Glenthorne Utd A vs Chigwell Athletic

League leaders Glenthorne are relishing Sunday’s big derby against Chigwell Athletic.

“It’s the fixture I look for first when the list comes out,” Thornes boss Sam Rosenthal told JC Sport.

With six wins from seven league games under their belt, the Thornes have set the bar high so far this season. They have kept three clean sheet and haven’t conceded for more than 180 minutes in the league. To me, they have the look and feel of champions, but Rosenthal won’t allow them to take anything for granted yet.

Rosenthal knows Chigwell inside out and he’ll clearly have done his homework on Richard Slater’s men as he knows full well that he won’t be welcome at Faces for a while if he loses on Sunday.

Ahead of kick-off, Rosenthal added: “We’re looking forward to seeing some old faces. That said, we’re due a win against them.

“We have a few absentees golfing in Spain, but I’m confident we have enough depth to compensate.”

That’s be music to the ears of Chigs chief Richard Slater. No doubt, he’ll be sure to have done his homework and know exactly who is and who isn’t playing for Glenthorne.

Chigs were back to their best in the cup last Sunday when they made easy work of a potential banana skin with Anthony Mendel inspiring them to victory with a hat-trick.

Slater publicly wrote off his team’s title hopes a couple of weeks ago, but with games in hand, I believe he was looking to take the pressure off his troops and they will be looking to make a big statement of intent on Sunday.

With one win in six league games, Slater knows full well this have under-achieved, and he’ll be determined to put that right here.

“We know going to the league leaders on Sunday will be a tough local derby. just as the cup game was earlier this season.

“There's no pressure on us, being down in eighth position. They're expected to win the game for sure, but we're confident in our ability and experience within the squad.”

Chigwell defended well in the recent cup game, but that was the cup. This is the league and Glenthorne have been the model of consistency thus far. They have a tried and tested formula that has served them well and if they go in front, I can’t see them losing.

Venue – Ford Sports & Social, Ref – Neil Cooper

JC star man: Dan Lassman (Glenthorne)

DC Prediction: Glenthorne A 1 Chigwell 0