were formed in 1920 by Newcastle natives who were working in the area are enjoying a much more low-key season in 2024/25.

Currently they sit in 11th place in the tightly congested mid-table, 12 points off the playoffs but also crucially nine clear of any relegation turmoil that they had to experience last season.

Despite defeat in mid-week to relegation battlers albeit improving Frome Town 1-0, the away side have lost just two of their last 13 games after building a strong and ressilient side that can compete against the high-flyers of the division.

In those dozen games they have won just four, but their seven draws in that period including against play-off righting Walton & Hersham and Havant & Waterloovile highlight that they will be a difficult team for City to break down.

The seven draws have stopped them from making too much headway on the playoffs and with fixtures left against the current top two fighting for the title they will be content with finishing the season as they are bang on mid table and with scope to push on next season.

In a league that has shown much greater home form than away records, the away side currently have the fifth best record on their travels last season.

That includes their last two games which were Frome and Hungerford were they lost without scoring but in a five game period they also picked up a point down at Winchester, while securing victories in a seven goal thriller against Basingstoke Town and a 2-0 success against in-form Plymouth Parkway which had proven to be a difficult hunting ground for many times.

In true reflection of their position in the table they have picked up 22 points at their home stadium, the Reynolds Field and a further 21 points on their travels.

In addition they also have a goal difference of zero having scored 50 and conceded 50.

In the reverse fixture in West London, the two sides played out a stalement with neither side being able to break down their defence, both sides have drawn three games 0-0 this season.

In a period from August to the start of October that saw the hosts win six of seven games, Hanwell were the team that stopped them from going on an unprecadented run of winning showing they will be a tough nut to crack.

As for top scorers Town have the joint sixth highest scorer player in the division level with City's Joe Hanks in Jordan Edwards.

Edwards a 25-year-old formely of Marlow, Hungerford and most recently Chesham United left the title winners of the Southern League after scoring nine goals last season in addition to two against Hanwell before a game had to be called due to torrential weather conditions.

The midfielder has picked up where he left off and has scored more than double the next highest Geordies player having scored 18 times in the league.

Daniel Carr is below Edwards in the scoring charts having scored eight, and their third highest scorer is Joseph Wright who has netted six who will be the key players to watch out for in Saturday's encounter.

Hanwell have needed a season of solidility after narrowly surviving the drop last season, but having only become a club in this tier since 2022 that was always going to be tough.

The Geordies have proved it is possible however and with them sat clear of any imminent relegation danger and at ease of any danger of being pulled in they can go into their final eight games hoping to solidify in mid table and build a platform that can see them push higher, especially if they can hold onto the services of players such as the talented Edwards.