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There is a huge top-of-the-table match in store for Faversham this weekend.
The Lilywhites will aim to bounce back from Tuesday’s 3-1 Kent Senior Trophy quarter-final home loss to rivals Whitstable as they visit VCD in the Southern Counties East League Premier Division.
While frontrunners Faversham are eight points clear of second-placed Fisher, who have played three games more, it’s the Vickers who look like their main challengers for the title.
VCD trail Faversham by eight points and have a game in hand on them.
“It’ll be a tough game on Saturday,” said Town assistant Alex O’Brien, speaking with boss Tommy Warrilow away in midweek. “On paper, they’re a really good side.
“They know what they’re doing but, like I’ve said to the boys, we know what we’re doing.
“If we turn up and assert ourselves well, it’ll be a great game. Or you could have two teams that just cancel each other out.
“I couldn’t tell you [which one will happen] - I wish I had a crystal ball!
“But we’ll just stick to our game-plan and, hopefully, that’ll be enough.”
Faversham played Fisher in another hotly-awaited top-of-the-table match earlier this month, which finished goalless at Salters Lane.
But O’Brien insisted they would never set out to settle for a point.
He said: “I don’t think Tom has ever set out a team to draw a game. Our mindset won’t be that.
“We just have to get on with it and see what happens.
"There’s 16 league games left now so every game is our cup final.”
Faversham had already done the league double over Whitstable but never got going in midweek as the Oystermen gained some form of revenge.
“We huffed and puffed in the first half,” reflected O’Brien, who saw substitute Danny Parish grab a stoppage-time consolation goal. “I thought we had quite a bit of the ball, to be fair, without really hurting them.
“We got to the final third where I think we lacked a bit of quality - whether that was with through-balls, crosses or on the second ball. In the second half, I felt they came at us well.
“They had a really good 15-minute or 20-minute spell and then we lost our way a little bit. The body language wasn’t great, which we don’t want, and then I thought the goal that we did score was a good goal.
"Overall, it’s a bit frustrating.
“But like I’ve just said to the boys, we move on and we have big things to look forward to again on Saturday.”
The Lilywhites made six switches from the team that won 4-0 at Hollands & Blair last weekend, with goals from defender Ben Gorham and forward Parish sandwiching penalties in either half by top scorer Tashi-Jay Kwayie.
One positive was the first-team debut of youth-team player Jerzy Krzyszka, who came off the substitutes’ bench.
“He plays for the under-23s,” added O’Brien. “He’s a left-sided centre-half. It was good that Jerzy stepped up.”
Former Cheltenham youngster Archie Burford has also rejoined Faversham. He has played in their last two games, with No.1 Jacob Russell out through the facial injuries sustained in last midweek’s 8-1 thumping of basement boys Lydd and No.2 Lewis Briggs still sidelined.
“Archie’s decent,” said O’Brien. “We’re very lucky.
"We have got a very good No.1, a great No.2 and, now, we got a great lad that’s come in.
“Archie has played with us before, the boys like him and we like him. Everything he does is positive.
“He wants to play forward, which is great. Long may that continue.”
Asked how long Russell is expected to be out for, O’Brien added: “We’re just waiting for his face to calm down a little bit. It’s so annoying and we’re gutted for him.
“He never gets injured and then, all of a sudden, he takes an absolute smash to the face. I spoke to him on Tuesday.
“He’s raring to get going but, obviously, we need to be really careful with him, with it being a head injury.”
O’Brien will be relieved when Warrilow returns in time for the clash at VCD after taking charge alongside goalkeeping coach Terry Sedge, under-23 boss Rhys Leader and vastly-experienced player Frannie Collin.
On Warrilow’s absence, he said: “I don’t miss my kids as much! It’s a nightmare.
“He knows what he’s doing and I know what I’m doing, and we’ve just done it for nearly 20 years so it’s a little bit difficult when the other isn’t there. You kind of have to find your feet again.
“But Tel, Fran and Rhys stepped up. They helped out on Tuesday, which was great, but Tom is more than safe in his job.
"I definitely don’t want it!”
Town host Division 1 Staplehurst in the Challenge Cup third round on Tuesday.
Midfielder Bradley Schafer has left the club this week.