Fareham Town expecting to face a fired up Alresford Town side after handing leaders seven-goal mauling earlier in the season

That’s because the Reds inflicted a stunning 7-1 mauling on the table-toppers at a rainswept Cams Alders at the end of October.

It was the shock result of the season, with former Paulsgrove pair Luke Slade (4) and Josh Benfield (2) leading the charge on a day when Fareham bagged six goals in a remarkable second half showing.

‘It will be great if Luke can go there and score another four,’ said Reds boss Pete Stiles.

‘Luke had a day when everything fell to him.

‘We know that it is going to be tough second time around and their manager won't need to give them much of a team talk.

‘They are going to come at us and I am expecting a 90-minute battle.

‘To give them credit, though, they have been top of the league for most of the season.

‘We had a good win at Cowes in midweek in difficult circumstances.

‘Ferries were cancelled which meant we were late and preparations weren't great.

‘We started sloppily, got better and were very good at the end of the game.’

Stiles has a full strength squad to choose from apart from the injured Curt Robbins and suspended Gary Austin.

Alresford have won all four league games since signing Hawks striker Ollie Dennett on loan until the end of the season.

The former Eastleigh youngster has made a big impact, scoring seven times already in those four matches.

He also climbed off the bench to score in Tuesday’s 2-0 Aldershot Senior Cup win at Camberley Town.