Liversedge
Newton calls for strong finale
LIVERSEDGE go into the last four games of their season in the Northern Counties East Premier Division aiming to regain a place in the top three - even though it will be just for pride.
Sedge boss Steve Newton asked his players to dig deep into their reserves of character after they landed the President's Cup last week and they responded immediately by winning 3-0 at home to Long Eaton on Saturday.
"I could see that they wanted to win but that end-of-season mentality was not too far under the surface - and it didn't help that we were 2-0 up quite early on," said Newton, who is aware that Sedge have not got the ground grading which would enable them to accept promotion.
"I'm not saying that the players weren't motivated, just that it's hard to keep the concentration levels when you are looking at a regulation victory. It looked to me as though the players were cruising but could have stepped up a gear if Long Eaton had managed to get a goal back.
"We travel to Nostell this weekend and I would like to get three points because we dropped to fourth in midweek. We didn't play but we lost one place in the table and I want to get it back.
"After being in the top three for most of the season and all of this year, it would be a shame if we didn't finish in there. The coming midweek game could give us more of a lift, as we play Winterton at home on Tuesday and they are confirmed champions.
"It would be nice to beat them but who knows what kind of side they will send having already won the title."
Newton will be without Simon Wood, who has gone to America to do some coaching, and Matty Fahy, who is on holiday in Las Vegas.
THACKLEY are the only one of the three Bradford sides in the division to have home advantage on Saturday, their opponents being mid-table Arnold.
John Boyle's men must bounce back from a 4-1 defeat after their mauling at Parkgate last time out. Their desire to pull away from the relegation zone - they are fifth from bottom but only one point above the trapdoor - is as strong as ever.
ECCLESHILL travel to second-placed Glapwell, who are one of only two clubs to apply for promotion to the UniBond League.
Although Glapwell cannot wrestle top spot away from runaway champions Winterton, they will not want to be beaten at home by the mid-table Eagles so there will be no slacking from either side in the penultimate week of the season.
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1:03pm Thursday 17th April 2008
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