The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
All eyes are on the bottom of the Uhlsport UCL Premier Division table this weekend with the two chief relegation candidates going head-to-head.
Pinchbeck United (six points) Sleaford Town (five points) are separated by just one point at the foot of the standings – and one of them looks set to take the sole relegation spot this season.
The Knights’ sole league win this season came against Sleaford back on August 7 (2-1) and player/boss Ian Dunn admits that it’s vital for his team to complete a double over the Greens.
But he accepts that Sleaford will be looking at them in exactly the same way and feels that a victory would be huge for either side, given how few points the duo are picking up this season.
And, given how poor Pinchbeck were in the 3-1 defeat against Anstey Nomads last time out (see page 36), Dunn is demanding a response.
He said: “I’m expecting a lot better, if I’m honest.
“The last game wasn’t good enough, but if the lads can’t get up for this one I’ll be staggered.
“Both sides are struggling to get points this season, so I suppose we’ve got to target beating each other as those three points go a long way for us.
“Our only win came against them and it has been good enough to keep us off the bottom so far.
“Sleaford had a bit of a mini-revival after getting a few new players, but they’ve suffered back-to-back 5-0 defeats.
“Both teams will want to win, as a draw doesn’t do much for us. So it’ll probably be a draw!
“I’m not expecting a quality game and it’s one of those matches where the result is way more important than the performance.
“It’s probably the biggest game of the season for both teams, but I doubt it’ll be a classic.”
Between them, Sleaford and Pinchbeck have lost all but seven of the 45 games they’ve contested in the UCL Premier Division this season.
Sleaford have both the bluntest attack (13 goals in 23 games) and the worst defence (108 conceded) in the league.
Their goal difference is 51 worse than Pinchbeck’s, meaning the Knights (18 scored and 60 conceded) have a guaranteed bonus point against them in the race for survival.
Pinchbeck hope to take a full squad to Elsaford Park (3pm), but are sweating on the fitness of Ewan Fieldhouse after the striker limped out of last weekend’s defeat to Anstey Nomads.
Dunn admits that there’s every chance he could make a signing ahead of the game, but currently has no approaches in for any targets.
The Knights are also in action on Tuesday night when they visit Wellingborough Town (7.45pm).
