DAISY HILL HOST CENTRAL IN MASSIVE GAME IN THE PROMOTION BATTLE

Manchester Central make their final visit of the season when they are welcomed by Daisy Hill Development on Saturday, where the away side have the need to pick up three points in order to boost their chances of promotion to Division One.

Central currently sit in fifth in Division Two, albeit having played a game more than Avro Reserves and Hindley Juniors, who are set for an enormous clash on Saturday which will certainly have huge ramifications on who will claim that fifth position.

In a game that plays into Central’s hands, of course as at least one of the teams will be dropping points in the next matchday, and it is up to Central to take advantage and ensure they make no slip-ups in this crucial run-in.

They sit just two points clear of both sides who will both look to leapfrog Central and take back that position in the top five. A draw would be very handy for Central, who can then look to complete this remarkable comeback in 2022, by picking up the win in the final match of the season, when they host Avro which could prove to be the decisive game of the season for Central.

Central come off the back of a demolition job at Wright Robinson, where they smashed 16 past struggling side Cavaliers and picked up their first clean sheet since the beginning of February.

Manager Chris Tomkinson will be looking for more of the same on Saturday, where they look to complete the double over Daisy Hill, after picking up a narrow 2-1 home win which marked the beginning of their resurgence.

Since then, Daisy Hill have struggled to pick up any sort of momentum, only picking up eight points from a possible 24. They will of course look to get some revenge on Central, however, the vast contrast in form between the two sides, makes it seem a difficult task for the home side to get anything from this one.

Last time out Daisy Hill suffered a disappointing home defeat to Breightmet United, who sit a place below them in the standings. Central will certainly be full of confidence and considering Daisy Hill’s bleak home form, they have every reason to be heading into this one.

However, Central will have to look out for Daisy Hill’s star man Alfa Umaro-Djalo, who has managed to notch an impressive 19 goals in 21 starts this season. Central don’t come without their own firepower, of course having the ever-present Fuhad Kasali, who has scored an outrageous 29 goals in just 17 starts.

In the hammering last week, Central forward Gabriel Wiwoloku managed to net six goals, which will be a massive boost of confidence for him heading into such a critical game.

It will be great to see for manager Tomkinson, who will be without potent forward Tawab Djankpata, and central defender Paul Sholabi, who remains on the side-lines with a long-term injury (Anterior Cruciate Ligament). He will be hoping that Wiwoloku can continue in this vein of form and find the net a few more times on Saturday.

The manager gave us his thoughts on the thrashing last time out, saying “the lads took a lot of confidence from Tuesday’s game.” Tomkinson added how the mentality of the team has always been to take it one step at a time and not rush ahead, adding “we have always said we will take it each game as it comes, and we aim to win each game.”

“That’s always been the focus and the lads are fantastic as always.” Full of praise of his side, Tomkinson has always made sure his players are focused, and that they don’t dwell on previous results or victories.

He was pleased with his forwards’ performances against the Cavaliers, stating “having all the strikers scoring at least two was brilliant, and I’m sure they will take a lot from that going into the final two games.”

Ahead of Central’s visit to Daisy Hill, Tomkinson added “every game is tricky to be honest, every team can beat anyone on their day, but if we play how we can and have recently, we stand a great chance of getting the three points needed.”

He reiterated that his side were fully focused on the task at hand, adding “we’re absolutely not thinking about next week, this week is the focus for us all, which is a game we are looking forward to without a doubt. Hopefully it goes the way we would like it to.”

A win for Central will boost their chances of a top five finish and would leave them in a great position ahead of next week’s clash against promotion rivals Avro. Anything but a win for Central, would take it out of their hands, and would leave them with a lot to do whilst hoping that Hindley Juniors drop points for it to go their way.