Due to the demands of television scheduling, a mere seven Blue Square Premier matches kicked off at the traditional Saturday afternoon time. However over the course of the weekend, twenty-two sides will have been in action after a further three matches on Sunday and one on Monday.
The two sides not in action were Wrexham and Histon, whose encounter at The Racecourse Ground was postponed due to international call-ups for the home side. five players were missing for Dean Saunders' men at full international and under-21 level.
The seven matches that did take place on Saturday produced three goals per game, considerably above the running average for the season so far. Leading the way was Crawley Town, who still sit on top of the league after demolishing Barrow 4-0 at The Broadfield Stadium. Jamie Cook lead the line with a brace to take is tally to eight for the season, while Glenn Wilson found the net for the second time in three games.
Kettering Town maintained their superb form by recovering from a goal down and a man down to win at Salisbury City. Iyseden Christie struck three minutes into stoppage time to ensure The Poppies remain second, after former Cambridge United fullback Tommy Jaszczun was sent off just before half time.
Failure to win would have seen Cambridge United climb from fifth to second, but The U's still moved up to third after a third consecutive 1-0 home win. Jon Challinor struck the winner for the second time in a week to inflict Weymouth's first defeat in five.
After a surprise loss to Barrow in their last home fixture, Kidderminster Harriers returned to winning ways at Aggborough by seeing off Ebbsfleet United 3-1. Brian Smikle struck for the fourth time in five games with the winning goal, while The Fleet have now lost three games in a row.
At the bottom of the division, Lewes and Northwich Victoria both sealed their second wins of the season, both earning home wins. Northwich eased their own worries while heaping more on their opponents, as Grays Athletic fell to their eighth loss out of eight away from home. Matty Crowell and Darryn Stamp struck in the last twenty minutes to earn The Vics a 2-0 win.
Having already conceded three or more in a game on five separate occasions this season, Lewes achieved the feat of scoring three themselves in a spell of only nine minutes. Despite a second half comeback, Forest Green Rovers could only bring the score back to a 3-2 loss to maintain a miserable run that has wielded only two points in nine games.
The final match to take place on Sunday saw York City win for the first time in seven, while inflicting Woking's first loss in five. Ben Wilkinson's goal was his second in as many games, while Daniel McBreen scored for the first time in five to seal a 2-0 away win. Woking ended the game with nine men after two dismissals in the last six minutes for two bookable offences.
Sunday's fixtures saw three of the pre-season favourites for the division all fall to defeat. Stevenage Borough fell to an injury time defeat at Eastbourne Borough. The win was The Sports' first in seven and came courtesy of Lyle Taylor's winner.
The result lifted Eastbourne out of the bottom four, and sees Forest Green fall to their place. A dramatic downturn in form has seen Rovers fall all the way from top of the league at the start of September to the relegation zone just six weeks later, further evidence of the level of competitiveness in this division.
Oxford United continued their erratic ways by falling to a 1-0 loss at Altrincham. Colin Little scored for the fourth consecutive game to lift The Robins to the heights of eighth, just three points outside the playoffs, while Oxford are just one point from the drop zone.
The final match saw Torquay United stretch their recent form to eight games unbeaten as they won 3-1 at Rushden and Diamonds. Having joined Rushden only five weeks ago Emmanuel Panther was dismissed for the second time in that spell, but The Gulls were already well clear by then anyway. Wayne Carlisle, Tim Sills and Nicky Wroe all added to their goal tallies, before Matt Green was sent off to level the numbers.
Burton Albion host Mansfield Town on Monday evening, by which time the draw will have been made for the final qualifying stage of the FA Cup. With one round of Blue Square Premier fixtures taking place next weekend, league action takes a back seat the following weekend as the Cup takes priority, with the excitement starting with the draw at 11am on Monday.
Matt Ramsay
