Hyde United vs. Leigh RMI preview

By Matt Lawton
February 14 2007

Friday night sees RMI make the short trip across Manchester to Tameside outfit Hyde United for a game that is vital at both ends of the Conference North table.

Last weekend’s 3-1 home defeat to Harrogate Town has seen Stuart Humphreys’ RMI side sucked back in to the relegation quagmire, with the recent upturn in form of rivals Scarborough leaving Leigh just one points above the dreaded drop zone, although the Hilton Park side have three games in hand after a spate of recent weather-related postponements.

RMI face a Hyde team that have scored fifteen goals in their past five outings, although their last run-out resulted in a thrilling 4-3 home defeat to local rivals Droylsden in the semi final of the Manchester Premier Cup on Monday night, though the league form of the Tigers has certainly been eye-catching, with just one defeat in their past seven Conference North matches propelling Steve Waywell’s side to the dizzy heights of fourth in the league and, as such, a decent challenge for the play-offs come the business end of the season.

Last season’s trip to Ewen Fields saw RMI score two late goals to grab a deserved point from a 3-3 draw that was undoubtedly one of the most dramatic games of the season, and the RMI faithful will be hoping for a similarly spirited performance on Friday night as they look for their side to claw their way ahead of the chasing relegation pack ahead of Tuesday night’s home game with play-off chasing Hinckley.

With Friday's game being one of the most local matches of the season, travel is, as you'd imagine, pretty simple with regular trains running from Manchester Piccadilly to Newton train station, with Ewen Fields being barely ten minutes walk away from Newton station, while it's also a simple journey via the M60 (junction 24) and the M67.

Admission to Ewen Fields costs £9 for an adult and £3 for OAP's and juniors, with the kick off on Friday night at 7:45pm