Alnwick Town look to rekindle early season form against struggling Prudhoe

Alnwick Town will be hoping to return to winning ways when they face Prudhoe YC Seniors at Essity Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Magpies are currently on a winless run of three matches in the Ebac Northern League Division Two, and will be eager to recapture the early season momentum they showed under new manager Andy Waugh when they come up against a side who are rooted to the foot of the table having lost all 10 of their league fixtures so far, scoring just three goals in the process.

Town’s campaign began in relatively inauspicious fashion with a 2-0 opening day defeat against Park View at St. James’ Park, but an emphatic 7-1 thrashing of Durham United days later would ultimately set the tone for a run of form that showed much promise.

After a close-run 3-2 loss against high-flying Jarrow, Alnwick would battle their way to a midweek stalemate against early pace-setters Tow Law Town, and off the back of that result, the Northumberland outfit would kick on with a run of three consecutive league wins.

A Nathan Kidd hat-trick put Grangetown Boys Club to the sword in a 3-1 triumph in early August, while a second-half Kyle Cockburn penalty would sink Sunderland RCA in a hard-fought 1-0 win a few days later. Town would bow out of the FA Vase at the hands of Pickering Town, before resuming their eye-catching streak in the Northern League with a 5-2 hammering of Stokesley - with Cockburn assuming the role of hat-trick hero that afternoon.

But since then, Alnwick have faltered a touch. After leading 2-1 at half-time, a red card and two retaliatory strikes from league leaders Boldon CA would see Waugh’s men suffer a narrow 3-2 defeat in spite of their spirited performance, and from there, Town would slump to a 1-0 loss against FC Hartlepool.

There would be more disappointment for the Magpies in their next outing, as a last gasp equaliser denied them all three points against 10-man Billingham Town, but with Prudhoe languishing in 20th without a point to their name, the aim will be to bounce back emphatically on Saturday afternoon.