WHILE his side slipped off top spot at the weekend, Fives skipper Terry Ballard is just worried about winning the “cup final” against Walthamstow this weekend.

The Paddock men suffered only their third loss of the campaign when going down by one-wicket at Shenfield on Saturday. That allowed Loughton to leap to the Divison Two summit following their victory at Hadleigh.

And while their title quest is out of their hands, Ballard only has eyes on what promises to be a do-or-die battle against the E17 boys who sit level on points in second place with them in the table following their victory over Leigh.

He said: “Of course we are disappointed with the result at Shenfield, although we almost pinched it despite not playing well.

“So we can still take some confidence from that, because we know if we play to our potential we can win on Saturday.

“Weather permitting I'm sure it will be a real cup final and the whole season really has come down to this weekend.

“Of course if Loughton slip up against Harold Wood there is still a chance to win the league, but to be honest we are only really worried about winning our match.

“We are grateful that we've got home advantage and I'm sure we will have a big support there, although I'm sure Walthamstow will bring a big following with them as well.

“I just hope that both sides play well and put on a good game of cricket now.”