Hamlets boss backs team to cause a surprise, even without top scorer O’Neal Rowe

Tower Hamlets boss Ade Abayomi hopes his side can conjure something up to surprise visitors Sawbridgeworth Town in the Essex Senior League on Saturday.

Hamlets sit 19th in the table, eight places below Saturday’s opponents and have already lost to Sawbridgeworth on two occasions this season.

Abayomi was left disappointed after last weekend’s 4-2 defeat against Redbridge, but will be looking to stop the defensive leaks this coming Saturday against Sawbridgeworth.

He said: “We need to win because we need the points, a win will be most welcome at home on Saturday.

“Sawbridgeworth are a good team and they can produce surprises. Hopefully we can be the ones to surprise them on Saturday and conjure something up to give us the points.”

“Anybody who has come and watched us this season will agree that we need to stop gifting other teams with goals.

“On Saturday we need to find a solution to allow us to compete in this league.”

Opponents Sawbridgeworth have won four of their last seven league games and are progressing through the table steadily, sitting seven points clear of their nearest rivals.

Manager Abayomi insists his team are playing well and that they just need to start converting their chances in a bid to begin challenging their opposition.

If Abayomi’s men are to challenge the visitors this weekend, they’ll need to do so without their top goal scorer O’Neal Rowe who is suspended for three games.

Hamlets forward Rowe is suspended for three games, after he was sent off in the fixture earlier this month against Haringey & Waltham FC for a bad reaction to the lines-mans offside ruling against his equalising goal.

“I’m waiting on confirmation from our physio of who is available, but our top goalscorer O’Neal is out and it will be interesting to see how the young players get on out there, to see how they play,” added Abayomi.

“In football you are going to get those decisions against you, it happens and if you react like he did it’s the penalty you have to play. We are now three games without him.”