After a disappointing penalty shoot out loss to Arantes last weekend in the cup, Barnes Stormers are looking ahead to their league game against local rivals South West Athletic, who share the same home pitch as the Stormers.
South West, or The Sloths, as per the club badge, are a familiar foe. A team that Barnes have played numerous times over the years having remained in the same league since both teams' founding. There have been some great results of the years, 6-6 thrillers and 5-1 wins for the Stormers amongst the mix but this game will be different given just how much both clubs have changed their line ups.
"We've had a good run of results this year so far but we need to maintain that work rate to ensure we keep adding points to our tally" said manager Jacko. "I'm really happy to be able to have a couple of quality players returning to the squad this week as Joan makes a long over due return and Johnny returns from a weekend break. I may even get to catch a rare glimpse of Carlos too!".
There's a real buzz around this team at the moment as they seem to enjoy their football and be putting in real team performances to fight for the points that the club need. Despite having 2 games in hand on their opposition, Barnes sit 9 points behind them so a win on Sunday is a must as they look to close in on their local rivals. The Sloths have been in some fine form of their own recently with 4 wins and 1 loss in their last 5 and with some eye catching scorelines too, having scored 21 goals in 4 games. Barnes will have to keep an eye on what looks like a strong forward partnership who are in goal scoring form.
Barnes on the other hand have goal scorers across the pitch so will provide a very different challenge for The Sloths. "Having goal scorers across the team is brilliant, it means the oppo won't be able to switch off as all of our midfield have it in them to take the chance and score rather than relying on a single focal point as we may have done previously" said Jacko. Barnes will be looking to those goal scoring players to all add to their tally on Sunday to help beat South West and help storm up the league table and further away from the relegation battle that is developing at the bottom half of the table.
There's a late fitness assessment on club captain Billy as he gets his ankle looked at for a possible fracture and a few knocks to the likes of stalwarts Casey, Jack, Mo and Tom will be assessed but unlikely to keep them out of the fray.
Come on down and watch the Barn Elms derby and help cheer your Stormers on to victory!
SSFL Division 7 vs South West Athletic FC
10:30am KO
Barn Elms Sports Centre
Queen Elizabeth Walk
Barnes
SW13 0DG
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