Express & Star

Title chasers braced for pivotal weekend

Boss Darren Byfield has called on Walsall Wood to take the Midland League Premier title race right to the wire ahead of the biggest weekend of the season so far.

Published

The Wood, second in the table, host third-placed Westfields in one of two mammoth fixtures, the results of which could go a long way to shaping the rest of the campaign.

In the other, fourth-placed Sporting Khalsa travel to long-time leaders Ilkeston Town, aiming for a victory which would blow the title race wide open.

Pre-season favourites Ilkeston currently hold a four-point lead at the top, but Byfield and his Khalsa counterpart Ian Rowe have by no means given up hope of catching them.

Byfield said: “It’s a massive weekend, the biggest of the season by far.

“If Ilkeston beat Khalsa then you would probably say they have one hand on the trophy.

“But if they lose and we do our part against Westfields, it will be all to play for. These are two huge games.”

Byfield wants his players to make the most of a ‘second chance’ after admitting he feared their title hopes had gone up in smoke with a three-game winless run last month.

The Wood, who will welcome back five players from injury and suspension for tomorrow’s game, had closed to within a point of Ilkeston before then.

Chewing

“We were chewing and chewing our way into their lead and once we got close, we threw up!” said Byfield. “It must have been from all that chewing!

“Now it feels like we are back in with a chance. There are nine games to go and at the moment they are all cup finals.

“I have told the players we have to make sure it stays that way and when we get to the last game, it is still a cup final.

“The least we can do is make sure this race stays exciting. The players – and myself – have to make sure we leave everything on the field.”

Khalsa boss Ian Rowe wants his team to have the mentality of ‘kings’ as they look to bring down Ilkeston.

Though they currently trail the leaders by eight points, Khalsa have two games in hand and know a victory would see them end the weekend with destiny in their own hands.

Rowe hopes they will take confidence from a 1-0 win over the Derbyshire outfit at the Aspray Arena earlier in the campaign.

But he added: “It is going to be a tough ask on their own patch. There will be a big crowd and our players are going to have to deal with that.

“They’ve got to embrace the challenge. Ultimately it is for days like this we are involved in the game. There is no point going there and playing with fear. We have got to go and play as kings.”