NPL Division One East
Nathan Cartman could make his long-awaited Yorkshire Amateur debut in the unmissable derby clash with his former club Liversedge at Bracken Edge tomorrow.
Cartman has been suspended since joining as player/assistant manager from Scarborough Athletic at the end of 2021.
The battle of the West Yorkshire giants deserves a big crowd and the Leeds-based Ammers could have revenge on their minds due to the 5-0 defeat they were on the end of back in October.
However, joint manager Craig Ogilvie insists the big defeat has not haunted him or his and Neil Sibson’s side.
“There’s no need to create excuses but if you look at the eleven we ended up on the pitch (in October) it is totally different,” Ogilvie told Non League Yorkshire.
“On the day it could have been eight, nine, ten.
“But we’re in a better position now.
“I don’t think we have anything to prove as such.
“We’ll put a strong team out as long as there’s no drop-outs because of covid.
“We’ll come with a game-plan and give it a go.
“We know they have a lot of quality and we have a lot of respect for them.
“We know what they do and they like to play on you.
“It will very much a physical game and we have to try and stand up to that.
“If we can match them physically then we have a chance.”
The Ammers have a bit of confidence as they beat Stocksbridge Park Steels on New Year’s Day.
Ogilvie agrees it was a vital win.
“If I’m brutally honest, we said to the lads before the (Stocksbridge game) that we’ve got as much chance as going down the league than we have going up the league,” he said.
“We have a couple of games-in-hand because we haven’t played a few.
“We have a manic January coming up with lots of games and it was important to get points on the board (against Stocksbridge) so we can start to go up the table rather than looking behind us.
“I still think the aim is to consolidate.
“There’s still a long way to go and there’s a lot of points up for grabs.
“The teams below us, there’s only a few points between five or six teams.
“We’ll still try and finish as high as we can.
“If we can finish top ten, brilliant, but we’re not going to put any pressure on ourselves.”
The Ammers had goalkeeper Max Culverwell to thank as he saved a penalty in the second half during his debut.
Ogilvie was happy with his new stopper.
“He collected everything, I don’t think he dropped a cross,” he said.
“He saved a penalty and he’s had a really good game which will stand him in good stead going forward.”