Combined Counties: Windsor & Eton strengthen play-off grip with win at Edgware & Kingsbury

Ethan Darcy. Photo: Richard Milam

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Windsor & Eton cemented their place in the Combined Counties Premier Division North play-off places with a 2-0 win at Edgware & Kingsbury on Tuesday night and will now switch their attention to chasing down the teams above them in the title race.

The Royalists moved four points clear of Ardley United in fifth place with Tuesday’s 2-0 win at the Silver Jubilee Stadium.

Rob Webb’s side left it late to bag all three points, with their winning goals coming from Leo Decabo and Ethan Darcy in the 76th and 92nd minutes.

Barring their penalty shoot-out defeat to Fisher FC in the FA Vase, the Royalists are now unbeaten in 90 minutes across 20 league and cup fixtures, a record Webb and his players should be justifiably proud of. But it’s also a record that will concern the teams still sitting above them in the Premier Division North table.

Not least leaders Burnham, who now hold only an 11-point lead over the Royalists having played seven matches more. Three or four wins from those seven in hand would lift the Royalists into title contention heading into the final weeks of the season, but they’ll have to navigate a heavily congested period of fixtures - and likely quite a bit of fatigue - to achieve that.

The Royalists are now only four points behind Wallingford & Crowmarsh - who they have eight matches in hand on - while they also have five matches to play over second placed Ashford Town and third placed Broadfields United.

There was a danger of Tuesday’s game at Edgware drifting towards an unsatisfactory result for the visitors until Decabo picked out the bottom corner beautifully in the 76th minute. They then wrapped up the points when Darcy ran through on goal and slotted home to make it 2-0 in stoppage time.

The Royalists have 16 league matches to cram in before the season’s set to end on April 14. They’re also still in the Premier Challenge Cup and will go to Kidlington for a quarter final clash in that competition on Wednesday, March 4.

They have five league matches to squeeze in before then though, starting with a big one, away to leaders Burnham at the 1878 Stadium on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

The league leaders haven’t played in the league since January 31 and were forced to sit on their hands as rivals cut into their lead over the past couple of weeks.

They had been due to travel to Harefield United on Saturday, but the game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Mo and Omz Bakali’s side have won their last two matches to keep rivals at arms’ length for now. They have a four-point lead over second placed Ashford - having played two matches more - while Broadfields United, who also have a couple of matches in hand, are five points back from the summit.

They’ll likely have to knock back the Royalists’ title challenge on Saturday if they’re to stand any chance of keeping the chase pack at bay.

At the other end of the table, Holyport are desperate for points to lift themselves out of relegation danger.

Their game against Amersham Town at Spratley’s Meadow was another match that failed to beat the weather, and that postponement means they remain in the bottom two - two points from safety from third bottom North Leigh. The three sides directly above them in the table all have at least two matches in hand on them so Lee Ovens and Dan Rapley’s side need to make the most of their upcoming run of five home games at Summerleaze Park.

Should the game go ahead as scheduled, Port will host 16th placed British Airways on Saturday before welcoming 14th placed Abingdon United to Summerleaze Park on Tuesday. Port won their last home game against Hilltop but were thrashed 5-0 by Virginia Water in their last league outing on January 27.