WITH just 30 miles separating the two sides, both Northwich Victoria and Mossley AFC will be eager to come out victorious in this FA Trophy encounter.
Progression for the two sides would mean reaching the first round qualifiers of the Buildbase FA Trophy, and with each North-West contingent seeing this as a minimal, it is to be hotly anticipated affair.
Coming off the back of an impressive 2-0 away win against Rugby Town at the weekend, thanks to goals from Kieron Nolan and striker Daniel Cockerline, Northwich Victoria should be in high spirits approaching the game this Sunday.
The win the previous Saturday against Rugby was not isolated either, as in actual fact the Vics performances in recent weeks have been hugely impressive, and they are currently unbeaten in four games, winning three successively.
Gaining increasing plaudits, and rightly so after some fine performances, manager Adam Lakeland and his side sit comfortably in ninth position in the Evo Stick First Division South, yet admittedly will be looking to build on this.
But after a solid start, Northwich will be hoping a victory this weekend, which would merit four consecutive wins in all competitions, could warrant a potential top four charge.
Yet for the current Frank Hannah Manchester County cup holders, Mossley, the picture painted is very different to their opposite number.
Winless in five and losing three consecutively in the process should be bad enough for the Greater Manchester side, but for Mossley, morale will be even lower, courtesy of an incident that occurred in their last game.
With the score at 2-2 in their County cup game, midfielder Callum Warbaton sustained a significant leg injury, so much so the game, after some debate, was abandoned by the officials.
Briefly, it must be said, that we at Quays News would like to wish the former Rochdale man a swift and speedy return.
Nevertheless, after a string of poor performances that has left the club lying dangerously in 17th, joint-managers Peter Band and Lloyd Morrison will be hoping a cup run could kick start the Lilywhites’ season.
Yet with striker Mike Fish in the side, Mossley still carry a dangerous weapon, whom Northwich must respect.
Having already scored seven this season, Fish now has an impressive Mossley career total of 72 in 210 games, in what is his third spell with the club, and will be looking to pose the Northwich defence problems this weekend.
Supported by former Winsford United player, Kyle McGonigle, who has scored an acute five goals this season, Fish alongside the rest of his team-mates will hope to perform well in Warbaton’s absence and improve on this season’s form.
Northwich, meanwhile, have a plethora of options going forward, that Mossley should ignore at their peril, with Cockerline and Yaw Gyimah sharing the accolade for the Vics’ top goal scorers this season, each with five.
Additionally, the duo are backed by the pairing of Reece Gray and Alex Byrne, each of whom have scored four goals apiece, and will be looking to improve on their impressive efforts in front of goal.
Despite Mossley’s Warbaton, each side does not possess any fresh injury concerns heading into the game, and with this being the North-West’s very own Super Sunday, it should make for a stellar encounter.
By Ryan Dobney
@Ryan_Dobney
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