Drayton relish Linnets tester
Market DRAYTON Town aim to bury the despair of a second setback against strugglers Kendal Town by scoring an even more unlikely double at Runcorn Linnets tomorrow.
The Evo-Stik NPL West title-chasers are among a remarkable array of top teams Town have already beaten in an otherwise unspectacular season.
Astonishingly, given their lowly standing in the league, Town have beaten all three top teams – Atherton Colliery, Radcliffe and Runcorn Linnets – and also taken points from fourth and fifth-placed Mossley and Leek Town.
All of which encourages Town manager Martyn Davies to believe rattling Runcorn at Runcorn might not be the bridge too far it seems.
“We always play at our best against the best,” he says.
“Time and again we have demonstrated that, on our day, we have the ability to beat any team this division.
“How many other clubs have beaten every one of the top three this season?
“If we play as we can, a good away result against a good team like Runcorn is certainly not beyond us.”
Town expect to have central defender Simon Gregory back but are waiting to see how quickly goalkeeper Ash Rawlins recovers from the dislocated finger he suffered in the 3-2 defeat at Kendal.
Matt Ballard took over in goal and is on standby to take the gloves again, earning praise from Davies.
“He has a great attitude,” he said. “He’ll play anywhere for the team – up front, in defence or as keeper and not let you down.”
Linnets have lost only two home league games but they’ve been by big margins, 4-0 to Droylsden and 3-0 to Atherton.
