Kendal Are Coming!

I know we have a reputation for being relatively magnanimous winners at Mossley but as it's the first opportunity we've had to do it, wouldn't it be good to have a 'Bullseye' moment on Saturday? As our opponents line-up before kick-off Jim Bowen could walk on to the pitch and say, "Let's have a look at what you could have won!" At which point out come the Mossley team carrying the Unibond First Division trophy. Yes, Kendal are the visitors to Seel Park for the first meeting between the two sides since Mossley pipped them to the league title in the final game of last season.

With Mossley on the receiving end of a spanking at Gresley all Kendal had to do to claim the title was beat Shepshed at home. However their failure to do so not only meant missing out on the Championship but automatic promotion too as Fleetwood's goal blitz saw the Fylde coast club leapfrog them into second spot. How we laughed at when that news came through at Gresley whilst we were celebrating. All's well that ends well though as one week later victories over Stocksbridge and Gresley saw Kendal win the play-offs and gain promotion, which is the least they deserved for being there are thereabouts at the top of the league for most of the season.

Kendal got off to a fantastic start in the Unibond Premier but their last eight games or so has seen them sink like a stone with a series of awful results and performances, whereas Mossley on the other hand have managed to maintain a steady flow of mediocre results in the higher division; we're sort of like the tortoise to Kendal's hare in the race to avoid relegation.

The Cumbrian side currently lie one place and two points above Mossley in 18th place having played one game less. Away from Parkside Road they've managed to win just five out of a possible twenty one points, whilst Mossley's seven points from twenty four is the second worst home record in the league. Both sides were knocked out of the FA Trophy last Saturday by teams who'd just been promoted from the NWCL and Kendal also lost midweek in the league to Marine, though their forum is filled with posts praising their performance in the 2-0 defeat as the best in quite a while.

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This match will be the first meeting between the two sides that hasn't taken place on a Tuesday night!

You'll sleep a lot better knowing that now, won't you?

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At least this is a tie in which the Lilywhite's have recent history on their side with Kendal having failed to win any of the previous four meetings between the two sides; Mossley managing two wins and two draws over the past two seasons. In fact Mossley's record from when Kendal used to be Netherfield isn't too shabby either but unfortunately football isn't played in the pages of a history book. Unless the pages are really, really big that is...

Prediction: It may only be the beginning of November but this is surely Mossley's first 'must-win' game of the season. The fallout from a defeat, or even a draw, against the team with the worst form in the league would be unimaginable which is why I'm confident that it's going to be a win for Mossley, even accounting for the suspensions and the inevitable injury list.

Whether the match is going to be anything to write home about is another matter; with two of the worst performing teams in the league going head to head this is either going to be the best match we've seen this season or the absolute worst - with no inbetween. Lucky us, eh?