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Morpeth Town host South Shields in a local derby in the Pitching In NPL Premier Division.
With both sides desperate for three points, for contrasting reasons, this game promises to be an intriguing contest at Craik Park on Monday.
LAST TIME OUT
Morpeth suffered a narrow and cruel defeat at the hands of Guiseley last time out all the way back at the start of December.
Drawing 0-0 heading deep into stoppage time, a penalty for hosting Guiseley was saved by keeper Dan Lowson before the follow up was dispatched to condemn the Highwaymen to defeat.
A series of postponements have followed, meaning that was the only fixture the Highwaymen played in December.
South Shields head into this one off the back of a convincing 4-2 home win over Whitby Town, a result that saw them move three points clear at the top of the division, with games in hand over their title rivals.
THE GAFFER
Morpeth boss Craig Lynch is eager to see his side kick-start 2023 with a big victory and get his side heading up the table once again.
“For me, in games like this form goes out the window and it is about standing up and being counted,” he said.
“There should be a fantastic crowd – these are the games everyone should want to be part of.”
South Shields boss Kevin Phillips is adamant his side need to be up for a local derby the Highwaymen.
“We’ll go there confident that we can get a result. We should have won there last season so maybe a little bit of payback,” he said.
“I won’t go into it with that as motivation. It’s a local derby – if you don’t turn up, you don’t fight and you don’t win your battles, you can come unstuck. We’ll be up for it.”
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
