Match preview
Evostik League Premier Division
North Ferriby United v Matlock Town
Saturday26th March 2011 Kick-off 3.00 pm

Ferriby travel to Gigg Lane, Bury to take on promotion rivals FC United of Manchester on Saturday. The teams met at the Rapid Solicitors Stadium last week with the match ending in a 1-1 draw.

On Tuesday The Villagers consolidated their hold on third spot with a good 3-1 home win over play-off rivals Matlock Town. That and other midweek results has strengthened Ferriby's position in the Evostik Premier Division. The Villagers are now only three points behind second-placed Colwyn Bay with two games in hand.
Only 5 points separate fourth-placed Buxton from Kendal Town who are 10th. Whilst it is obviously helpful when rivals drop points in such a tight race, Ferriby's destiny is still very much in their own hands according to manager John Anderson: "We have to concentrate on our own performances on our own results and performances and not what on our rivals are doing.

Ferriby played some good football against Matlock and were worthy winners on the night. After Matlock had equalised The Villagers team spirit showed itself once again with two quick goals to secure a well-deserved victory. John Anderson again, "It was a good performance against a good side who are also promotion rivals."

Anderson will be looking for a similar performance against FC United on Saturday. With four successive games to play against promotion rivals in the next 10 days a series of good results would help to define Ferriby's final placing. Finishing second or third guarantees a home game in the play-off semi-final.
Tuesday's victory came at some cost on the injury front. Chris White, returning from a knee injury, left the ground on crutches when he was injured in virtually the last tackle of the match. Alex Davidson has a shoulder injury that is worse than initially thought and he may be out for as long as 3 months. Paul Foot has a slight hamstring problem, Ben Morley has an Achilles injury and Ben Turner has a stomach problem; all three will have late fitness tests. Paul Harsley may also be unavailable due to work commitments at Scunthorpe United.

The coming weeks could be a tough challenge for Ferriby's small squad. However, as captain Paul Foot said after the match, "Everybody wants to be playing in these type of games and hopefully one or two of the injured players will be fit enough to play on Saturday, including me." With the 31st March deadline for signing new or loan players, John Anderson is looking to bring in one or two new faces if at all possible.

Possible Ferriby Squad: Steve Wilson, Adam Nicklin, Ben Turner, Ben Morley, Paul Foot, Sam Denton, Paul Harsley, Kevin Larvin, Chris Bolder, Peter Davidson, Russell Fry, Wayne Brooksby, James Williams, Gary Bradshaw, Luke Thompson,