Toolstation NCEL Division One
Leon Sewell has challenged his Hall Road Rangers underdogs to cause an upset at local rivals and league leaders North Ferriby next week.
Hall Road are scheduled to play Ferriby on the 28th December and Sewell expects the fixture to under-line his side’s progress in the past two months.
“For us it is an opportunity to test ourselves against the side who are deemed the best team in the league,” Sewell told Non League Yorkshire.
“Local derby or not, we’re going to be playing the top of the table team.
“It will be interesting and it is a game that everyone will want to play in.
“Ferriby will be all up for it.
“We take every game as it comes and prepare in the same way.
“We’ve had some close games over the years with Ferriby and drew 1-1 with them earlier in the season at Haworth Park.
“We have nothing to lose.
“Yes, we have three points to lose but we’re not expected to win so Ferriby can have all the pressure on them.
“We have the best changing room I’ve ever had.
“We have a good squad with a mix of youth and experience and even some of the football we are playing at the moment warrants us being higher up the table.
“It is a matter of time before we add a bit more strength to the team.
“We are back round to the games we had at the beginning of the season.
“We have played Worsbrough, Glasshoughton and Selby again and we have Ferriby and Hallam coming up and it is a test for us to see how far we have come on since the beginning of the season.”
After an inconsistent start, Sewell and Dave Ricardo’s Hall Road have been almost outstanding since the end of October.
Rangers have won six, drawn one and lost two of their last nine fixtures.
One of those losses was the late 2-1 defeat to rampant Selby Town and Sewell says his men were unlucky.
“It was definitely a game of two halves,” he said.
“Selby lined up a bit differently to the report we had on them.
“It suited it us and we had more possession and chances than them in the first half.
“We were definitely the team on the front-foot.
“Before we scored we missed a chance and missed the penalty so before we scored it could have been two.
“We went in at half-time at 1-0.
“Second half we had a disallowed goal for offside, a couple of goal-mouth scrambles and we couldn’t get the ball over-the-line unfortunately.
“For me, Selby substitutes Calum Ward and Ryan Cooper came on and changed the game.
“They changed formation and put us on the back-foot and those chances we didn’t take ultimately cost us.”