IS this the weekend that Witton Albion’s long wait for action finally ends?

Carl Macauley and his players will certainly be hoping so, with their last fixture coming almost a month ago.

Having seen last weekend’s home game against Morpeth Town and away trips to Atherton Collieries and Buxton fall foul of the weather, their latest bid to return to the field sees them make the long-trip to high-flying South Shields on Saturday.

Albion’s inactivity has dragged them towards the foot of the Northern Premier League Premier Division table – they sit 17th, just a point clear of the relegation spots.

South Shields is a tough away day for anybody in the division, but Albion’s most recent memory of the 1st Cloud Arena is a fond one.

It came all the way back in January 2020, when injury-time goals from MJ Monaghan and Kyle Sambor allowed them to return home with a 2-1 victory.

Meanwhile, 1874 Northwich will aim to win three league games in a row for the first time this season in their final home game of 2021 on Saturday.

A run of one defeat in seven league games has Paul Bowyer and Wayne Goodison’s men looking up rather than down, with the Greens now in the top half of the NPL West Division table.

Their visitors to Townfield on Saturday are play-off chasing Clitheroe, who arrive having not lost away from home in the league this season – their seven games away from Shawbridge have yielded five wins and two draws.

In the North West Counties League, Northwich Victoria will hope an enforced two-week break has reinvigorated them.

Having seen their trip to Ashton Athletic on Saturday postponed, Steve Wilkes’ side welcome Lower Breck to the U Lock It Stadium on Saturday as they play their final home game of the year.

Vics have lost their past three games in all competitions and memories of a 5-1 defeat in last month’s reverse fixture against this weekend’s visitors will still be fresh in the memory.

That victory was the first of four in a row for the Liverpool-based side, who arrive full of confidence.

Winsford United have also had a long break from fixtures – Saturday’s trip to Barnoldswick Town is set to be their first game of December after home games against Vauxhall Motors and Skelmersdale United were called off.

The two sides are side-by-side in the Premier Division table, with Barnoldswick one place and two points higher in 11th.

In the First Division South, Barnton face a tough trip to promotion-chasing New Mills on Saturday.

The Villagers also saw their last fixture – a home game against Abbey Hulton United – fall victim to a waterlogged Townfield pitch but before then, they had taken four points from their past two games to put distance between themselves and the bottom three.

However, they are now tasked with facing a side that is second in the table and unbeaten at home, with nine wins and a draw from their 10 fixtures on their own turf.

All of Saturday’s games kick off at 3pm.