Salisbury take on North Leigh in crucial lower-table six pointer

Friday, 17 March 2023 00:00

Salisbury look to win their first home league game since November 1st, as they take on North Leigh in a bottom-half six-pointer at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium.

The Whites have been dragged towards the relegation fight due to a string of bad results, and have failed to win their last two games - a 0-0 draw to Gosport in a rearranged fixture last week, and a 6-1 mid-week loss to Bracknell Town before that.

Manager Brian Dutton has targeted this game against the Millers as a way to bounce back from poor form, but has not underestimated the opposition, saying: “We’re a little bit brittle with our home record, and North Leigh are one of the most in-form teams in the league.

“People will be looking at it as an easy game, but they’ll be very much mistaken. They’re in a relegation fight, as are we right now.

“We've got to make sure we prepare right, and we’ve got to treat them with respect, just as they deserve.”

Port Vale loanee James Plant has impressed since joining on January deadline day, and will return to the side - he was shown a second yellow against Met Police after just 32 minutes, and served a one-match suspension.

In other Salisbury news, Seung Woo Yang is expected to feature after extending his loan from Eastleigh until the end of the season - the Korean midfielder has made 12 league appearances since joining in November.

Despite having big expectations this season, Salisbury look to be ending the season troubling the bottom half of the table rather than the top - the Whites finished in 15th place last campaign, and look to be ending somewhere similar this year too.

With eight games remaining, they currently sit 14th place, but a win against the Millers would see them jump up to 12th place and overtake Dorchester Town on goal difference.

North Leigh, on the other hand are rooted deeply in a relegation battle - they are in 20th place and would overtake Hendon and Harrow Borough with a win, but both teams have two games in hand over them.