ECCLESHILL United chairman Adrian Benson has declared this weekend’s tie with Grimsby Borough as their “Biggest yet.”

The NCEL Premier Division’s top two sides go head-to-head in North East Lincolnshire today (3:00 PM) and with United being the chasers they know how important a victory would be for them.

They currently sit nine points behind Grimsby, however, they do have two games in hand on their table-topping rivals and a victory in this one would go a long way to helping reduce that gap.

Eccleshill haven’t played since February 12, where they lost 2-1 at Goole AFC and Grimsby on the other hand- they’re coming into this crunch clash on the front foot, having won their previous two fixtures against Garforth Town and Staveley Miners Welfare, respectively.

Ahead of the game United chairman Benson spoke of the importance of this fixture.

He said: “It’s a massive game for us. If we win, we are in sniffing distance of them aren’t we. If the result doesn’t go our way then they’ve got a big advantage on us. In reality it’s the biggest game of our season.

“But if we didn’t get the victory we are chasing, we certainly wouldn’t be giving up on the title. We’d carry on taking every game as it comes and going out for victories like we always do.

“Our manager is extremely positive and he has get a great way of coaching our players. We play a very nice brand of football and if the result doesn’t go our way we will not be throwing the towel in, I assure you on that.”

Benson added: “All credit to Grimsby. They’re top of the league for a reason and they play very attractive football themselves, so I’m expecting a very entertaining game with two teams intent on playing eye-catching and attacking football."

In other news, Bradford City Women will now be using Horsfall for their home fixtures, instead of their former ground, which was Eccleshill's Mitton Group Stadium.

The decision came about after Bradford (Park Avenue) announced a new partnership with the club.

The new partnership was designed to open a strong pathway for both teams, with dual registrations and loan arrangements being an integral part of the partnership, allowing further development and experience for both teams.

Discussing City's choice to move from Eccleshill, Benson said: "I was told about two weeks ago when of the people from City rang me to tell me that they had developed a partnership with Bradford (Park Avenue). It was quite sudden but I excepted their decision and I wish them all the best for the future.

"We enjoyed having them at our ground to play their home games but now they have left there is no hard feeling whatsoever.

"It was great to bring eyes to a good standard of women's football at our ground, so it's something we may look into doing again in the future. I think we will re-evaluate and come up with some more ideas to host women's football at the end of the season."

Elsewhere in the NCEL Premier Division, Thackley travel to Handsworth, Albion Sports travel to Bottesford Town, Silsden host Athersley Recreation.

In the NWCFL, Steeton travel to Garstang and Campion host Atherton LR.

Guiseley travel to York and Brighouse host Hebburn Town. All games kick-off today at 3:00 PM.