That task should be made easier here, given that the playing surface will be grass rather than mud, and the weather conditions will be more akin to something Planet Earth-like, even though it’s been a bit of a blustery week. Conditions were tough last Saturday, and perhaps not too much should be read into the Bulls’ loss there in terms of where they’re at generally, but nevertheless Josh Gowling was unhappy with the individual mistakes made prior to the Southport goals, and hinted that changes could be made to the starting XI as a result. Whether that’s still the case now that the dust has settled and he’s had a chance to calm down a bit remains to be seen. It would seem to be a fair compromise to give the miscreants one more chance to make amends by playing error-free football on actual grass.
The club’s recent five match winning run saw them fly up the table, and they now sit in 12th place, on the same number of points as Saturday’s visitors, who are in ninth, although Curzon have played two games fewer. A win here would therefore really consolidate that push into the play-off places, with the Bulls currently one of six clubs separated by a solitary point all with designs on seventh place, apart from Southport, who are actually IN seventh place all of a sudden, after back-to-back wins on Saturday and Tuesday.
Both the short- and longer-term injuries seem to have largely healed, so Josh Gowling will have plenty of options. A start for Miles Storey would give cause for optimism, with Dan Smith perhaps making way. Supporters will be eagerly anticipating the return of Harry Pinchard too after injury, given the promise he showed earlier in the season as a player who can conjure a goal from nowhere, and generally make things happen. A hopefully now migraine-free Ben Pollock could come in for Luke Haines, who is currently experiencing a slight migraine in his hamstring.
The Nash, like Kettering, started the season well, and thanks to that are in a higher position in the table than where they normally find themselves. However, recently, there are signs that they’re now reverting to type and just starting to slip down the table to more a more familiar place in the bottom six. They’ve lost their last two games, and haven’t won for over a month. Despite that recent dip in form, midfielder Adam Thomas has outscored the Bulls strikers this season, with seven goals in 16 appearances.
Over the last four seasons they’ve finished 18th three times. Their talent for judging just what it takes to achieve safety is therefore admirable, but that record suggests that they should be as beatable as eggs.
The visitors, in common with many of the teams in the NLN, have in the past been excellent at playing the referee when playing the ball isn’t working for them, quick to resort to the sort of irritating antics the Bulls haven’t always been totally wise to in the past. They’ve also, to give them some credit, looked effective as a counter-attacking force in previous encounters.
The last time these teams met at Edgar Street in 2019, Russell Slade had been relieved of his duties and Josh Gowling took charge for the first time. The match ended 1-1, with Tom Owen-Evans scoring a stoppage time penalty. It was the last of several disappointing results in the head-to-heads between these clubs since the Bulls were promoted to the NLN.
After a horrible assignment last week up at Southport, this looks like a golden opportunity to get back on the horse/bike/er, pitch and build on the 3-0 win against Kettering with something similar. It’s also, with Hereford out of the FA Trophy, the last scheduled match before a tough-looking Kiddy Christmas double and a tricky one against a Gloucester side that’s improving, largely courtesy of ex-Bull Ollie Hulbert’s goals. I can’t think of too many of the players Tim Harris brought to the club who went on to succeed at the same level or higher elsewhere, but Hulbert, Jamie Grimes, Kennedy Digie, The Shop, Giles Coke…I could go on but I can’t immediately think of anyone else and I need to publish this in a minute, all have shown since leaving the club that they’re upwardly mobile. This all suggests that one head coach is the right person for the job, and the other…wasn’t.
If it’s a toss-up between going to the game and going Christmas shopping over the road, all you have to do is remember that Christmas shopping is an absolutely pants thing to do, and the decision is made for you.
COYW