BOWERS & Pitsea are relishing the challenge as fellow high-flyers Coggeshall Town head to the Len Salmon Stadium tomorrow.

Table-topping Bowers will be looking to retain their advantage at the Isthmian North summit by picking up a positive result against fifth-placed Coggeshall.

And Bowers boss Rob Small is looking forward to the battle.

“It will be a good game between two good teams,” said Small.

“Both clubs have aspirations of being promoted and it’s a game that could be decided on fine margins.

“We got back to winning ways against AFC Sudbury last week and so we go into the game in good spirits.”

Having suffered a narrow defeat to second-placed Heybridge Swifts in their first encounter of 2019, Bowers bounced back with a 3-0 win over AFC Sudbury.

Goals from Martyn Stokes, Brad Warner and James Thomas allowed the frontrunners to seal victory, while Bowers also kept their first clean sheet since beating Barking in early December.

And, having conceded just 14 Isthmian North goals this term, Small was pleased to be alerted to a telling statistic.

“It had been a while since keeping a clean sheet, so that was a positive,” added Small.

“From step one all the way down to step four, we have conceded the least amount of league goals in the country.

“That is something we are incredibly proud of and it would be great to keep another clean sheet this weekend.

“But Coggeshall’s front three of Sam Bantick, Nnamdi Nwachuku and Ross Wall are all very good players and they would probably test most defences in the division above as well as the Isthmian North.

“So we know it will be a very tight game that is decided on key moments, but hopefully we will come out on top.”

The likes of Jamie Dicks, Max Cornhill and Tom Hine were involved as Bowers’ under-23s claimed a thumping 9-1 win over Greenwich Borough’s under-23 side on Wednesday night.

And Small was pleased to see the trio get some much-needed minutes on the pitch ahead of tomorrow’s big clash.

“One of the plus points of the under-23 games is that you are able to name overage players in the team,” admitted Small.

“It’s great to see the likes of Max and Tom step up their recovery after injuries and we now have no injuries ahead of this weekend.

“The most difficult thing will be picking a team because some players don’t deserve to be left out.”