London Calling
The Preview: Hanworth Villa vs ParkwayBy Kian Williams
Plymouth Parkway head to the capital this weekend as they take on Hanworth Villa. Karl Curtis will be hoping his team can carry the momentum from Tuesday night’s victory over Gloucester, onto the road.
Rocky Neal’s twelfth goal of the season secured Parkway all three points in a hard-fought game, as the Yellows carried on their 100% record in the league at Bolitho.
Both sides will be looking to carry on their impressive start to the league campaign with only a point separating the two sides. Either side will see the game as a huge test as they continue their quest of climbing to the summit of the Southern League Premier South.
Hanworth return home after a midweek victory away at Chichester City. Hayden Vaughan opened the scoring inside 15 minutes, before Chichester responded through a set-piece as Harry Bridle struck from the edge of the box. Michael Harding put the Villains back in front with 20 minutes left on the clock with a well-taken finish, which secured the points for his side.
The Villains have accumulated 27 points from their 14 games which has them sitting in the third position. Meanwhile, Parkway have earned themselves 26 from 13, meaning Curtis’s side will have an opportunity to leapfrog their opposition with a win, but with back-to-back away losses, Parkway will need to rediscover their form on the road if they are to leave the capital with three points.
Curtis spoke to Parkway TV after the victory on Tuesday night and expressed how important Saturday will be. He said “We need to get back to that away day mentality we showed earlier on in the season, but we’ve played Gloucester on a Tuesday night, that I think Hanworth are pretty similar to. The Parkway boss followed by saying “We are going to have to replicate exactly what we did tonight if we are going to get anything.”
Hanworth have enjoyed the start to their debut season at step three after finally winning promotion to the division after a number of heartbreaking losses in the play offs. The Villains enjoyed a rise through the football pyramid which included a title winning campaign in the 2020-21 season where they finished unbeaten.
Following their unbeaten campaign at step four, Hanworth almost gained a second promotion in a row, but a play-off final defeat to Walton & Hersham spoiled the promotion party. Successful work both on and off the pitch brought a second play off final in three years, but the Villains fell to a narrow defeat against Middlesex rivals Uxbridge.
After improving their facilities ahead of the 2025/26 season, which included a new state of the art 3G playing surface, Hanworth finally jumped over that final hurdle to gain promotion to the Southern League Premier South. After reaching their second successive play-off final, Hanworth were determined not to let the opportunity slip away as they defeated Westfield 2-0 to gain promotion to step three for the first time in the club’s history.
This weekend’s occasion will be the first meeting between the two clubs in their competitive history, which will certainly add some spice to the game, as two promotion hopefuls go head to head.
Curtis should have a strong squad available for the trip to London. There will however be a late fitness test for Mikey Williams, after he missed out on the victory over Gloucester with an injury picked up at Basingstoke.
For Parkway, the challenge is another difficult away day, but the boss believes that his side have the capability to return to their away day mentality, as they so expertly showed at the beginning of the campaign.
London is Calling. As Parkway make the trip to the capital for the first time this season.
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London calling.
Parkway head to the capital to face Hanworth Villa in a huge Southern League Premier South clash, with just one point separating the two sides.
Fresh from Tuesday night’s victory over Gloucester City, can the Yellows carry that momentum onto the road?
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