ROTHBURY HOST WHITLEY BAY SC IN LEAGUE

Rothbury v Whitley Bay Sporting Club

Northern Football Alliance Division One

Saturday 12^th October 2019, kick-off 2.30pm

Injuries and work commitments mean Rothbury boss Dan Herron will have to juggle the side for the visit of fellow promoted club Whitley Bay SC on Saturday.

While youngster Dylan Handyside is available for selection, one or two others will be missing – but Herron has been impressed with the job the players that have come in have done and shrugged: “It’s nothing new – we’ve not been at full strength yet this season!”

Bay joined Rothbury in the First Division over the summer and there were some good games between the two sides last term, with the manager hoping to see more of the same this weekend.

“Whitley are a decent side to be fair, and I think they will have added in the summer so we expect a tough test! The hope is we keep our run together and build momentum like last year,” said the gaffer, after Rothbury have won in their last four on the bounce. “We’ve started playing some really good stuff and it’s great to see the form of our maiden season return."

Herron feels that his players have adjusted well to the promotion now and are beginning to find their feet in the higher division, and said: “There is a step-up in standard with respects to competitiveness - in Division 1 there is nothing given up. I found that in Division 2 there were a lot of teams who tried to play football the right way, but might not compete as well, whereas all our games in Division 1 have been a different competition all together.”

Away from the League, Rothbury have been handed a trip to Ashington Oaks in the Third Round of the NFA Minor Cup. The Northeast Combination Division Three side are a bit of an unknown quantity, but Herron isn’t taking the challenge lightly.

“We don’t know much about them, but all Wansbeck sides are always competitive, so we go down there with the same mentality as any other - get it down and play and make sure we compete with the physical battle.”

The tie takes place at Hirst Welfare on Saturday 9^th November.