Yorkshire Coast Football Preview

Saturday, 8 October 2022 07:00

By Matthew Pells & Ben Edwards

Scarborough are in league action today, Whitby play in the trophy and Bridlington have an alphabetical encounter.

Scarborough Athletic are looking to bounce back from their FA cup exit midweek with a win in the league this afternoon.

Boro face Kettering Town at the flamingo land stadium with new loan signing Ciaran McGuckin poised to make his debut.

Manager - Jono Greening - is hoping Michael Coulson will be fit after missing Tuesday game through illness.

Greening told Scarborough Athletic TV the team are in a good position.

Kick off at the Flamingo Land Stadium is at 3pm, if you really can't get to the game you can hear live commentary on This is the Coast Extra.

Whitby Town will be hoping to continue their three-game unbeaten spell this afternoon as they travel to Guisley in the FA trophy.

New loan signing Jamie Bramwell will be in the squad for the trip.

Manager Nathan Haslam told Whitby Town TV it's a big game and the team are performing well.

Bridlington Town have an interesting fixture as the division’s first and second teams alphabetically will battle it out, as Bridlington Town will be welcome Brighouse Town to Queensgate following back-to-back away games.

Whilst the hosts may not have won in the past five games, Mike Thompson has proved successful in making his side more defensively stable, as the past three fixtures have seen his side concede just two goals. The most recent encounter was against Sheffield FC, where Callum Cutts’ header was cancelled out by Jack Griffin’s first goal of the season, which came from an excellently hit free kick.

Thompson revealed two new signings prior to the Sheffield game. Right back Matty Dixon, who will be no stranger to the Brid Town faithful having impressed when featuring for the club last season, returns having left to join Tadcaster Albion in the summer. Danny Finch, an attacking midfield player whom Thompson has managed previously, was the other new signing, with the gaffer admitting he was a player he targeted in pre season.

With Eddie Rogerson back in training on Thursday and available for Saturday’s game as well as Andy Norfolk returning from injury to start at striker against Sheffield, there should be a wide range of options. Despite this, there are still some players suffering from injuries in the squad. Lewis Dennison and Joe Norton both picked up injuries in the Cleethorpes game last month. The extent of Dennison’s injury is unknown, though he won’t be fit for Saturday. It is not certain whether Norton will be ready for Saturday’s game or whether he will need longer to recover.

Both sides currently sit in better league positions than they ended last season. The Seasiders sit 10th after nine games, five positions higher than they finished last season. The visitors are flying high in fourth position, up three places on their seventh place finish last campaign, which saw them finish two places outside the playoffs and level on points and goal difference with sixth placed Dunston.