Cox frustrated by weather woe

Leek Town boss Neil Cox says he is becoming frustrated by his team’s lack of action.

Neil Cox

Cox and his troops haven’t played since their 3-1 Staffordshire Cup defeat at home to Rushall Olympic on November 23.

Having fallen victim to the snow and ice last month, Leek’s match at Spalding fell foul to the elements in what was a fifth-successive postponement for the Blues.

Cos said: “We just want to get back out there, the players are itching to play.

“But the way things are going, we might not play again until after Christmas.

“We have been able to train – Dario Gradi let us use the Reaseheath complex at Crewe – but we just want to get back out there now.”

The Blues are due to face Market Drayton Town tomorrow (December 21) but this is a major doubt.

Leek’s next scheduled game after that is the Bank Holiday Monday clash on December 27th with Belper Town at Harrison Park. That game is 34 days since the Blues last kicked a ball in anger – the Staffordshire Senior Cup game against Rushall Olympic on November 23rd.

If the Belper game doesn’t go ahead, the winter weather lay-off could surpass last year’s break of 39 days between the 15th December and 23rd January.

With fixture backlogs inevitable, Town have at least played 17 league games – around average for the division.

Spare a thought for Sheffield FC who most be wondering how on earth they are going to fit in a further 31 league games having played only 11 so far!

As always, let North Staffs Football know your thoughts on matches being postponed and whether non-leagues should start their fixtures earlier?

Non League Round-up

Leek Town travel to Glapwell on Saturday (Nov 27) for the home side’s ‘pink game’, in aid of raising money for Breast Cancer Care.

The home side will be sporting pink kits and some Leek Town supporters can travel to the game on a pink bus, courtesy of Mansfield-based bus company Pronto.

Graham Parker, Glapwell FC’s marketing manager said: “We are hoping to raise over £1000 from the game, we have cut the gate price to £2 so people can come and watch some quality football and also give to charity.”

Leek Town boss Neil Cox remained focused on the match and said his side need to keep picking up points away from Harrison Park.

Neil Cox

He added: “He have been picking up most of our points away from home this season, so we need to keep this going.

“Our pitch isn’t great at the moment so it’s important we play well on better pitches and try to keep a clean sheet.”

The Blues sit perilously close to the Evo-Stik First Division South relegation places in 18^th and Cox could be without star signing Anthony Malbon, who is struggling with an ankle injury picked up in last week’s 2-2 draw with Romulus.

Elsewhere, Newcastle Town will be hoping to keep on the coat tails of Barwell and Carlton Town as they sit third.

Greg Clowes’s players answered his call to string a winning run together as they beat Loughborough Dynamo’s 3-1 last week and Market Drayton in the Presidents Cup 4-2 midweek.

Newcastle travel to Belper Town tomorrow (Nov 27), who lost 4-2 to Kidsgrove Athletic last week and if they have ambitions to finish in the top two then they can not afford to drop points against the fifth-placed side.

Dave Walker

Kidsgrove fans have a home fixture this weekend against Shepshed Dynamo. The Grove have suffered a blip in recent weeks and now sit in sixth place.

But they will be confident of overhauling a Shepshed side that have recorded only a single victory this season and sit rock bottom of the Evo-Stik First Division South.

Experienced campaigner Dave Walker will be looking to add to his tally of 20 goals this season and Ricky Bridge could start after his brace in the side’s 4-2 win over Belper.

Kick-off for all the matches in 3.00pm

Kidsgrove beat Belper to overcome ‘blip’

Kidsgrove Athletic boss Peter Ward has praised his players for a superb second-half performance in their 4-2 win over Belper Town on Saturday (Nov 20).

The visitors took the lead on the half-hour mark through Jon Frogatt’s converted penalty but Dave Walker equalised almost immediately.

Grove entered the break 2-1 down after losing possession in their own half and Daryl Thomas coolly finished for the visitors.

But another goal from Walker and two from Ricky Bridge in the second-half sealed the win and Ward said he was really pleased with the players.

Peter Ward

He added: “We played really well and the game was very even in the first half but a couple of mistakes cost us.

“Ricky (Bridge) had a great game after getting some time at Biddulph under his belt.

“We have just got to keep taking each game as it comes and to win, we have had a bit of a blip but the last three games have seen a massive improvement.”

Kidsgrove face Evo-Stik Premier Division side Colwyn Bay, who sit second tonight (Nov 23) in the League Challenge Cup Third Round and Ward said he has done his homework on them.

He said: “They have some big lads in their side and a long throw so they will be dangerous from set pieces.

“It’s a chance to test ourselves against a side going well in a league higher and we want to go a lot further in this competition.”

Kick-off at the Seddon Stadium is 7.45pm.

Newcastle boss calls for winning streak

Newcastle Town boss Greg Clowes has urged his players to keep the winning run going following their 3-1 win over Loughborough Dynamo’s on Saturday (Nov 20).

A goal in each half from Dan Skelton and one from Alan Nagington sealed a comfortable win for Town, and sees them leap to third spot in the league.

But Clowes stressed that a winning run must continue if promotion is the target.

Greg Clowes

He added: “I told the players we have to keep on the coat tails of the two teams above us.

“In the last few weeks we have drawn too many games and the top two haven’t dropped many points.

“It’s not going to be easy to just win every game but what we need to do is put a bit of a run together.”

Anthony Malbon, who had a month-long loan at the club has joined Leek Town for the rest of the season after being released by Port Vale.

But Clowes said he is not disappointed with Malbon’s move.

He added: “I spoke to the lad and I wish him all the best at Leek and he knows that our door is always open if  things do not work out for him there.”

Newcastle face Market Drayton on Wednesday (Nov 24) night and Belper Town on Saturday (Nov 27).

Kidsgrove boss praises striker after Newcastle cup win

Kidsgrove Athletic manager Peter Ward branded his star-striker Dave Walker as a ‘natural finisher’ after his goal sent the Grove into the last four of the Staffordshire Senior Cup at the expense of local rivals Newcastle Town, writes Matt Dodd.

A deserved win at the Lyme Valley Stadium had Ward upbeat about his side’s chances of regaining the cup, and had plenty of praise for top-scorer Walker who has now scored 19 goals in 18 games.

He said: “Dave’s (Walker) done really well. He’s a quality finisher. You give him the chances and he’ll score goals and he proved that tonight.

“He’s a natural finisher, and if we get him in those areas he’ll score goals, it’s as simple as that.

Peter Ward

“I thought the whole team played really well. We probably should have been three up at half-time.

“They only really had one chance over 90 minutes and I thought we were much the better side.”

The only goal of Tuesday night’s quarter-final came on the hour-mark.

The Newcastle defenders failed to clear a long ball from Karl Charlton, and Walker took advantage and struck an impressive half-volley into the bottom left corner.

The win puts the Grove into the semi-finals, and Ward believes the cup could be heading back to the Seddon Stadium this year.

He added: “I don’t see any reason why not. We normally do quite well in this competition.

“We want to go as far as we possibly can and we have an opportunity of making money financially if you draw one of the bigger teams.”

Match-winner Walker said that the victory was down to determination and hard work, after recent performances have not been the best.

Dave Walker

He said: “I think it was down to hard work. The last few games we haven’t been working hard. We had a chat after a loss last week and the gaffer said we just need to start getting back to basics and working hard.

“We could have been four up at half-time. We were thinking it could have been one of those days but we had a couple of chances in the second-half and obviously we put one away and defended quite well.”

Kidsgrove can now focus on the league, and will be looking for another victory when Belper Town travel to the Seddon Stadium on Saturday.

Ward said, “It’s another win under our belt. The league is more important obviously and we want three points on Saturday.”

To see Newcastle Town’s boss Greg Clowes’s comments click here

Kidsgrove boss calls for response from players

Kidsgrove Athletic boss Peter Ward has asked for a response from his players ahead of tonight’s (Nov 9) league match at Romulus.

The Grove lost 2-1 to Brigg Town at the weekend with James McCarthy’s goal the only highlight in what Ward described as a below-par performance.

He said: “We were below-par on Saturday and three or four of the lads have an off day.

Adam Beasley

“I just want to see a response from the players because we now know we can’t take anybody for granted in this league, everyone is beating one another.”

Ward will be low on numbers for the trip to Romulus after Jimmy Sanders (ankle), Adam Beasley (shin) and Danny Schwartz are all major doubts.

Romulus are 20^th in the Evo Stik First Division South after their 4-1 defeat to Belper Town at the weekend.

Kick-off is 7.45pm.