A trip to East London is pencilled into the diary this coming Wednesday evening as Hoddesdon Town travel to Tower Hamlets FC in the league.

Simon Riddle's men finally managed to haul themselves out of the relegation zone on Saturday but it was courtesy of a solitary point, when in truth, they could and should have taken all three. New signing Connor Casey put the team ahead on 43 minutes but a whole host of missed opportunities coupled with an 84th minute leveller from Park View meant that the achievement was tinged with a certain amount of regret. However, as they say, if you cannot win, do not lose, and that's exactly what Hoddesdon did. It means Hoddesdon are unbeaten in their last three league games and have only lost one game in the last six in all competitions. Left back Hadley Richards scooped the Greene King Man of the Match award at the weekend too after a convincingly solid display at the back. You can read the story HERE.

A visit to 13th placed Tower Hamlets is another chance to climb further away from the league basement and continue a run of positive results. Hoddesdon have four games in hand over their hosts and should they be fortunate enough to win all of them, it would move the team 3 points clear of the East London club.

It's a case of one game at a time however and focus must be on this fixture for 90 minutes as Tower Hamlets are a dangerous proposition.

Tower Hamlets Football Club is based in London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The club was granted senior status after winning the Middlesex County league's Premier Division in 2009, and were promoted to the Essex Senior League. At the end of the 2019-20 season, Tower Hamlets FC were transferred to the Premier Division of the Southern Counties East League after moving to Phoenix Sports ground in Barnehurst from the Mile End Stadium. In the 2021-22 season Tower Hamlets finished at the bottom of the league and were relegated to step 6 and are currently members of the Thurlow Nunn League First Division South, playing back at the Mile End Stadium.

It was a tough start for Tower Hamlets this season, losing their first 7 games in all competitions and not registering a win untill early September in a 4-1 home win against Southend Manor. However, results and performances have improved dramatically since then and a mid table position is reward for an upturn in fortunes. From their 30 games this season in the league, they have amassed 37 points via 11 wins, 4 draws and 19 losses. They have a goal difference of -19 owing to 56 goals scored and 75 conceded. Their home record reads played 17, won 7, drawn 3 and lost 7 with 33 goals scored and 37 conceded and so it is a mixed bag at The Mile End Stadium (a venue that hosted a concert by Britpop band Blur in June 1995, where 27,000 fans saw the band supported by The Boo Radleys, Sparks, John Shuttleworth and Dodgy!!)

This will be the first meeting of the two sides this season with the home game rescheduled at the end of March, after the December 2nd game at Lowfield was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

Player Manager and former Hashtag United Reserve Team Manager Kiernan Hughes-Mason and his assistant Connor French, also a regular in the side, will be hoping to put a dent in the Lilywhites aspirations and call upon some performances that see's them currently occupying 10th in the form table, having won three of their last six, with three losses and no draws. Last time out they hosted Enfield Borough on Saturday at home and ran out 3-2 winners courtesy of goals from Mekai Fadina, Dele Desouza and the afore mentioned Kiernan Hughes-Mason, with midfielder Jonothan Vandyck collecting the man of the match award.

Looking at the numbers for the season, our hosts have used 61 players so far this season, and none of them have been more prolific than Solomon Asamoah. The forward has 18 goals in 27 appearances that includes 25 starts. Also amongst the goals are the management team of Hughes-Mason and French, with 11 and 5 successful strikes respectively. With managing the team as well as scoring the goals, is there anything this dynamic duo can't do?

One thing we do know is that the gaffer has experience.

Manager Hughes-Mason is somewhat of a non league journeyman, having begun his football career at the age of seven, playing alongside Jack Wilshere and Emmanuel Frimpong in the youth ranks at Arsenal. At the age of 14, he was deemed too small by the club and released. He then joined local rivals Tottenham Hotspur for a season but failed to earn a scholarship at the club. Following his release, Hughes-Mason was offered a scholarship with Millwall. The Hackney born 32 year old also notably played professional football for Cheltenham Town and Grimsby Town, as well as having brief spells in New Zealand with North Wellington and Tasman United. He has spent most of his career in non-league football and has played for Tooting & Mitcham United, Chelmsford City, Kettering Town, Welling United, Concord Rangers, Hayes & Yeading United, Maidstone United, Leatherhead, Walton Casuals, Hastings United, Grays Athletic, Barking, Hythe Town, Hashtag United, Saffron Walden Town and Tilbury.

Nobody has started more games (26) for the team than midfielder Jonathan Vandyck and it is perhaps that level of consistency that saw him collect the Man of the Match award on Saturday. Vandyck shares the total appearance record this season (27) with Asamoah. Looking at the disciplinary record for the season, our hosts have over 50 yellow cards in 32 games in all competitions this season, as well as 4 red cards.

You can follow Tower Hamlets on Twitter/X HERE or check out their website by clicking HERE.

For Hoddesdon, much has been made of their away form compared to playing at home this season, with more success coming on their travels compared to Lowfield. The away record reads played 18, won 8, drawn 2, lost 8, scoring 37 goals and conceding 39 and we will all be hoping for another good performance and result away from our Hertfordshire home.

On Saturday afternoon it was good too see a return to the side, all be it from the bench, for Harrison Cage who has been missing after a freak arm injury. Filip Narcis remains sidelined with injury however, expected to be absent for at least another week or so. Forward Dion Laughton came close to extending his tally for the season at the weekend but his clever flick over the Park View goalkeeper and into the net was marginally offside. You can watch the effort HERE. New signing Connor Casey opened his account for the Lilywhites on Saturday and looked to be a player that can cause a defence problems with his hustle and bustle style of play.

Kick Off is 7:45pm and entry at The Mile End Stadium is £5 for Adults and U16s go free.

Travelling fans are advised that Mile End is well supported by public transport and has a small Pay & Display car park. The nearest Tube station is Mile End (about 0.5 miles away) in Zone 2 on the Hammersmith and City, District, and Central Line. Buses 25, 277, D6, D7 pass close to Mile End Stadium and 309 outside the stadium.

Enjoy the game.

#COYL