Needham Market preview

A 10 day break from football for Wingate and Finchley comes to an end when they welcome Needham Market to Summers Lane on Saturday. The Blues, whose game on Saturday at Burgess Hill was postponed for the hosts' FA Cup tie against Cadbury Heath, last took to the field against Kingstonian on 27th September. The Ks took the lead with an early goal, but Freddy Moncur netted a sublime equaliser before Rob Ogleby handed Keith Rowland's men their fifth victory of an impressive September for the club. Wingate's loss to Tonbridge Angels in the Seconnd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup was the only black mark in a month that saw them overcome local rivals Harrow Borough in the Alan Turvey Trophy while picking up 13 points from four Ryman Premier League games. And Saturday's visitors Needham Market have also impressed in recent weeks. The Marketmen - who ended their inaugural Ryman Premier League campaign last season just one point above the relegation zone - currently sit in fifth place, two points above Dulwich Hamlet and with a game in hand over the South London outfit. Just two losses since the start of the season mean Mark Morsley's men are already over a third of the way to beating their points haul from last season and are showing no signs of slowing down. Luke Ingram's solitary winner against Met Police on Saturday was the midfielder's second goal of the season, leaving him some way behind top scorers Jack Curtis and Reece Dobson's 5 and 4 goals respectively. Michael Brothers and Manny Osei have three goals apiece, while five other players have a goal to their name for the Marketmen. But last season's two match ups between Saturday's sides saw Wingate run out as 9-1 aggregate winners (3-1 away and 6-0 at home), with the Blues finishing nine points and eight places above Needham. However, early in this season the tables appear to have been turned. And with both sides coming into this off the back of very successful months, it is unlikely to be as one-sided as it was the last time these two clubs met in Finchley. By Andy Gerlis