Halstead Town are going to Wivenhoe Town for one thing and one thing only tonight.

Humbugs manager Mark Benterman said the pursuit of three points is his team’s sole focus to keep their push for Thurlow Nunn League division one promotion going.

Having enjoyed wins against Diss Town and Team Bury in the last week, Halstead know a win at the Maple Tree Cars Stadium tonight would take them, even if only briefly, up to third in the table and into the promotion places.

They will have to overcome a Wivenhoe side who have lost just once in the league all season, but Benterman felt his side deserved more than they got when losing 3-2 to the Dragons last month and will be going all out to set the record straight.

He said: “Hand on heart, we will be going to Wivenhoe to get three points.

“We felt we were unlucky not to get something from the first game against Wivenhoe and we now have an opportunity to show that we did deserve something.

“We have to go there with the mindset that we will go for the win and my team selection will have that in mind.

“We hold Wivenhoe in great respect, but why go there expecting anything less than a win? I know our fans won’t; they’ve been fantastic so neither will we.”

Halstead lost the earlier encounter against a side that Benterman feels are the “champions-elect” but he knows where his team came up short and he knows what needs to be done to turn the result their way this time.

He added: “The secret is to not concede poor goals because we know we can scare the living daylights out of them at the other end.

“We gifted them two goals at Rosemary Lane so we can’t do that again.

“Not for a second do we think that it will be easy, but we will be up for it.

“I believe that there’s more at stake on this game than there was on the one before.

“If we win, we can go above Ely and while we will have played two games more than them, the pressure will be all on them when they play (at Debenham) tomorrow.

“We must get something out of this game, but we will go there believing that we can get the full three points.”

Ross Elkins is struggling with an ankle injury for the trip to Wivenhoe, but Benterman said he expected everyone else to be fit.