No pressure on Horden CW as unlikely play-off push continues

Jonny Payne has praised Horden CW’s ‘Dad’s Army’ for their impressive introduction to life in the Northern League’s top tier.

After securing promotion via a Division Two title win last season, the Marras have already surpassed the expectations of many onlookers by winning nine of their opening 15 games of the campaign to establish themselves in and around the play-off places.

Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Carlisle City, Payne’s men are only being kept out of the top five by an inferior goal difference and are currently sitting just three points behind second placed Whitley Bay. There have been some eye-catching performances and wins along the way, no more so than on their last visit to Cumbria when a late goal from Bobby McNeany gave them a 1-0 win against a Kendal Town side currently sitting in third place in the table.

Payne admitted he would have ‘snapped somebody’s hand off’ if he had been offered a place in and around the play-offs at this point in the season and insisted there was no pressure on his players ahead of their trip to Gilford Park.

He told The Echo: “I think we never really expected to be where we are but we just keep growing and growing. Our fitness has stayed at a high level despite us being Dads Army in terms of our age and we keep them high.

“We would have snapped somebody’s hand off for this if we were offered it at the start of the season and I probably would have done the same to be fourteenth in the division because it was all about staying in the league. We are over the moon and we are really looking forward to going to Carlisle. There is no pressure on us, we have a full bus going over there and we are really looking forward to the challenge and to the day as a whole.”

Northern League Division One fixtures

Friday: Birtley Town v Newcastle Blue Star, Newcastle Benfield v Northallerton Town, Whickham v West Allotment Celtic Saturday: Carlisle City v Horden CW, Crook Town v Guisborough Town, Marske United v Shildon, North Shields v West Auckland Town, Penrith v Easington Colliery, Whitley Bay v Kendal Town

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