MATCH PREVIEW: Pointless

Unless you are taking part in the BBC’s teatime quiz, being pointless is not a very nice experience.

And it is of little consolation that seven other Step 3 clubs are in the same situation – including the NPL Premier Division’s slow starters Morpeth Town, Hebburn Town and ourselves!

It was okay in July when we were bottom of the league, alphabetically, but it hurts when your first four matches have resulted in defeat and the R word is being mentioned in August.

The positives are that we have competed in three of those games, and were worthy of some reward, but the negatives are the eleven goals conceded after the one we did score some three and a half games ago.

It’s a bit of unwanted history on our part, equalling the poor starts in 1927 and 1929. Then, like now, we lost our opening four games.

Ashton United will be the latest team hoping to prolong our agony when they visit West Cumbria on Saturday (3pm). And, after their last two visits to Borough Park, they won’t have an ounce of sympathy for our situation.

The sixteen-man squad came through Tuesday’s game without any injury concerns and Will McGladdery is probably the only doubt of the players who didn’t feature against Warrington Rylands.

Steve Cunningham’s team have made a very good start to the campaign – an excellent opening day win at Gainsborough Trinity (3-0), a home draw v. Prescot Cables (0-0) and a home victory against Stocksbridge Park Steels (1-0) prior to their only reverse on Tuesday at Rushall Olympic (0-1). They are currently 6th with seven points.

Last season, saw them finish a commendable 5th only to fail in the play-offs.

The head-to-head is in Ashton’s favour – fourteen wins compared to the eleven we have managed with five of the games resulting in a draw. The fixture has produced 101 goals with Josh Galloway netting the 100th in the series back in April.

It is a busy weekend, of course, with the derby fixture at Lancaster to follow on Monday.

Let’s get behind the players and help them through this difficult period.