Following a heroic comeback win last weekend, the Miners will return to the Bannister Prentice Stadium to face a struggling Heaton Stannington side. Despite the teams surrounding Town in the NPL East table having played less games, Garforth have the opportunity to push closer to a potential play-off spot.
Garforth and Heaton played out an incredible FA Cup tie earlier this season, which saw the Miners come back from two goals down, to win with a Charlie Marshall strike deep into extra time. The game was also memorable for Jay Davis scoring from the halfway line. Goals from Max Tweddle and Matt Antcliff also sealed a 2-0 victory against Saturday's opponents in the NPL East reverse fixture back in November.
The Stan are currently winless in their last nine NPL East matches; a worrying spell which has caused them to drop to 21st in the division and four points adrift from safety. However, a promising 3-3 draw in their last match against Brighouse and a narrow 2-1 defeat to table toppers Cleethorpes Town the game prior certainly suggests the team are determined to escape the drop.
Returning to the Miners, a seven-minute salvo from Garforth flipped last Saturday's fixture against Bridlington on its head: goals from Max Bauer, Charlie Marshall and Sam Barker sealed a 3-2 victory in front of the exceptional travelling support. A hamstring injury to Matt Antcliff early into the match forced his substitution off the field and potentially may rule him out of action for this weekend. In addition, Jay Davis required treatment after a knock late in the game and also may be a doubt.
Ten points from their last five league matches certainly suggests that Town will be favourites to claim all three points on Saturday, but Paul Marshall knows his side still need to perform well to defeat a Heaton team that are battling to stay in the division. A win could push the Miners up to 6th in the NPL East table, as the challenge of reaching the play-offs could be well within Garforth's grasp.
Kick Off is at 3pm