; 48 ,.CIitheroe Advertiser &Times, Thursday, February 12th,'2009 =


www.cIitheroeadvertiser.co.uk:


Ciitheroe 422324 (E(frtoriai),012S2 426161 (Advertising), Burnley 01282 422331 (Ciassifiedi WEMUrmEiUM ts i OONUNE^ M- |C.'


Blues focus on play-off push


By Chris Boden B L U E S ’; M E X T


' CLITHEROE joint-man­ ager. Lee Sculp he r h a sn ’t given up hope of a play-off push over the second half of the season; - , ' ■ But he admits th e Blues


. period in good shape to have a' chance.


have to come through a key ’ ' -


• After only two wins in their last 15 games,- Ciitheroe have fallen off the pace, followng a- ■ superb start which saw them lose only twice in their opening 15 matches. . -.The^' recent . managerial


change, which saw Sculpher step up alongside Pete Smith- after Neil Reynolds decided to concentrate on on playing, has reaped four points from two


. games, however. ■ And with some big games on


the horizon, Ciitheroe could - give their season a real shot in the arm.-. ' .


_


. - On Saturday, the Blues have a derby clash a t third place' Bamber Bridge, before enter- taining second place Durhaih . at.Shawbridge on Monday night.


- .


' Games against sides in and • around them follow.i'with;


'C lith e ro e .i l pbints'adrift of Lancaster in the final play-off


■ place, with three games in hand.


And Sculpher said: “We


can’t dismiss the play-offs at this stage,' although it will be


■ difficult; purely because of our recent sequence of results, ; - . : “But if we do well in the next six-to-eight games, it could' push us'right back into the


•frame. ■, “In a normal season, you would have played 20 games by - : the end of Noyember/early


• December,- but basically.we have to play half a season in the next 10 weeks, so if w;e put some’ gobd results together,'" who knows?’’s. ■ .. . • ■ Sculpherhopes the'players


can continue to respond-to a different voice; and build their confidence back to. previous levels: “The next two games will b eam a s s ive tes t to see. how far we have come, and how the playbrs have reacted to the • recent changes.-, ■' - ■. “As I’ve said, Neil has made


a big difference by playing - he is an organiser on the pitch-


7-: V Baml^ Bridge, (UniBond Firet Division NorthV i") ■ Saluitlav,3n.m;* • t-iA,•


••:>ry DurhamCUy, home,‘? '■ (UniBond First Division North) -..^.vJji^Monday, 7-15


and we just need to pick up on little aspects of our game. “Early on in the season there


^ was not much wrong, but with the results leading up to Christmas, confidence dwin-


.. died.- ' .. “ You get punished for every


■ -mistake, and bad habits then filter into your game. “I t ’s a case of trying to get


round every individual and let' them know the way we want to play. “We have changed very little in the style of play, it is just ;


■ giving individual instructions 'and information, nothing too


. confusing, but'the basics in relation' to defending and what


Anthonv Johnson “I t doesn’t help with Antho-.


ny Johnson’s suspension either, as he’s been out for three weeks now, when i t hormally would ' have been done and dusted within a week. Under the old '


■rales he woiild have been okay! .“Touch wood, Anthony will


-we do in the final third.” First and forerhpst, he hopes ■ the games beat the weather . after a glut of recent postpone- • ments. ■


- ■ ,


. * Clitheroe’s game a t Curzon • Ashton bn Saturday fell vic­ tim, as well as ’Tuesday’s hbme encounter with Garforth, and .


' Sculpher used the time well: “I went to watch Bamber Bridge -


: oh Tuffiday night; and I’ni not ' - too sure th ey should have '• played! You could he ahthe - studs clattering, and a bit more


' frost could put Saturday in doubt.


, “Hopefully we can play,


, we’re training twice a week and trained on Saturday as well, -'


; and the players naturally want to get out and play. ^


be back bh Monday if Satur-', day’s game is on, biit Ian Flan-. nery is 50/50 with his ham-' string. '


“Everyone else is available,.


Jonathan Smith is available a g a in ; 'although he hasn’t played in nine weeks or s o . ;. “He will be in the squad, but


■ i t is "difficult to p u t him straight back in, it would be a biggariible.


,: “Oli McGee has been excel­ lent, in any case; and by play- ’ ing as well as he has, he’s given us a massive headache.


• -. .-“You would look to have a


settled back;four as soon a s . possible, but th e ia d s there ' have done well, Oli,' Connor; Kavanagh, Liam McManus ; and Keiron Fletcher. -


'. “They are young and inexpe-. riencedj but are willing to lis­ ten and learn, and they have been impressive.’’


' Remarkably, Ciitheroe are


, only halfway through the sea-. : son in •mid-February,; b u t . although Sculpher. would, like to see the.league relent and


; extend the campai^, he is not necessarily, an advocate of a shift to summer football; like some local leagues are’pdnder- ing: “I t ’s ridiculous. I ’in sur­ prised 'th e 'seasdri hasn’t


already-been extended by. a .week or two.


-■,• ;■ “They may, have to do that


anyway, if there are more post­ ponements in the next couple of weeks. ,


• “I don’t know about chang-


' ing the season though, I can - understand different levels: moving.fixtures,;but there is., always the counter argument with the FA Trophy, and FA Cup th a t you would have to change.the whole structure, which isn’t possible.’


Gunners ladies have Shawbridge date 5 :' B y Phil Simpson


^SHAWBRIDGE-'will; once again host one of the leading names in the


• world of women’s football on Sunday. y Reigning Premier Division .champions Arsenal will make^the trip in one of the biggest matches of the season.: ■


; And Ciitheroe are urg­ ing followers of all s tan - :


. dards of football to make the journey to see what promises to be a worth­ while spectacle.


The vGunners, who


boast a'whole host of- internationals, currently head the 'FAy-Tesco- Women’s Premier Divi­ sion, and aru on course for an u n p recedented'


, - -


. sixth straight league title. ■ And Blues' chairman Carl Garner is calling on fans of -all ages to come down:; “ I t ’s :-a - g re a t • op p o r tu n ity .fo r local football supporters to see the pinnacle of women’s football. ■ “The Arsenal team


boasts a number of quali­ ty internationals, and i t ; the match will make for ;


quite a spectacle.' • : - “This is the only game


-that is taking place at Shawbridge this week­ e n d ,d u e to Glitheroe : being away from home o n :the. Saturday, so i t . represents a wonderful opportunity for people to come downand take in some football.” . y-Shawbridge ■


■, memo­ ra b ly ' played 'h o s t to


Blackburn’s first-ever game in the women’s top flight, when A r s e n a l ; recorded a 3-0-win;in August 2006. ; Rovers are yet to win a


• home game so far this season in six attempts,


.taking just;two points, bu t have won fou r on; their travels. ’


..V And while Sunday rep­ resents the toughest pos­


sible task to rectify that record, it would be an


•. unbelievable springboard should they take some­ thing from the fixture. -■ : ; -Sunday’s ' game "at > Shawbridge between.; Blackburn Rovers Ladies, and Arsenal L a d ie s ' kicks-offat 1 p.m.,-with admission priced a t £3 : for adults and £1 for con-^;; cessions.


visMiPMCbM - . ■


Whalley bowls date


* •


ENTRIES are being taken for the Derek Lord Memorial Mixed Doubles a t Whalley Bowling Club. The event will be


held on Saturday, April 4th, with a closing date for entries of Saturday, ;March 14th. , I t costs £6 per pair


'.•'tr-r-.-,-;.


•to enter, sent to Pat Holden, 7 Woodfield ■View, 'Whalley BB7 9TB (01254 822737).


■ The bar will be open, and r refreshments served all day.


M


- - - - - - - JOHN’S I NEW " YORK OATE


teams needed


TEAMS are invited to join a new five-a-side football league at Oakhill Academy in Whalley. The league will be


run on Sunday morn­ ings from 9-30 a.m. until 2-30 p.m.,starting oh February 22nd. Entry is £20, \vith a


£30 insurance bond, with a fee of £21 per game, per team. - Games will be played


on an indoor sprung- loaded surface, with qualified referees, played over two 15- minutehalvK. ;,There is £2,000 in


prizes to be won, and for more details, con­ ta c t Michael a t the Academy ; (01254 824333).


, C O N T A C T


T I f f i S P O R T S D E S K


Edward Lee


cdwanUcc@casllancsncu’s.co.uk 01282 478163


Chris Boden


chris.bodcn@easlJancsncws.co.uk ; 01282478164


■ Fax :. 01282439863 @


770963 365447 4


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