AFTER the rare luxury of a week off without a match following Monday's postponement of the trip to Cheshunt, Aveley make their longest trip of the season to take on Chichester City in West Sussex today (Saturday, 31 January).

Millers are second, 14 points behind long time leaders Folkestone but with two matches in hand, while Chichester are thirteenth. They have won just four of 14 fixtures at Oaklands Park while Millers have ten victories on the road under their belt. 

With just one win and a draw from their last six outings Grays Athletic are struggling in their bid to climb away from the lower reaches of the Isthmian North.

They should be in confident mood making the trip to bottom club Brantham Athletic as the hosts have just one win in the league all season and have been bottom of the table since early September.

Twenty-one points adrift from safety it would take an almost unprecedented football miracle for them not to drop straight back to Step Five after just one season at their highest level, with a win and a draw in the book from Brantham's three matches in January, Grays may  have a little trepidation about a game which seems a formality on paper.

Grays do have positive  memories of a trip to the Brantham Leisure Centre ground in the preliminary qualifying round of the FA Trophy in August when they enjoyed a 4-0 win with goals from Luke Hirst, Callum Fitzer, Aron Gordon and Lewis Clark. The Blues also won the home league clash

Tilbury, after a morning pitch inspection at which the pitch was declared playable, play host to Downham Town, the side Brantham recently beat for their first win of the season.

It's been a season of fluctuating fortunes for Dockers and they have been unable to string a consistent run of wins together. However, there were positive signs in a 2-2 draw with promotion-chasing Bowers & Pitsea recently and they were unfortunate in a 4-3 defeat at Redbridge last time out. However, they sit comfortably in mid table and will be expectant of a win today against a side that just one place off the bottom.

Dockers recently confirmed that, after a three-season spell at the club which included more than 100 appearances either side of a brief sojourn with Cambridge City, midfielder Sam Carter has departed.

East Thurrock Community FC's home Essex and Suffolk Border League premier Division match against Tiptree Heath has been postponed after a morning pitch inspection.