Leiston under-performed in a rare defeat at Wingate & Finchley on Tuesday evening, but they have a chance to get back on track at home to strong opposition in Dulwich Hamlet this afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

Promotion-chasing Leiston had won five games on the bounce, before losing 1-0 at Summers Lane, and they remain well-placed in fourth slot in the Ryman Premier table, six points behind leaders Bognor Regis Town but with two games in hand.

Today will be a tough test – Dulwich nurse serious hopes of reaching the play-offs, and are currently just one place and one point off the top five.

The Hamlet are also fresh from back-to-back cup wins over Faversham Town (League Cup) and at Whitehawk (impressive 4-1 success in the FA Trophy).

“Dulwich is a massive game for us,” explained Leiston manager, Glenn Driver.

“They play the game like we do. They get the ball down and play on the deck, so they will give us problems.

“But it’s a great game for us to bounce back.

“If we win our games in hand, then we go top.

“We’ve had a long, hard season. In fact, we’ve had a harder season than any other club in that top five.

“We are the only ones who got through to the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, and I think probably we were the only club in that top five to get to the first round of the FA Trophy.

“So we’ve played a lot more games than other teams, and most of our games in those cup competitions have been away from home as well.

“We’ve also played more league games away than at home, and we’ve only lost one home league game all season (3-2 to Hendon in November), so if we can keep that up, then we should make the play-offs.

“All we wanted at the start of the season was to see progression, and if we can finish above 72 points this season and we can finish higher than last year, then that would be excellent,” added Driver.

Meanwhile, Leiston yesterday signed Conor Hubble from Billericay.