Rick Andrews hopes Greens Meadow will remain a fortress when his Stowmarket Town side host promotion rivals Coggeshall Town tomorrow afternoon (3pm), writes Alex Moss.

The Old Gold and Blacks have not lost a home league game since April 2016 and have won their last nine games in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division to climb up to second in the table.

Stow are five points clear of third-placed Coggeshall, who they pipped to the First Division title by three points last season, but perhaps crucially the Essex side have five games in hand on Andrews’ men.

A bumper crowd is expected at Greens Meadow to watch these two promotion rivals lock horns for the first time this season, and Stowmarket boss Andrews is expecting a tough test from the side he has put as the second favourites, behind runaway leaders Felixstowe & Walton United, to go up.

“They’re a good team, we know what they’re about and they know what we’re about,” he said.

“They’ve got our ex-captain (Danny Cunningham) which I’m sure will make it more spicy.

“Funnily enough the last game of the season could be the most important (for both teams) when we play them at their place.

“I’m looking forward to the Coggeshall game. It should be a good game, hopefully a good crowd, and hopefully we can remain unbeaten.”

Stow’s return to the Suffolk Premier Cup, after a 13-year lay off, ended in penalty heartache on Tuesday night as Felixstowe won 4-2 in a penalty shootout.

The Seasiders played more than an hour of the second-round tie with 10 men after Nick Ingram received two yellow cards, but Joe Francis scored from the penalty spot moments later to put them ahead.

A Billy Clark volley levelled the match going into half time but, despite having a man advantage throughout the second half, Stow could not find another breakthrough and bowed out of the county’s premier cup competition on penalties.

Stow only had 11 fit players for Tuesday’s trip to Felixstowe, but Andrews should welcome back captain Ollie Brown and Nathan Clarke this afternoon.