BIG MATCH PREVIEW: THE COBBYDALERS VS AFC MANSFIELD
The Cobbydalers are back in league action this Saturday at the Cobbydale Construction Stadium as we play hosts to AFC Mansfield.
Danny Forrest’s men will be looking to kick on from their recent run of form, which has seen them pick up 7 points from their last 3 games which included two home wins and a “well deserved” point away from home against high flying Yorkshire Amateurs and keep moving up the league table.
LEAGUE POSITION AND FORM
The Cobbydalers currently sit 13th in the league table and have picked up 29 points ( W8 D5 L11)from their 24 games played. The Visitors AFC Mansfield currently sit Two places below the Sils in 15th place and have picked up 24 points in their 23 games played and a win here would mean they gain ground on the Cobbydalers, they also sit One point outside of the bottom Three and have a game in hand on 18th placed Bottesford Town.
Last time out the Cobbydalers drew 1-1 away from home to high flying Yorkshire Amateurs after a late Chris Wademan equaliser,meant that both sides came away with a point. AFC Mansfield picked up a 2-0 home win against bottom of the table Athersley Recreation. On paper the tie seems to be a very closely contested game, with both teams trying to pick up the eagerly anticipated three points and gain ground on the teams below them and move up the league table.
ONE TO WATCH
AFC Mansfield’s talismanic striker Ross Duggan is this week’s one to watch player for the opponents. The 25 year old striker has been in fine form this season for AFC Mansfield,contributing 19 goals in 19 league appearances.He has also scored 33 goals in all competitions and currently sits as the leading goalscorer in the league. Duggan clearly knows where the goal is and the Sils back line will have to be in fine form to stop him getting a sniff of the goal. If the Cobbydalers can keep him quiet they may well fancy themselves to pick up three points.
LAST TIME OUT
In the reverse fixture earlier in the season the points were shared in a 2-2 draw. AFC Mansfield went 2-0 up courtesy of goals from Ross Duggan just before half-time and Brandon Webster just 2 minutes after the restart.The Cobbydalers struck back 10 minutes later through Laurence Sorhaindo and then 4 minutes from time Mark Everingham made sure that the points were shared and the Sils went back to West Yorkshire with a point.
THE MANAGERS THOUGHTS
When asked about the performance last time out against high flying Yorkshire Amateurs,manager Danny Forrest said:” we certainly deserved something from the game and were well worthy of a point”
“I’m really happy because we were a bit out of confidence (after three defeats in a row). It has been an up and down season for us but now we’ve got some strong results and now it’s all about consistency”
After the clash with Yorkshire Amateurs,the Cobbydalers have had a two week gap leading up to this weekend’s tie against AFC Mansfield after they had a free weekend,
Danny Forrest said “ obviously last weekend was frustrating of course. Any manager or group of players on a good run would tell you that. The lads trained twice last week and did really well, but obviously they were preparing for a game a week on Saturday.”
“It would have been nice to put what we’d done into practice at the weekend to keep up that momentum, but there is nothing we can do about it, hopefully we can put in a performance worthy of a result”.
When asked about what the opposition may bring, it is with no doubt that the Sils will be doing everything they can to stop AFC Mansfield striker Ross Duggan, the striker has netted 19 goals in 19 league appearances, he also netted in the 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture earlier in the season,and Danny Forrest said: “Ross was good at their place. His physicality makes him a handful but he also has plenty of ability especially in front of goal.”
“He likes to drop a shoulder to give himself half a yard. He’s not straightforward to face.”
TEAM NEWS
As far as team news is concerned, Josh Brown may have to miss out through injury. The Sils will be hoping to have Chris Wademan back fit after his late equaliser against Yorkshire Amateurs after a minor knee problem. Goalkeeper Alfie Darke is in the later stages of his rehab and he will hopefully return to the fold in a few weeks. Danny Riley is out with a shoulder injury and Matty Moses is still ruled out after a serious knee injury earlier in the season.
