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Shrewsbury Derby, Wrockites face champs test
Week 6 sees a Shrewsbury Derby as Castlefields host Meole Brace. Meole are sitting top of the table whilst Castlefields lost ground to the top 3 after their defeat at Ifton last week. Castlefields will be looking for a repeat of their last home win against the Champions Newport but Meole are the form team in the league at the moment. Home captain Keith Walton is “looking forward to a local derby on Friday, which is always keenly contested. We are looking to bounce back after last week as our performance didn’t reflect the score.” Away skipper Mark Thomas admits “it’s always a difficult fixture for us, we lost there last year and they have a stronger squad this season. But we are playing well and the lads are looking forward to a competitive night.” Whatever happens down at Queen Street, it is sure to be a very competitive game played in a great atmosphere.
Second placed St Georges face a tough trip to a Bowring side in good form this season. Bowring got an excellent 5 down the road at the Bayley last week but will be looking for a similar performance like they did to Newport in their first home game of the season. But St Georges have started well, and have already got an away win at Hadley first game of the season and 6 at the Bayley, and will be looking for a good result.
Third placed and champions Newport face a trip to Wrockwardine Wood. Newport won there 11-3 last season in the first game of the season but will be hard pushed to match that this season. Home captain Stuart Clee is looking for “any win, I wouldn’t want to put an amount on it as we have to give Newport a lot of respect over what they have done over the last few years. But I wouldn’t expect anything less than a home win as I believe we are strong enough to do so. I would like to think everyone who visits Wrockwardine has to work hard for their points as we expect to win every game at home.” Wrockwardine Wood had a poor start last season starting with the Newport result but Stuart thinks this season has been much better. “We have played well as a team and can perhaps count ourselves a tad unlucky. Saying that I believe we have plenty of improvement and we will face each challenge head on and I know I have the players at my disposal to represent a good year for us. We are definitely a more together and confident side this year and that is down to the people’s performance on the side as well as on the green.”
The bottom four teams will be looking for home comforts this week. Bottom placed Bylet face a Sir John Bayley side who have struggled so far this season, but will be looking for new junior debutant Jamie Fletcher this week to inspire the team. Second bottom Archibald Worthington take on Ifton who are in fifth place after an impressive start this season, including 5 at St Georges and 6 at Bowring. But Archie played very well last home game to inflict the only defeat on leaders Meole Brace so far this season and will be looking for something similar. Third bottom Hadley USC take on Wem USC who have quietly moved up to fourth place this season after solid performances home and away. Hadley will look for a repeat of their last home result, a 13-1 win over Archie, rather than their opening day loss against St Georges. Fourth bottom Burway suffered a disappointing result last week getting 1 at St Georges, but will look for a repeat of their previous result against the Bayley, a 12-2 home win, against visitors Chester Road. Chester Road have travelled alright this season getting 4 at the Bayley and St Georges, both times winning 3 out of the back four, so will be looking for a similar haul.
Fixtures:
AWC v Ifton
Bowring v St Georges
Burway v Chester Road
Bylet v SJB
Castlefields v Meole Brace
Hadley USC v Wem USC
Wrock Wood v Newport