The weekend heralds another busy day of action across south west London. With the FA Cup first round underway and the rugby season warming up nicely, there is plenty for every sports fan to take a look at.
Hampton & Richmond vs Chippenham Town
Hampton & Richmond look for their fourth straight win against Chippenham Town at the Beveree Stadium on Saturday.
Both sides are enjoying a purple patch and intend to move away from their mid table positions. Hampton & Richmond currently lie in 11th place in the Vanarama National League South and with Chippenham only two places and one point behind them, Saturday is a must-win match if they want to move into the top half of the league.
AFC Wimbledon vs Lincoln City
AFC Wimbledon will be hoping striker Lyle Taylor will be fit for Saturday’s FA Cup first-round match against Sky Bet League Two side Lincoln.
Taylor was last season’s top scorer for The Dons and leads the way in this campaign with three. AFC Wimbledon will hope their league form will not cross over into the knock-out competition, sitting 20th in League One. They face a mid-table Lincoln City side hoping to take a scalp from the league above.
Esher vs Darlington Mowden Park (Rugby)
Esher look to build on their impressive victory over Blackheath last week in a tough match against second place Darlington Mowden Park in National League 1.
With three wins this season all coming at Molesey Road, and both results last season favouring the home teams, Esher will be confident going into the weekend.
However, Darlington have notched 19 points more than Esher this year and have an eye on the top of the league. Esher will hope to move off 11th place with a fourth win of the season.
Barnes Hockey Women vs Bedford (Hockey)
Barnes Women face Bedford on Saturday in the Investec Womens Hockey League Conference East and 1st XV captain Zelda Beverley is happy with their campaign for far and confident going into the weekend.
She said: “We got promoted to the Conference East League, which is a really tough league. It’s got some teams in there that have paid some money for international athletes.”
“We’ve been pretty happy with our season so far. We’ve had some good wins and some good away draws which we’re pleased with, given that we’re new to this league.”
“Bedford are in a similar place to us in the league, so it’s really important we pick up points and get another win.”
“We’ve got quite a lot of new players this season and lots of young talent, so we’re getting better and better as we go through the season.”
Barnes are currently fifth in the league and Bedford lie in eighth.
Harlequins Ladies vs. Gloucester Hartpury Women’s FC (Rugby)
Harlequins take on Gloucester Hartpury Women in Round 7 of the Tyrrell’s Premier 15s on Saturday.
Harlequins sit on top of the table, just one point above second place Saracens. Gloucester-Hartpury Women’s travel to Surrey Sports Park coming of the back of a tough 7-33 loss to Saracens last week.
Harlequins will be confident at home after an away 0-71 thrashing of Worcester Valkyries. Saturdays match will be pivotal for both team’s campaigns, a win for Harlequins will tighten the hold on the top of the league and keep pressure on second place Saracens.
