Matlock Town will be hoping to make it a quick Merseyside double on Saturday when they travel to Marine.
Saturday's 2-0 home win against newly promoted Cammell Laird saw the Gladiators leap six places up the UniBond Premier Division table from eighteenth to twelfth and they will be keen to build on what was a much needed victory.
Their third league win of the campaign was, strangely enough, very much like their earlier two against Whitby Town and Worksop Town, in that their performance failed to reach the heights of other games this season which have been lost or drawn.
Captain Simon Barraclough shot them in front on 10 minutes but in a scrappy affair, it was not until stoppage time at the end of the game that substitute Dene Cropper's third goal of the season confirmed a home victory.
Joint boss Phil Brown was happy with the result, which Matlock needed badly after two successive league defeats which also followed an FA Cup exit at Ilkeston.
"In the first twenty or twenty five minutes we played quite well and created a few chances but we became nervous after going in front and it became more of an even end to end game. We didn't fully control it but we deserved the win without hitting the heights. The clean sheet though was very welcome and it will hopefully give Andy Richmond and the defenders a bit of confidence as Cammell Laird did not create that much."
Midfielder Matty Thorpe earned man of the match rating thanks to a workmanlike performance in winning his tackles and then playing a simple but effective pass to begin many Matlock attacks.His contribution since winning his place back in the starting line up was acknowledged by Brown.
"Matty's done very well. Initially he impressed when coming on as a substitute at Guiseley and at Ilkeston and deserved a starting chance. He's taken that chance, shown tremendous consistency and played really well in the last three games. Now his fitness is getting there, it's good for both Matty and the team."
Brown also praised his strikers with the Gladiators appearing to have many options with Ross Hannah, Barraclough, Cropper and Nathan Benger fighting for places.
The smaller Hannah and Barraclough were replaced by 6'2" Cropper and the not quite so tall Benger midway through the second half against Lairds.
"I reckon we've got as good a strikeforce as anybody and that strength in depth we have in attack means we can play a big lads with a smaller lad, two small strikers or even two bigger lads together as we did on Saturday. We were going a bit too deep and ended up playing long balls to two little men who were up against three bigger defenders. Ross and Simon had worked hard but we thought that the bigger lads could win some headers and hold the ball up and in the end we started to create a few more chances and we got the second goal."
In spite of a couple of heavy looking defeats lately, Brown says that there is a real togetherness within the squad.
"There's a fantastic spirit in the dressing room for the lads believe, like Gareth Williams and myself, that our performances have warranted more points than we've got so far. We'd like to think that very soon we're going to get a really good performance for the three points and a few goals to boot.Everyone's fighting the cause and when people get left out they're obviously disappointed but there's no sulking. They go out, get some training kit and have a run. They're in it together and that's just what we're looking for."
Marine have three more points than Matlock and are in seventh spot and there is another tough game for the Gladiators on Tuesday night when third placed Guiseley visit Causeway Lane. Both clubs recorded a league double over Town last season and if Guiseley avoid defeat at table topping Ilkeston on Saturday, they will arrive in Derbyshire for the second time in three days as the division's only unbeaten side.
"Marine's always a difficult place to go to and we've not been that successful there over the years" said Brown. "They're difficult to play against and also they like to play football. Guiseley are having a good season but we put up a good show up there (Matlock drew 1-1 at Nethermoor on August Bank Holiday Monday). Before the match we'd have been happy with the point we got but we felt we deserved all three. Both Marine and Guiseley are good sides so we know we'll have to produce the goods, but also we know ourselves that we are capable of doing just that as we did up at Guiseley and against Eastwood at home."
There will be changes to the Gladiators side with striker Ross Hannah starting a three match ban following his red card against Boston United a fortnight ago. Defender Ryan Laight's very harsh sending off against Hednesford Town has resulted in a one match suspension and he will sit out just the Guiseley clash.
Dene Cropper should be favourite to replace Hannah while Brown and Williams have a tough decision to make in defence ahead of Saturday regarding Ashley Foyle.
Foyle has probably been Matlock's most consistent defender so far this season but he has missed the last two matches with knee and ankle injuries.
"We're very hopeful that Ashley will be fit for Saturday but really we need him to be 100% right" Brown explained."We've got to have half an eye on Tuesday night when Ryan Laight will be missing and the last thing we want is for Ashley to start on Saturday and then make things worse and miss Tuesday and some more games."
Meanwhile left back or left winger Paul Riley attended the Cammell Laird game on crutches having had his knee operation three days earlier and he was in good spirits. The injury has prevented the former Notts County player from playing any part for the Gladiators this season but he is now starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
"The operation went well, I just needed a clean up and nothing else so I'll not be out for much longer like I feared" said Riley. "Hopefully I'll be back in four to five weeks and I can't wait to get back playing again as it's so frustrating watching from the sidelines."
