Preview | Ed-ing in the right direction

City return to the battle for League points on Saturday as we head to Hanworth Villa.

The Premier South new-boys have made a solid start to life at Step 3 with just two defeats from their opening nine League games.

We go into the game on the back of a hard-fought but deserved away win at Mulbarton Wanderers in the Emirates FA Cup last weekend to make it three games unbeaten in all competitions.

During this time, the ever-popular Ed Williams has broken through the 200 appearance milestone.

“It’s definitely something I’m really proud of,” said Williams. “When you start out playing football, you don’t necessarily think about milestones like 200 appearances for a club, so to look back and realise I’ve played that many games for Gloucester City is a great feeling.

“The club has played a huge part in my career and my life, during both of my spells here, starting when I was just starting out as a teenager and to now returning as a senior player in my 30s.

“I think about the many great team-mates, managers and friends that I’ve had here alongside brilliant moments shared with the fans.

“We can all agree we’ve not had the start we’ve wanted in the league so far this season and we understand that results need to improve.

“That said, we’ve put in some really positive performances, such as against League leaders, Plymouth Parkway, recently where we were unlucky not to win. This has been backed up with the win at Step 2 AFC Totton, which gives us the belief that we can turn our form around and climb up the table.

“This League gets harder and harder every season as more quality players filter into this level. Unlike recent seasons, no team seems to be pulling away from the pack this time around and things are tightly packed.

“A few positive results in a row and things can look completely different. We have the quality here to get right back on track and moving in the right direction.

“We know it will be a tough test at Hanworth as they have started the season well by building on the momentum that they gained as they secured promotion at the end of last season.

“But with a vocal following behind us and the belief that we have gained in recent games, we will go there determined to get a positive result.”