In a very shocking turn of events, Aveley have found themselves in and around the playoff positions for most of the duration of their campaign in the National League South so far. A very impressive feat for a team that had been promoted from the Isthmian Premier Division in the season just gone.
Photo © Glyn Baker (cc-by-sa/2.0)
Currently, Aveley find themselves sixth, despite quite a rocky spell of form lately with 3 draws and 2 losses coming from their last five games which, to put a positive spin on it, is a testament to their quality at the beginning of the season.
Although Aveley currently sit in playoff positions, the teams below them do have a game in hand which could see them just drop out into 8th if results don’t go their way. However, apart from a runaway Yeovil Town, the league seems highly contested from the promotion challengers to the teams sitting on the positive end of the top half with just 10 points separating 2nd and 11th, leaving room for very dramatic changes in the league – right now a positive for Aveley.
The Millers aren’t just performing in the league but also in cup competitions with the team entering the fourth round of the FA Trophy after knocking out Hungerford Town on penalties but have been handed a tough draw in AFC Fylde who, despite being sat at the bottom of the league, are in the National League in a very highly contested relegation battle.
Aveley also shared quite a dramatic highlight in the FA Cup this season, falling just short of making it to the first round of the FA Cup, which would have been historic for them, with it being their first appearance at this stage since 1970/71. Instead, Aveley lost in the fourth round of qualifying but to very tough competition in Barnet who sit 3rd in the National League. Although Aveley did not go down fighting.
The Millers forced Barnet into a replay after drawing 2-2 against Barnet against all odds as they were initially 2-0 down and went down to nine men before scoring a last-minute equaliser through Jon Benton to stay alive in the competition.
Aveley boss Danny Scopes claimed that his side were ‘doing it the hard way’ in a post-match interview (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67116933).
The Millers will look to pick up their form and retain their current position in a fairly favourable set of fixtures where four of their five league games are against teams that are in a relegation battle, where they will be looking to regain confidence after a 1-0 loss to Braintree away at the weekend.
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