First time visitors seek league double

Nottingham club Basford United make their first ever visit to west Cumbria on Saturday, hoping to complete a league double at Reds expense.

Back in September, on a beautiful sunny afternoon at Greenwich Avenue, Basford emerged 3-2 winners in the first ever meeting against Workington. And that was after Reds had established a 2-0 lead inside half an hour thanks to goals from Conor Tinnion and Matty Douglas.

United stormed back to win with old foe, Liam Hearn, Kole Lambert and Deon Meikle finding the target.

Basford experienced a bit of a wobble during January, losing four on the trot, but two victories last week keeps them in play-off contention. They are one of the top seven clubs Reds still have to face and, one suspects, will provide a tougher challenge than the lesser ranks teams we have faced recently.

The respective records of the two clubs make interesting comparisons. Basford are currently 7th in Evo-Stik Premier but have lost only one game fewer than 21st placed Reds. They have scored twice as many goals than we have but have conceded fourteen more than Aaran Taylor and Co.

Form guide:
United – L L L L W W
Reds – L D L W W W

Lee Andrews will have close to a full squad from which to select his starting XI, with only Scott Allison still on the injured list. Dan Carmichael is added to last week’s squad with Josh Calvert and Kieran Maguire also available again.

Kick-off 3pm