Sam’s Section: Hartpury have hands on title but need help whilst Cleeve and Stonehouse play-off hunt continues

Well the title and promotion races are beginning to heat right up as we approach the tail end of the 2024/25 season.

This week I’m highlighting three fixtures and teams that could start to dream of a promotion campaign.

Highworth Town v Hartpury University (Hellenic League Premier, Savo On Tyres Stadium, Saturday March 22^nd, kick off 3pm)

Hartpury University could be crowned Hellenic League Premier champions on Saturday with a win over play-off chasing Highworth Town but need results elsewhere to go their way.

Roman Glass are the only team who can mathematically catch Hartpury, and they face Westfields knowing that three points keeps them in the title hunt for just one more game.

Hartpury lead Glass by 11 points with four games to go whilst Glass still have five games to play.

A Glass defeat and a Hartpury win would see the University side crowned champions but if Glass win, Hartpury wouldn’t be crowned champions mathematically until Tuesday night with a win over Thornbury Town.

It would be back-to-back titles for Hartpury after their Hellenic Div One title win last season but face a Highworth side who have suffered just one defeat in their last nine games.

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Bishops Cleeve v Didcot Town (Southern League Div One South, Kayte Lane, Saturday March 22^nd, kick off 3pm)

Bishops Cleeve can keep their play-off dream alive with a victory over Didcot Town on Saturday.

Cleeve sit seventh in the Southern League Div One South, just three points off the play-offs and fifth placed Bemerton Heath Harlequins, who defeated Cleeve last time out.

It left Cleeve with just one in their last four games and head into Saturday’s game on the back of successive defeats.

But Cleeve met Didcot less than a month ago in a game that needed a 94^th minute James Harding goal to secure all three points for Cleeve in a dramatic 1-0 win.

Stonehouse Town v FC Stratford (Hellenic League Div One, Oldends Lane, Saturday March 22^nd, kick off 3pm)

Stonehouse Town have just four games left and can started to dream about a play-off push as they sit just one point outside the promotion places.

They face fourth placed FC Stratford as the Magpies sit sixth after 28 games but have suffered back-to-back defeats in the league which may have dealt a slight blow to their chances.

But it’s four games straight at home to end the season with the next three all against promotion chasing sides in FC Stratford, leaders Droitwich Spa and Clanfield 85.

The Magpies go up against a Stratford side who have suffered just one defeat in their last nine games and they could jump as high as third with a win.

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Cover photo taken by and copyright to Brian Rossiter. Check out his Flickr account for all of his pictures by clicking here