Jarrow have big calls ahead of Ryton test as Boldon CA prepare for Thornaby

Jarrow are facing up to ‘a bit of a headache’ they prepare to host Ryton and Crawcrook Albion on Saturday afternoon - although you won’t hear any complaints from manager Kennie Malia.

The two sides are firmly in play-off race in Northern League Division Two and will face a potentially pivotal clash at Perth Green this weekend. After collecting maximum points from their last five league games, Jarrow are sat in third place in the table and could go top of the league if they secure a sixth consecutive win and results elsewhere go their way. However, Ryton will provide a severe test for Malia’s men and they can tighten their grip on a play-off place if they take the points from their visit to South Tyneside.

Jarrow boss Malia warned his squad they are facing ‘a very tough game’ against the Albion and admitted he is facing some tough calls as he has a fully-fit and available squad.

He told The Gazette: “We know this is such a big game at this stage of the season and we could potentially move seven points clear of fifth place with a win. However, we know it's going to be a very tough game as they have brought some very good players in over the summer. From our point of view, we have a full squad to pick from this weekend so we have a bit of a headache picking the 16-man squad, especially after picking up a few very good results in the league lately.”

Boldon challenged ahead of Teesside trip

Boldon CA have been challenged to ‘give a good account of themselves’ as they face a tough looking trip to Thornaby on Saturday.

Dan Crooks and David Palmer’s side will travel to Teesside looking to bounce back from suffering consecutive defeats against Sunderland West End and Chester-le-Street United over the last fortnight. Those results have left Boldon sat fourth from bottom in the Division Two table - but there is confidence they can return to winning ways against a Thornaby side that can move to within a point of the play-off spots if results go their way this weekend.

After facing Chester-le-Street United and Chester-le-Street Town in recent weeks and performing well against two sides sat within touching distance of the top five, Boldon joint-manager Crooks is adamant his side can claim a first win in four games in all competitions at Teesdale Park.

He told The Gazette: “We are looking forward to going on the road again to Thornaby. They are up there but we’ve played both Chester-le-Street sides who are around that mark in the table and won one and lost one so we know we can compete with the sides up the top. Hopefully we can go and give a good account of ourselves and bring some points back to South Tyneside.”

Ryan Lamb, Aaron Williams and Scott Purvis are all missing for Boldon but they are boosted by the return of Corey Johns and Jordan Reed after they completed suspensions.