Second in the table Rainham were beaten by Hornchurch Athletic last weekend

Rainham may be pushing for promotion in the Mid-Essex League Division Two table this season, but they will not be underestimating struggling Havering this weekend according to captain Jas Hothi.

Hothi’s team have never managed to beat Havering in Division Two, but will want to put that right when they meet tomorrow (Saturday).

Rainham may be 82 points better off than their rivals this weekend and six places above them, but Hothi is not taking anything for granted against their derby rivals.

With the battle for promotion so tight, he acknowledged how vital it is to pick up another victory to keep the pressure on top-of-the-table South Weald and move further away from Hornchurch Athletic.

“We haven’t actually beaten Havering in this league, so we are keen to put that right,” said Hothi.

“I think they have lost a lot of players this season and that is why they have struggled. When we played them before I didn’t recognise too many of them.

“I think anyone can beat anyone in this league so it is just about who turns up on the day and performs, we need to make sure we do that.”

Rainham were not able to manage that last weekend as they lost by three wickets to promotion rivals Hornchurch Athletic following a poor display with the bat.

Hothi’s team were dismissed for 165 with their captain top scoring with 48. It never seemed like enough and although John O’Neill took three wickets in his second spell, Hornchurch won despite having a little wobble.

Rainham’s skipper was left disappointed, adding: “We were gutted to lose. We got off to a good start and were 95-3 off about 23 overs, but we had a collapse and we couldn’t recover from then.”