Bring on the leaders, say ‘confident’ Hastings United

Hastings United captain Sam Adams in the thick of the action during last weekend's 2-0 win away to VCD Athletic. Picture courtesy Scott White

Hastings United Football Club is in confident mood as it prepares to take on the league champions in waiting.

Chris Agutter’s side will host Bostik League South East Division leaders Cray Wanderers today (Saturday, kick-off 3pm) buoyed by a much-needed 2-0 win away to VCD Athletic last weekend.

Agutter said: “I think it’s always been a case of bring on Cray. It’s a game that I really look forward to being involved in.

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“From a coaching perspective it throws up higher level challenges in terms of how you stop Cray. Nine times out of 10 it’s a case of how do you stop the opposition’s direct approach and what’s the best way to win the second ball.

“They will play in a similar way to us. It’s a similar sort of game to the Whyteleafe games where both teams try to play a slightly more sophisticated brand of football.”

Cray are 16 points clear at the top of the table having lost only once in the league all season.

“There’s no fear there,” continued Agutter. “We’ve watched Cray an awful lot this season and I’ve not seen any team do what we did to them in the first 45 minutes in the first fixture.