Jarrow manager not giving up on title push as Boldon CA boss makes admission

Kennie Malia wants his Jarrow side to continue building momentum as they look to keep their slim Division Two title chances alive this weekend.

The Perth Green outfit eased to a 4-0 home win against Bedlington Terriers last Friday as they maintained their position in third place in the table. However, there is a six-point deficit to title favourites and current leaders Horden CW and a four-point gap to second placed Yarm and Eaglescliffe ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

Both Horden and Jarrow face away days on Saturday as they visit Esh Winning and Sunderland RCA respectively - and Malia’s men will hope for a favour from neighbours Boldon CA as they visit Yarm. However, the Jarrow boss has stressed his focus remains on just continuing to build momentum throughout the final weeks of the campaign to ensure their promotion dreams remain alive.

He told The Gazette: “At the start of the season, the play-offs was the aim so to be in the position we are, having qualified for the play-offs and still with a chance of claiming the title, it’s incredible really. We can’t slip up if we want to win it - but even if we don’t we still have to keep those high standards to take into the play-offs. We still have to keep going until the very end and that will be needed to take that momentum into the play-offs anyway. Every game counts and we have to make the most of them.”

Malia has a strong squad available for the game and has a number of big decisions to make before the finalises his plans.

Boldon boss made cup admission ahead of Yarm test

Dan Crooks has admitted Boldon CA have one eye on their cup tie with local rivals Jarrow as they prepare to visit title chasing Yarm and Eaglescliffe on Saturday afternoon.

Boldon fell to a narrow defeat at Darlington Town last weekend but still sit nine points clear of the bottom three in the Northern League’s second tier after an improved run of form in recent months all but eradicated any thoughts of relegation back into the Wearside League. A tough looking trip to Yarm lies in wait this weekend - but the prospect of silverware has meant Crooks and fellow joint-manager David Palmer will have Tuesday’s cup tie in mind when it comes to their team selection.

He told The Gazette: “We know this is another tough game for us. However, we also know three one-nil defeats out of the last four games shows that we are close but ultimately falling short in the final third. We do have one eye on Tuesday night’s Ernest Armstrong Cup quarter-final against Jarrow because that is it our last bash at a cup.”

Crooks also confirmed he will take the opportunity to have another look at two recent signings after they made their debuts in the midweek Brooks Mileson Memorial League Cup defeat against Division One title contenders Blyth Town.

“We added to the squad recently with Noah Cunningham joining us from Chester-le-Street Town and Thomas Johnson has come in on a dual registration from Morpeth Town. They both made their debuts against Blyth on Tuesday night and did really well.”