Leiston’s rollercoaster of a season continues tomorrow at Ship Lane, the home of Thurrock FC, writes Craig Cooper.
The Blues beat a very good Staines Town side 4-1 last weekend, while on Tuesday night they progressed to the final of the Suffolk Premier Cup final, beating Kirkley & Pakefield 3-1.
Leiston have played tomorrow’s opponents just twice in recent history. In the Suffolk club’s first year in the Bostik Premier Division, (then Ryman), Thurrock were relegated.
That season, Leiston won 3-0 at Thurrock as a Gareth Heath penalty, a David Head header and an Emannuel Osei goal gained the win. Leiston will welcome back Darren Mills, who was cup-tied against Kirkley & Pakefield in the Senior Cup on Tuesday, into the squad.
“The play-off places really are up for grabs and we go into Saturday’s game full of confidence, although we know it will be a tough game,” manager Glen Driver said.
Two goals from Christy Finch and a Jake Reed effort were enough to defeat Kirkley & Pakefield and clinch a place in the Suffolk Premier Cup final last midweek.
Driver added: “After Tuesday night’s performance against Kirkley, we owe it to ourselves to bounce back and perform. We were not at our best and on a difficult pitch we still managed to find three goals to put us in the final.
“We are looking for six points against Thurrock and Needham Market, with the latter a local derby which is always a difficult game.”
Leiston Reserves will be looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat to March Town United last week as they host fourth placed Swaffham Town.
They beat the Norfolk side 3-1 earlier in the season. On Monday, they look will look forward to a local derby as they visit Framlingham Town.
The U18’s continued their impressive form as they beat Needham Market on Thursday evening. Lukas Darling and Alfie Norman gave Leiston a 2-0 lead at the interval.
A Needham own goal extended Leiston’s lead and Adam Blades was also on target to gain a 4-0 win. The U18’s are still top of the league, and welcome second-placed Woodbridge Town to Victory Road next Thursday in league action.
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