Little Common ‘have belief’ heading into daunting run

Jamie Crone on the ball during Little Common's 1-0 win at home to East Preston on Tuesday night. Picture by Simon Newstead

Buoyed by their midweek win at home to East Preston, the Commoners will face three of the Southern Combination League Premier Division’s top four in their next three fixtures.

Common player-manager Russell Eldridge said: “We’re three unbeaten and that’s the key thing for us. We’ve got a bit of confidence and belief. We know the challenges ahead of us, but we’re certainly not going into those games thinking we’re not going to get anything out of them.

See also: * Little Common end four-month winless run* Little Common out of relegation zone after Hassocks draw* Bexhill United exceed last season’s points total after away win“We’ve drawn with Pagham and Newhaven, we’ve shown we’re capable of getting points against teams at the top end.

“It’s about the way we apply ourselves and the way we do things, as opposed to other people.”

Common will host fourth-placed Horsham YMCA today (Saturday, kick-off 3pm) before travelling to third-placed Eastbourne Town next weekend and leaders Chichester City on Saturday March 16.

Although Common lost 5-3 in November’s reverse fixture against YMCA, they won 3-1 in a Sussex Senior Challenge Cup tie away to the same opponents earlier in the same month.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” continued Eldridge, a former YMCA player. “We have to make sure we do everything we can to pick up a positive result.

“It’s a tricky surface at the moment and we have to find different ways to do things. It’s not necessarily the way we would to play, but we have to do what’s best to stay in the league. It won’t be easy for them on Saturday either.”

The four points Common have taken over the past week have moved them up to fourth-from-bottom - two points above the two relegation places.

But things remain very tight, with only six points covering the bottom six teams heading into the last two months of the season.

Common will be forced into a couple of changes as Danny Andrews will be back with Hollington United and Paul Feakins is unavailable due to university commitments.

Southern Combination League Premier Division bottom six (played-points): 15 Loxwood 28-24 (-27 goal difference), 16 Langney Wanderers 29-24 (-29), 17 LITTLE COMMON 29-23 (-24), 18 Shoreham 29-21 (-36), 19 Arundel 29-21 (-39), 20 Eastbourne United AFC 28-18 (-43).