After two long months we find ourselves enjoying a league game on a Saturday afternoon at Champion Hill as we welcome Farnborough this weekend.

The good feelings have continued under Paul Barnes in recent weeks, with the Hamlet unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions, and a joint-best five matches in a row in the National League South. New Year's Day brought joy in Kent as Joe Felix's second goal in as many games earned us three points at Dover, a result which elevated us to 14th, the highest league position we've had since August.

We come up against a Farnborough side who sit just one place and two points above us in the table, and have the longest unbeaten run in the division having not lost in their last eleven games, picking up 23 of their 30 points this season during that run. Like the Hamlet, Spencer Day's side also picked up four points from their festive double header, drawing at Hungerford Town on Boxing Day before a 2-1 win against the same side on New Year's Day, Hisham Kasimu and Mason Bloomfield earning them the victory.

Saturday will be the third meeting between the two sides this season, following two meetings at the Easy As HGV Stadium at the beginning of the campaign. The first of those was a pre-season friendly, which saw the Hamlet prevail by two goals to one thanks to first-half goals from Danny Mills and George Porter, with Ollie Robinson netting for the hosts after the break.

Three weeks later we were back in Hampshire for our first away game of the new campaign, and seemingly heading for defeat until Jayden Clarke won a penalty deep into injury time, which was calmly converted by Frankie Raymond to earn a 1-1 draw. Tony Lee had given Boro the lead from the spot in the first half in temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius.

We have only played three competitive games with the Boro, the other two meetings coming in the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2015-16, which saw us win 4-1 away from home before a 2-2 draw at Champion Hill in April 2016. Our goals that afternoon came from fan favourites Nyren Clunis and Ashley Carew, sandwiched in between an opener from Bogdan Vastsuk and an equaliser from Sam Pearce.

Including meetings with Boro's predecessors Farnborough Town, our competitive record is as follows:

Played: 17 | Won: 2 | Drawn: 5 | Lost: 10 | Goals For: 19 | Goals Against: 41
Home Record - Played: 9 | Won: 1 | Drawn: 2 | Lost: 6 | Goals For: 10 | Goals Against: 23
Biggest win: 4-1 vs Farnborough, Isthmian League Premier Division, 10th October 2015
Biggest defeat: 1-6 vs Farnborough Town, Isthmian League Premier Division, 26th April 1986

That sole home win came back in October 1985, when we earned a 2-1 victory in front of 220 people!

Kick off is at 3 o'clock, with tickets costing £12 for adults, £5 for concessions, and free for Under 13s. Get your tickets here - https://bit.ly/3WNYBNY

Please be reminded that the stadium and bar will open at 12:15pm, with live football in the bar throughout the afternoon. Programmes will be on sale for just £2, and we will have the usual drinks and snacks available from the Tea Bar, as well as food from Come & Go Souvlaki and MyPie.