Southern League Monday night preview: Plymouth Parkway vs Berkhamsted FA Cup tie and two league fixtures, Digi Mart USA News: Two Southern League matches are on the card this evening, headlined by an all-Southern League FA Cup Round One tie between Plymouth Parkway and Berkhamsted.
In Southern League Premier Division Central, Redditch United host Peterborough Sports at The Valley Stadium tonight. It is the United’s first home game since they came from 0-3 down last weekend to draw 3-3, with a 92nd-minute free-kick by Dan Sweeney following goals from Alezandro da Silva and William Fielding.
Redditch were beaten 2-1 away at Kettering Town on Saturday after trailing 2-0 at the break. Tyler Bruck pulled one back on the hour mark, but that was as close as they came, leaving them 14th with 18 points.
Attacker Szhem Whyte-Hall will look to add to his nine goals from 13 appearances this season.
Peterborough Sports have lost only one of their last 13 league matches and come into this game sixth, where a win tonight could lift them to fifth. The Turbines are coming off a 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table Stamford, going behind to an own goal before Luca Miller equalised in the 30th minute.
Striker Leon Lobjoit matches Whyte-Hall’s record of nine goals from 13 league appearances, so the Redditch defence will have to keep him quiet.
The two sides met earlier this season on September 29, when Tyler Bruck opened the scoring. A Michael Richens penalty levelled in the 50th minute, before Joel Shamrock put Redditch back in front seven minutes later.
Harvey Williams struck in the 94th minute for one of his three goals this season, and that is how the game ended at PIMS Park.
In Southern League Division One South, the second and final league game tonight sees Swindon Supermarine host Westbury United at The Imagine Cruising Stadium. A home win would take the hosts level on points with top-of-the-table Weymouth, although Weymouth hold a 13-goal superior goal difference over Marine, having played one game fewer.
Swindon Supermarine come into the fixture on back-to-back wins, beating Bristol Manor Farm 1-2 at The Creek and thrashing Melksham Town 6-0 at home on October 31, when five different players scored, including a brace from Marcel Lewis. Swindon’s players will also have fresher legs, as Westbury United played only two days ago.
Westbury United picked up a big win, beating third-placed Dorchester Town 2-1 after trailing 0-1. Jensen Wakefield scored in the 60th minute and Ben Starr in the 77th.
Striker Leighton Thomas is third in the division’s top scorer charts with 10 goals, but has gone two games without scoring after a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Willand Rovers.
The two sides also met on September 29, when Westbury United won 3-0 after Marine’s Joe Shepherd was sent off in the 14th minute. Joshua Jenkins opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, and Ben Starr scored twice in the 41st and 67th minutes.
A win tonight would lift Westbury above Dorchester Town into third, though they would have played two games more.
The headline fixture is an all-Southern League clash, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, as Plymouth Parkway host Berkhamsted at Bolitho Park. Parkway beat Chertsey Town 2-0 in the final FA Cup qualifying round to reach the First Round Proper for the first time, while Berkhamsted are also FA Cup debutants, having been formed in 2009.
Parkway will be confident after beating the league leaders 3-1 at home last Tuesday, when league top scorer Andrew ‘Rocky’ Neal scored his 12th league goal of the season, having also scored and assisted in the Chertsey win. Berkhamsted are also positive after beating Southend United 1-2 at Roots Hall, with Jeffrey Sekyere heading the winner in the 88th minute.
Since then, Berkhamsted have lost one and drawn two league matches, and were knocked out of the FA Trophy by Cray Wanderers. Cray Wanderers were then beaten 3-2 after extra time at home by Stockport County in the FA Cup first round this weekend, having led 2-0 as late as the 81st minute.
The two sides have not met in the Premier South this season. Their last meeting came on February 7, when Parkway won 2-0 with goals from James Watts-Barciela and Carlo Garside.
Kick-off is 19:30, with the Second Round draw taking place before kick-off from 18:30.
