Teams eyeing crucial results in National Two North
Otley will be hoping to end 2015 on a high as they look to recapture their recent form
©Nick Doyle & Otley RFC
With just two games to go before the Christmas break, every team in National Two North will be hoping to enter the festive period with something to cheer about.
Macclesfield’s lead was cut to three points last weekend by Sedgley Park and any slip-up this weekend by the Blues could see the Tigers swoop in to take top spot.
Stourbridge, Caldy and Sandal will be hoping to advance up the league further before the conclusion of 2015 while down at the bottom, teams will be looking for vital victories so they can begin the New Year outside the bottom three.
Chester v Macclesfield
Macclesfield will be itching to get back to winning ways this Saturday. Having been relegated from National One last season, the Blues are hoping for an immediate return to the third tier of English rugby.
Macc were on an 11 game winning streak before last weekend, but that came to an end when Sedgley Park inflicted their second defeat of the season on the league leaders.
Giles Heagerty’s side are still three points clear at the top, but a win on Saturday in this Cheshire derby would go a long way in getting their title ambitions back on track.
Chester find themselves in a strange position at the moment. Although they sit mid-table in ninth place after 13 matches, a win can lift them into the top half where they will think they deserve to belong.
The side from Hare Lane have been inconsistent this season after finishing fifth last term. They will at least be happier with the way they performed against Sale FC last Saturday which ended a run of three straight defeats. Although, it has been a disappointing season so far, Chester may use Maccelsfield’s recent defeat to their advantage as they go in search of back to back wins.
Sedgley Park v Caldy
Sedgley Park launched themselves back into the title race last weekend. I don’t think many people expected them to win at Priory Park, but the Tigers played with great intensity and they will now firmly believe they are capable of wresting top spot off Macclesfield.
Sedge have managed to battle their way through a sticky spell in October and have come out the other side looking even stronger than before. Four wins in their last five as seen them cement second place, but they’ll still be hoping to finish as champions as they look to close the gap at the top, starting with this fixture against Caldy.
Caldy are still in the hunt for a promotion place in National Two North despite being 11 points behind Sedgley. Although, they beat Huddersfield last weekend, the Wirral side have won just one of their last six games so they need to make sure they string a good run of results together and hope teams around them slip-up in order to stand a chance of playing in National One.
Simon Verbrickas’ men have already played eight away matches this term. Although they haven’t had the best of results in recent weeks, Caldy will definitely feel they can secure a number of home wins in the New Year, but they will be fully focused on trying to end 2015 on a high.
Sale FC v Stourbridge
With Sedgley embroiled in another top of the table battle this weekend, Stourbridge have the chance to keep the pressure on the top two when they travel to Heywood Road this Saturday. Stour sit nine points behind Sedgley Park having lost just one of their last seven games.
Away from home, Stour have picked up four wins from their seven matches in National Two North. They beat Chester in their last fixture on the road, so a win here will continue the charge from the Midlands side.
Sale FC’s home record has been something of a linchpin for them this season. Four wins from seven matches in Manchester is the main reason why the newly promoted side sit 10th in this division – eight points clear of the relegation zone.
They head into this encounter off the back of a home defeat against Chester and just one win in their last five games so they will be hoping to re-find their home form once again this weekend.
Sandal v Tynedale
It has been a successful season so far for Sandal. At the start of the campaign, many will have been expecting Sandal to struggle after promotion via the National Three North playoff, but that hasn’t really been the case for the Yorkshire club thus far.
The side from Milnethorpe Green may have feared the worst after one win in their last five, but their victory last weekend away at South Leicester saw them move back into the top five and just four points behind Stourbridge. A bonus-point win could see them go third.
Tynedale’s match last weekend against the Luctonians was postponed due to the horrendous weather that hit the country which led to their pitch being flooded. It was a shame for Tyne for obvious reasons and also because they seem to be finally starting to find their feet this season.
After one win from their first seven games after relegation from National One, Tyne come into this fixture in Yorkshire having won three of their last five games.
Victories against Preston Grasshoppers, South Leicester and Otley have appeared to restore confidence in Andy Buist’s men and an away win here will steer them further away from the danger zone.
Luctonians v Otley
The Luctonians are one of a cluster of teams sat in a relegation battle in National Two North at the moment. The Herefordshire side weren’t in action last weekend, but fell to the bottom of the table, although they’re only five points from safety with a game in hand.
The Lucts have managed a couple of excellent results in recent weeks, including back to back wins against South Leicester and Broadstreet. A home win here may be unlikely against a high flying Otley side, but it certainly isn’t out of the question.
Otley were struggling in the early stages of the campaign. The men from Cross Green won just one of their first four matches and with club seemingly going backwards, they managed to turn their season right around.
Since the first four rounds of the campaign, they have won six of their nine games but they have suffered a slight blip having lost their last two matches. Despite this, I still think Otley will have enough to come away from Mortimer Park with a win.
Leicester Lions v Broadstreet
Like Tynedale and Luctonians, Leicester Lions were also not in action last weekend due to their fixture with Preston Grasshoppers also falling foul to the weather. After a very impressive win against Caldy last time out for the Lions, they will be feeling confident that they can make it back to back wins despite having week off.
Leicester have had mixed fortunes of late. They have won three and lost three of their last six matches, but they are unbeaten at Westleigh Park this season. They will be looking to stretch that run to eight matches this Saturday.
Broadstreet have endured a tough campaign so far. The Midlands club will have fancied their chances of building on their impressive seventh place finish of last season, but they’ve picked up just four wins meaning they are in the relegation zone.
However, things have being going a lot better recently for ‘Street. Three wins in their last five as propelled them to 14th and they are now three points from safety. Broadstreet did a similar thing last year when they were in the bottom three at this stage and pulled their season around so they’ll be hoping history will repeated itself this campaign.
Harrogate v South Leicester
Harrogate have enjoyed some highs and some lows in what has been an inconsistent season so far. Before last weekend, four wins in their last five will no doubt have been ‘Gate’s highlight of the campaign, although a defeat last time out against Broadstreet provided another setback.
The importance of those four victories prior to last Saturday cannot be under-estimated. Harrogate had won just three of their opening seven games so that run of results in recent weeks has lifted some gloom around Ruddling Lane for a side that were tipped for a promotion challenge this season. They’ll be desperate for another win to get start a second good run of form to boost their chances of a top four finish.
Although they were promoted into National Two North this season, South Leicester will be fairly pleased with the way their campaign has gone so far, but they mustn’t get too complacent as they have lost their last four games.
Despite their less than impressive recent form, South are still seven points clear of danger but they must claim at least one win before the New Year to settle any nerves to keep a substantial gap between themselves and the bottom three.
Huddersfield v Preston Grasshoppers
Huddersfield are enduring a tough season. Having finished 8th last year after promotion into the division, ‘Field have been unable to recapture that form and a shocking run of away results leaves the club in 15th in the table.
At home though, Huddersfield have been more comfortable and that was a trait of what went well for them last term. Field have won four of their seven games at Lockwood Park and know they can go ahead of Preston Grasshoppers with a win this weekend.
Preston Grasshoppers seem to be once again tied up in a relegation battle after avoiding the drop on the final day of last season. Garth Dew’s men aren’t currently in the bottom three, but Hoppers do sit just three points in front of the drop zone which has been helped by two wins in their last three.
Preston weren’t involved last weekend due to their match against Leicester Lions being called off and go into this encounter with Huddersfield searching for their third away win of the campaign. A win at this stage of the season could prove vital come April.
