Central Look for Three on the Bounce in Avenue Trip

Manchester Central have the chance to pick up three consecutive league wins when they make the trip to Avenue this weekend.

Central made it consecutive league wins for the first time since September after edging past Hindley Juniors last weekend but go into the next round of fixtures facing a much tougher test in Avenue.

Avenue currently sit in fifth place in Division One, and are unbeaten in four, including their narrow 2-1 win over Central in the final game before the Winter break.

Last time out Avenue couldn’t get past Altrincham Hale away from home, following an entertaining 2-2 draw. This result left them just above Altrincham and kept them level on points with third-placed side Avro Reserves.

Central sit in eighth place just five points behind Avenue following consecutive wins over Altrincham Hale and Hindley Juniors after the restart. This will be Central’s first away league fixture since their 5-4 defeat to Elton Vale in late September.

Their struggles have mostly come away from home this season, only picking up one victory from four fixtures which came in their 3-2 win over Wilmslow Albion in just the second game of the campaign.

Top scorer Fuad Kasali scored in that game and returned to action in a Central shirt last weekend for the first time since Central’s Manchester Challenge Trophy Quarter-Final win in October.

Kasali didn’t manage to get his name back on the scoresheet in black and white but provided a decisive assist for the winning goal that ultimately won Central all three points against Hindley. He remains Central’s top scorer, having netted 13 times in 12 appearances this season.

Much of the goals have come from midfield for Central in recent times, mainly through Kaine Martin who finds himself in a purple patch of scoring form.

Five goals in his last five appearances in all competitions, including a brace and the winning goal against Hindley. Martin won’t want this run to stop any time soon, and neither will manager Chris Tomkinson who stated his delight for Martin’s form in the post-match interview last weekend.

This fixture will mark Avenue’s first home game since the end of November when they beat Hindley 4-0 and will look to potentially breach the promotion places if they can get past Central this weekend.

Avenue do hold the worst defensive record in the top ten, having conceded 34 times in just 16 games played, however Central have notoriously struggled away from home in this campaign, having lost their last three trips in Division One.

This sets up an interesting contest this weekend, with both sides aspiring to claim promotion this season. The last time these two sides met, Avenue managed to knock off Central in a 2-1 away win, but the story could not be more different this time around.

Central have come out of the blocks since the restart and find themselves in much better shape than they were in the latest meeting between the two sides. Central were lacking in various facets of the game, and a lack of confidence and belief had lost them ground on the teams above them.

However, back-to-back victories following the winter break, has given the club a lift and the necessary belief to climb up the table and fight for promotion. Central will seek to pick up three consecutive wins on Saturday for the first time since the opening three games of the season when they visit Avenue.

Avenue, like Central, will look to continue to mount more pressure onto their promotion rivals above them, and a win this weekend could see them climb as high as second, depending on other results going their way.

A win for Central on Saturday would close the gap to Avenue to two points, whilst having an extra two games in hand, and could see them move up to seventh depending on the result between Bolton Lads & Girls Club and Elton Vale.