​Banbury to have say in the title destination

​The Puritans will go to Kettering Town, who head into Saturday’s matches three points behind league leaders Bedford Town but with a better goal difference.

That means that they’ll have to beat Banbury and hope Bedford lose at home to Stourbridge if they are themselves to be crowned champions.

Bedford will be going for their second successive promotion and should they be successful on Saturday will compete in National League South for the first time.

Banbury, meanwhile, can only finish as high as 11th should they better Royston Town’s result. They continue to hold the rare distinction of having both scored and conceded fewer than any other team in the division, and with a goal difference of zero.

They could yet drop a place on Thursday night as Alvechurch and Stratford Town are required to replay their match that was recently abandoned.

The Easter weekend saw mixed fortunes for Banbury, as they were beaten 2-0 at Stamford on Saturday – their hosts still hoping to overhaul Harborough Town to secure a play-off spot – before then running out 4-0 winners at home to Redditch United on Monday with all four goals coming in the first-half, leaving Redditch in a battle with Barwell to stay in the division this weekend.

Speaking to Puritans Radio after the Redditch game, Banbury boss Simon Hollyhead said: “It augurs well for the future.

"We’d done our homework on Redditch and they’d had a bit more rest time than us, and our lads’ response today said a lot about their professionalism not just today but through the whole season.

"Kettering will want to beat us on Saturday but that’s no different to any other game. But it’s another opportunity for us to apply ourselves and show what we’re all about.”