Toolstation NCEL Division One Play-Offs
For Rossington Main, the play-offs semi-final at North Ferriby is their biggest ever stage.
That’s the view of Ben Hunter who is hoping to lead Rossington into the top flight of the NCEL for the first ever time.
Rossington have never finished above seventh during their 21 years in the NCEL and here they are as underdogs against Ferriby.
“You have got to say it is the biggest game (in the club’s history),” Hunter told Non League Yorkshire.
“I was talking with the committee after the last game against Glasshoughton and we have 81 points, that’s the most by a long way in terms of history.
“It is the first play-offs semi-final they have been in but it is only big if you win it.
“The frustration for us this season is that we have had some big performances but we have fallen at the semi-final hurdle.
“We gave a great account of ourselves against Worksop (in the Senior Cup semi-final) but we lost 2-1.
“As well, for the lads to achieve where they are is superb considering the amount of injuries we have had.
“For the last few weeks we have had 12 fit players and I’ve had to play.
“The togetherness is something to be celebrated.
“All the injured players are always there watching.
“Jack Watson was our main man and has been out injured for months but he’s there at every game.
“He’s unpaid so I just think it is fantastic.”
As ex-Ferriby player from the great Billy Heath era, Hunter can speak with authority about the kind of occasions play-off games at Ferriby are like.
He knows how noisy the crowd will be and he says that the pressure is firmly on Ferriby who were many’s tip for the title this season.
“I was there under Billy Heath and it was completely different as they were a lot higher up,” he said.
“They are a great club and they have great fans and great people.
“There will be an element of nervousness I would suggest because we have done literally everything we set out to do this season and more.
“Yes we have a plan (to try and win the game) because we’re not going there to make the numbers up but the pressure is firmly on Ferriby.
“With the crowd, if we can keep them quiet and the longer it is quiet, the more it will affect their play.
“They have got 15 more points than us this season so on paper they’re expected to beat us, that’s a fact.
“I think it would be fair to say that everyone did expect them to win the league.
“We’re standing in their way and ultimately we’re in a good place because we couldn’t have asked for a better place to go and play a semi-final.
“There’s going to be a great surface, big crowd so we can go and enjoy the occasion.
“We genuinely have nothing to lose.
“For me, we’re going to go and enjoy it and give everything we have got and I do think we’ll cause them problems.”
Top goal-scorer Tyla Bell and Bailey Conway are both doubts for the match.
Neither appeared in the final day win over Glasshoughton.
The victory was their fifth league success in a row.
“We’re in great form,” Hunter added.
“We have won the last five league games in a row but looking at Ferriby they are in great form too.
“It is going to be a really tough game obviously.
“They are on fire and ultimately they have a squad that could play a league or two higher.
“You can definitely see that they have found their shooting boots and we were on the end of that when we played them away a couple of weeks ago when we lost 4-0.
“There were a few mitigating circumstances for that and we have drawn a line under it and I think it will be a completely different game.”