It’s the first Kirklees derby of the season as Emley AFC host local rivals Golcar United tomorrow (Tuesday August 16).
Newly-promoted Golcar are still seeking their first win in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division while Emley go into the game on the back of a thumping 6-0 victory at Handsworth on Saturday.
Pewits’ striker Joe Jagger bagged a hat-trick as Emley took Handsworth apart with a comprehensive display.
Donae Lawrence put Emley ahead in the sixth minute and they never looked back. Jagger made it 2-0 before Dominic Riordan got himself on the scoresheet. Jagger then got his second and it was game over after half-an-hour. Jagger completed his treble after the break and Connor Brunt added the sixth.
Golcar, meanwhile, are still adapting to life in the higher league and while they are creating chances, goals are proving elusive. On Saturday they lost 1-0 at Penistone Church, going down to a goal midway through the second half from Kieran Ryan.
They again played the majority of the match with 10 men as Leon Henry was sent off for being the last man in the first half.
Golcar and Emley met in pre-season where Emley won 6-0 and George Doyle scored a hat-trick. Pewits boss Richard Tracey doesn’t believe that game will have any bearing on the league encounter tomorrow and says he is expecting a tough test against the Weavers.
Tracey said: “It will absolutely not have any bearing on this game, it was early in preseason, we’d been back slightly longer than Golcar so we had an edge on that front.
“Both of us played a large number of players within the game. I believe we both tried two systems that day also so it’s going to be a good local derby but pre-season will have no bearing on this game. There is points at stake this time around too.
“It will be great if we can get a good crowd for our first home game of the season.”
On the win over Handsworth and Jagger’s performance in particular Tracey added: “We’re all delighted, it’s so important to get the first points on the board but the manner of it was even better.
“We could have had more really and without sounding harsh they rarely troubled our goal.
“It’s great for the lads the win, it relieves the pressure of getting the first win early and to do it in such a controlled and positive performance was great
“Joe was excellent and could have scored five but we’re all happy with his hat-trick, but Joe did a fantastic job out of possession too which made it easier for all of his teammates and often that work goes unnoticed.”
Meanwhile joint Golcar boss Gav Connor says the team need to start making good performances turn into results and points.
He said: “It’s fair to say that if you don’t take your chances other teams will. It doesn’t matter how well you play, it’s about digging a result out and that’s what has happened to us in the last couple of games. You get punished for your mistakes.”
On the defeat to Penistone Connor added: “It was like deja vu…it was a very similar to the defeat against Handsworth last Tuesday. Down to 10 men again after 25 minutes! Our performance was still very good and we still created enough chances to win the game.
“The performances have been good so it’s not a concern however we need to get a goal.
“When that happens I think we will be tough to beat. We do need that result but the season has a long way to go and our luck has to change soon.
“We create chances and keep having a lot of possession. The tempo and urgency is all there. We just need to try keep 11 players on the pitch to start with.”
Emley v Golcar United is at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground on Tuesday night (7.45).
Gallery of images from Penistone Church v Golcar United by Huddersfield Hub photographer SEAN DOYLE
