Malia warns promotion chasing Jarrow over FC Hartlepool threat

Jarrow manager Kennie Malia is preparing his promotion-chasing side for another tough test when they visit FC Hartlepool on Saturday.

The Perth Green outfit sit in third place in the Northern League Division Two table after last weekend’s 2-2 home draw with leaders Horden CW - and Malia believes another difficult challenge is lying in wait when they travel to Grayfields this weekend.

He told The Gazette: “This is a tough away fixture because their place is always a tricky place to go. On the plus side for us, we only have two players missing so we should have a pretty strong side, which is great news. We also know we have some big player news because Josh Willis is back after missing the last two games so we are in a positive frame of mind ahead of the game.”

Boldon CA management team Dan Crooks and David Palmer are temporarily handing the reigns over to captain Chris Spence for this weekend’s visit to Billingham Synthonia - and Crooks remains confident his side can extend their positive run of form on Teesside.

He said: “This will a tough test against Synners, who have been in good form of late with one defeat in six games. Myself and David are both missing due to work commitments so captain Chris Spence is leading the lads on and off the pitch. We are confident though and we welcome the re-signing of Ryan Lamb. He’s a top player who will help us with this tough run-in."

Crooks also confirmed forward Stephen Wilkinson is still missing through injury.

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