Team Northumbria play table toppers Morpeth Town tonight - a game in which Colin Stromsoy’s side will be looking to put an end to their four-match losing streak.
Tonight’s clash comes hot on the heels of a disappointing 3-0 home defeat to Ryhope CW.
“We never found our intensity or got into our rhythm and we didn’t find a way to break them down,” said assistant manager Derek Forrest.
“We will go again against Morpeth and the players can be excused for a one off performance - it just wasn’t our day.”
With only eight games remaining in the Northern League Division One, TN sit comfortably in 13th position with seemingly nothing to play for until the end of season.
On the other hand, The Highwaymen have a 17-point lead at the top of the table.
However, the pressure will be on the home side with Marske United having 10 games in hand and catching up to the title favourites.
And with automatic promotion in force this year, the top team will be required to make the step up to the Evostik Northern Premier League Division One – which would be Morpeth’s first time in the eighth tier of English football.
Despite the notion of playing in a higher league, Morpeth manager Nicky Gray has gone on record to say he feels it is unfair on taking a step up as the club are an anomaly in terms of location compared to other teams in the division.
“It comes down to resources and volunteers and sometimes you’ve got to live within your means,” said Gray on the NEF Podcast.
“Automatic promotion has just been put on us this season. My chairman is at the point where he is saying if people want to go up [from the Northern League] then let them go up.”
It will be a tough game for TN’s defensive line with the strike force of Sean Taylor and Liam Henderson netting a whopping 38 goals between them this season – assisted largely by former Northumbria University playmaker Ben Sayer.
The last time the two sides met, Morpeth edged the fixture TN 2-1 at Coach Lane – the reverse match will kick off at 7.30pm at Craik Park.
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