Canvey Island start a busy run of festive league fixtures on Saturday afternoon, as they welcome Horsham to the Steves Taxis Stadium.

Our Opponents
The Hornets are a club on the up, and were many a pundits favourites to challenge for promotion at the start of the season. Approaching the midway point of the campaign, they are still in a healthy position to aim for that goal of another playoff stint, with games in hand over the sides above them after another successful stint in the FA Cup and FA Trophy.

They earned themselves another appearance in the First Round Proper back in November, defeating Isthmian North side Gorleston to set up a date with League 2 side Chesterfield. Fortune wouldn't favour the Hornets this time though, as they were defeated 3-1 in Derbyshire.
In the FA Trophy too, they progressed to the 3rd Round, being drawn away at National League South side Torquay United. Regretfully, their meeting fell afoul of Storm Darragh, meaning they had to postpone a Tuesday evening, where they lost 2-0 in Devon.

League form is now their aim, though they've stumbled a little lately with just 2 wins from their last 5. Their latest result came in a 3-1 home defeat to Dartford on Tuesday evening. While home has been where the heart is for the Hornets, with results including 5-0 drubbings of Whitehawk and Bowers & Pitsea respectively, their away form has faltered slightly, with just 4 points from a possible 15 on the road lately.

Popular manager Dominic Di Paola certainly has the side to continue their charge up the league. Popular names like Jack Strange, Charlie Hester-Cook and Shamir Fenelon still adorn the side, and have been joined this year by talents like Bobby-Joe Taylor and Montel Agyemang, along with the experienced goalscoring knowhow of Chris Dickson - who already has 7 league goals to his name.

The Gulls have already met the Hornets once this season in the FA Trophy 1st Round, where they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the Steves Taxis Stadium.

The Gulls
Canvey meanwhile, will be looking to extend their own run of positive form on Saturday, coming into this game on the back of an Essex Senior Cup 4th Round win against National League side Dagenham & Redbridge.

The Gulls were good value for their win against their higher ranked opponents, with a brace from Kane Gilbert and a Bradley Sach goal seeing them win 3-0.

In the league, they were victorious on the road last weekend as they defeated Hendon 1-0. A solitary goal from Chris Harris was enough to see them take 3 points back to Essex.

***
Yellow Army, as this is our last game before the big day, we'd like to take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

We appreciate all of you who've came out to support the side during the busy Christmas period, and we hope to reward that loyalty again on Saturday afternoon as Brad Wellmen's side continue their quest to move up the table.

See you on Saturday!

Come on you Gulls!

Kick Off - 3:00pm

Admission Prices
Adults - £12
Concessions - £8
U16s - £3*

*Accompanied by an Adult.

Merchandise
We'll have a range of club merchandise on sale in the clubhouse, including the new 24/25 kits!

Parking
Parking at the Steves Taxi's Stadium is free to all but limited to first come / first serve. Additional parking can be found on the adjacent side roads, but please be mindful of our neighbours if using this option. Parking on Park Lane itself is also strongly advised against.

In The Clubhouse
We have a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks stocked in the clubhouse.
Hot food and drink is also available in our outdoor kiosks. Please remember that these kiosks are currently cash only.

We also have live action from the Premier League on a big screens in the clubhouse, including:

12:30pm
Aston Villa vs Manchester City

5:30pm
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal