Arguably a battle of the two title favourites, Morpeth Town travel to Marske United for a pivotal game which may go a long way to deciding the fate of the EBAC Northern League Division One crown.
SNAPSHOT PREVIEW
FORM: Marske are flying at present as a run to the FA Vase semi-finals – where they play Stockton Town over two legs – galvanises their league form. They have won their last four in Division One since a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Whitley Bay last year. Their season, however, is beginning to be dominated by the Vase, with an unenviable fixture schedule for the end of the campaign seeing them play three games per week from here on in (discounting weeks around FA Vase ties). No-one, though, can match Marske’s stingy 16 goals conceded at the GER Stadium making for a formidable foe on Saturday.
Morpeth bounced back to winning ways in their last outing at Bishop Auckland, a game which saw another red card for the Highwaymen. Discipline will need to be spot on during Saturday’s encounter as Town seek to extend an away record which includes 12 wins from 17 league games, with only three defeats. Four defeats in 33 highlights the strength of Morpeth and ensures a cracking game between two teams gunning for the title.
LAST GAME: Marske were in action on Thursday night, making the long journey to Penrith for a Division One encounter. The game went to form, with Marske sealing a 2-0 win which moved them into fourth place and 21 points behind The Highwaymen and with 10 games in hand.
Following a rare blank Saturday, Morpeth last played at Heritage Park in a game against Bishop Auckland. With 10 men at the interval, following Keith Graydon’s dismissal, Morpeth turned on the style with a superb second half performance to win 3-1. Two from Sean Taylor and Stephen Elliott’s second goal in two games ensured a late Luke Sullivan penalty was a mere consolation for the hosts.
KICK-OFF TIME: 3pm
WHERE TO WATCH: GER Stadium, Mount Pleasant, Marske
SAT NAV: TS11 7BW
