Hednesford v Vics: preview (From Northwich Guardian)

Hednesford Town and Northwich Victoria seek a return to winning ways to kick-start title bids

9:38am Tuesday 31st January 2012 in Sport By Andrew Simpson

Hednesford Town v Northwich Victoria (Kick off 7.45pm)
Evo-Stik League Premier Division
Venue Keys Park, Keys Park Road, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS12 2DZ
Referee Nick Hobbis (Birmingham)
Admission Adults £10 (£9 to stand), Concessions (NUS/OAP) £6 (£5 to stand)
Odds (bet365) Hednesford 5/4, Draw 12/5, Vics 17/10
Previous Meeting Hednesford 1 Vics 4 (September 10, 2005 in Nationwide Conference North)

Hednesford (from) Crane (GK), Bailey, Dunkley, Haynes, Johnson, Ricketts, Blakeman, Clements, Denny, Durrell, Grice, Jevons, Landell, Beesley, Hay, Robinson, Suckling, Wellecomme
Doubtful none
Injured none
Suspended Campion (two matches), Osborne (one match)
Disciplinary (to end of December 2011) Y36 R4
Top scorer Chris Clements (13)
Form (Past six home in league) D L W D W W
Record (Home) P14 W9 D4 L1 F32 A13 Pt31
Record (Overall) Pos2 P29 W17 D5 L7 F51 A33 Pts56

Vics (from) Hinchliffe (GK), Collins, Disney, Horne, Short, Smyth, Abbott, Armstrong, Ennis, Field, Fitzpatrick, Kinsella, Riley, Roddy, Woolfe, Budrys, Clarke, Evans, Johnson, Wade
Doubtful none
Injured none
Suspended none
Disciplinary (to end of December 2011) Y32 R3
Top scorer Wayne Riley (14)
Form (Past six away in league) D W W L W W
Record (Away) P12 W9 D2 L1 F26 A10 Pt29
Record (Overall) Pos4 P27 W17 D6 L4 F50 A24 Pts54 (three points deducted)

Match pointers
NORTHWICH head to fellow promotion hopefuls Hednesford needing a win to reignite their title bid.

The hosts, beaten twice in the past seven days since their stunning win at Chester, have the same aim after a slow start to the New Year.

It is testament to how good a season Vics have had that their current sequence of three matches without a victory is the longest with a maximum points haul to date.

They have lost their mantle too of best travellers in the top tier to Marine, but still boast a record that includes a single defeat away from the Victoria Stadium this season.

Nathan Woolfe is pushing hard for a recall, challenging Jordan Johnson and Ryan Wade for a starting berth.

Hednesford’s only home reverse was against Chasetown on Boxing Day.

Rob Smith’s men have had a mixed month, briefly climbing to the Premier Division summit as a reward for doing a double over Chester only to lose back-to-back matches without scoring a goal since.

Darren Campion and James Osborne are banned, but newcomers Jermaine Johnson and Michael Ricketts have arrived to bolster the Pitmen’s defensive options.