Gloucester City are in a confident mood as they look to set up a grandstand finish to their season at Walton & Hersham.

The clubs meet in ar Southern League Premier Division South promotion play-off semi-final on Wednesday (7.45pm), so there is plenty at stake for both teams.

Mike Cook’s men finished one place and six points below the third-placed Surrey club, but experienced City midfielder Ed Williams believes it is a game they can definitely win.

“All the boys are buzzing for it, I think player for player we’re the best team in the league,” he said.

“We’ve obviously played every team in the division and I think we’re capable of beating anyone.”

Two second-half goals saw Gloucester lose 2-1 at home to Walton & Hersham at the beginning of March, one of 16 league wins for them since the turn of the year.

They have also drawn four and lost just the once, and only champions Merthyr Town have scored more than their 90 goals this season.  

Gloucester at least got a point at Walton & Hersham back in November in a remarkable 4-4 draw after trailing 4-0 at half-time.

“It was a freak game, we played in the biggest storm, it was mental, the windiest game I’ve ever played in,” said Williams, a Cheltenham Town academy product who played in the Football League for Doncaster Rovers.

“It really was a game of two halves, in the second half we had the wind and scored four goals.”

Williams wasn’t on the scoresheet that day but he was Gloucester’s goalscorer when the two clubs met a couple of months ago.

“We’ve just watched that game back, we were 1-0 up and we were battering them,” he said. “Then we tried to press them and to be fair, they’re a good young side and they played through our press.”

Wednesday’s game means a lot to 29-year-old Williams who is in his second spell with Gloucester after rejoining them at the start of the campaign.

“It’s huge,” he said. “Gloucester have always been a club that I care about, they were my first men’s football club, I really want the best for them.

“It would be great to have a real positive end to the season and get the club back to where we belong.”

The other play-off semi-final sees second-placed AFC Totton host fifth-placed Dorchester Town, also on Wednesday, with the final taking place on Monday 5th May (3pm) at the home of whichever of the finalists finished highest in the league.

The prize for the winners is a place in National League North or South in 2025/26 and Williams, a former Balcarras School pupil who lives in Cheltenham, said: “The outlook at the club has changed this season, attendances are good, the club are moving in the right direction.”