Preview: Morpeth Town vs Stalybridge Celtic

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Morpeth Town welcome Stalybridge Celtic to Craik Park for an important Pitching In NPL Premier Division fixture.

With 17^th travelling to 18^th, three points is very much the order of the day as both sides seek to get some much needed breathing space between themselves and the bottom four.

FORM GUIDE

Morpeth: The Highwaymen are a mixed bag at the minute form-wise, having won two and lost four of their last six league games. Losing 2-1 in their last two outings suggests close calls, but the Highwaymen have got to turn their fine margins in their favour to get away from trouble. Morpeth have earned 72% of their 11 wins this season on home turf.

Stalybridge: Only six teams have loss less than Celtic on the road this season. With five wins, six draws and six losses, they’re a more formidable outfit than their league position may suggest. With a 3-3 draw against South Shields last time out – they should have gone 4-1 up just after half-time – they will cause problems.

LAST TIME OUT

Morpeth Town have had two postponements since their last game, due to the weather. A 10-day break has been enforced upon them as a result but their last outing saw them defeated 2-1 at Marske United. They were 2-0 down just before the hour-mark, with Kev Burgess and Adam Boyes putting the hosts in front, before Jeff Henderson reduced the deficit with a consolation deep into stoppage time.

Stalybridge played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to league leaders South Shields last time out. Leading 2-0 thanks to an early Harry Benns double, they then went 3-1 up by half-time thanks to Raul Correia’s spot-kick. Missing a chance to extend that lead, Shields then roared back with two goals in the final three minutes to equalise.

THE GAFFER

Morpeth Town boss Craig Lynch is eager to see his side rewarded for their efforts against Stalybridge Celtic, with plenty of effort not being rewarded with points of late.

“Having two games postponed this week has been very disappointing,” he said.

“It’s going to be a big group performance for the last six weeks and we need everyone when called upon to be right at it.

“It’s got to the point where it’s a must-win game. We need to keep the pressure on the teams just above us and Stalybridge is directly there.

“Hopefully we can get a positive result and build on that.”

Stalybridge manager Chris Willock had mixed emotions after a pulsating 3-3 draw with Shields.

“I’ve got mixed emotions to be honest,” he said.

“I’m extremely proud of the players and the performance level. I thought for the majority of the game it was outstanding.

“I just felt for the last 15 minutes of the game we allowed it to drift away and run away from us really without showing better game management to enable us to get the result which we thoroughly deserved on the chances created.

“We should have won the game more comfortably than we did.”

TICKETS

Tickets are on sale on the day, on the gate (cash only) with the following categories:

Adults – £12

Concessions – £8

Kids – £4

Under-5s – FREE