Garforth Town vs. Leigh Genesis preview
By Matt Lawton
January 6 2011
Saturday afternoon sees Leigh Genesis travel across the Pennines to take on mid-table Garforth Town as they play their third game of the New Year after a glut of December postponements.
Genesis boss Alan Kershaw will be keeping faith with the side that lost 1-0 at home to Wakefield in Bank Holiday Monday's Evo-Stik League First Division North encounter, though player/coach Andy Heald and striker Nick Eastham will be added to the squad for Saturday's trip over the Pennines.
Despite losing Monday's fixture at Crilly Park, Kershaw was pleased with the positives that were provided by the Leigh performance ahead of their second Roses battle inside a week.
"Thursday's training session will include some new faces as I try to improve the squad, though Andy Heald and Nick Eastham will return for Saturday's match. After Monday's game we will continue to work on our ball retention as I felt the game against Wakefield saw us the best football over the three games since I took charge of the side."
With one victory over Garforth already this season, Kershaw is looking for his Leigh side to put their front foot forward as they look to climb the Evo-Stik League First Division North table.
"We are just taking one game at a time at the moment. On Saturday I will be looking for us to attack as much as possible and put Garforth under pressure. We now have players in the squad who have the high fitness levels that are required to play in the way that suits the 3-5-2 system that we are using. We just need a bit of luck in front of goal to give us the break that we deserve!"
Although Garforth ran out 5-0 victors in a bizarre FA Trophy meeting at Crilly Park in October that saw a total of five players sent off and the scores level at 0-0 with as few as fifteen minutes remaining, the last league meeting between the sides saw Leigh earn a 1-0 victory in September thanks to a first half John Lawless goal. Leigh's last visit to the Genix Healthcare Stadium brought a 5-0 win in March 2010, though only Chris Dykes and Andy Heald remain at Leigh from the team that day.
Garforth are currently thirteen in the league table and have enjoyed a recent surge in their form with a 1-1 draw at home to Durham City on New Years Day being followed with an impressive 2-1 win at Salford City two days later, while their last outing before the New Year brought an impressive 2-1 victory at high-flying Chorley.
Saturday's fixture kicks off at 3pm, with admission costing £7 for adults and £4 for over 65's and children. Coach travel is available for supporters wishing to travel to the fixture, leaving the Leigh Sports Village at 11.30am with seats costing £10 each to be paid on the day. Supporters making their own way to Garforth will find the ground situated close to junction 47 of the M1.
For those who are unable to make Saturday's game, live updates will be available at twitter.com/leighgenesisfc
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