Match Details
Silsden AFC v Athersley Recreation
Saturday 26th February
3.00pm
Toolstation Northern Counties East Football League
The Office Interiors Stadium
Match Preview
Following the postponement of last weekend’s derby clash against Eccleshill, Silsden return to action this weekend, taking on Athersley Recreation.
We host The Penguins for a 3.00pm kick off this Saturday at the Office Interiors Stadium and we hope to be backed by as many of you as possible.
The reverse fixture earlier in the season saw us run out 4-0 winners against the South Yorkshire outfit, a brace from Jack Normanton the highlight of that one.
Jack’s red-hot form has seen him net 14 goals in just eight games, including 3 consecutive hat-tricks across December. With 23 goals so far this campaign, he will be looking to add that impressive tally this weekend.
In terms of league position, following the 2-0 victory over Staveley Miners Welfare two weeks ago, The Sils currently occupy 13th in the table. In contrast, our opponents on Saturday sit bottom but despite this, the gaffer is keen to ensure that the boy’s remain focused ahead of the game:
“Athersley will be fighting for their lives and I’m sure they’ll come and fancy their chances, so we’ve got to be ready for that.”
“We’re on a decent run and we’ve played some attractive and effective football recently. We also kept a clean sheet against a very good side (Staveley) last time out, so we have to keep building and take that confidence into Saturday.”
Our recent run of good form has kept us climbing up the table, and with just one defeat in our previous 8 games, including some excellent draws with high-flyers Grimsby and Garforth, morale is high in the camp.
As Danny says however, Athersley will be fired up ahead of the fixture, having not tasted victory since October, The Penguins will be determined to pick up the three points that could potentially give them the momentum to complete a miraculous relegation escape.
Last week saw both sides have their games called off, but the boss believes Silsden can use the break to our advantage:
“It has given us some extra time to prepare, we trained well last week and there was another strong session Thursday.”
“The Athersley game marks the start of a very hectic schedule so we’ve managed to give the lads an extra couple of days rest before a run of 12 games in 6 weeks begins.”
