Westoe v Manchester preview
Dec
LAST ditch efforts were being made today to enable Westoe’s clash with visitors Manchester to go ahead.
Groundsman Robin Wightman has been in action with a dragnet and chain harrow in a bid to remove the eight inch carpet of snow from the Wood Terrace pitch.
A snow blower is on standby as are a volunteer squad who will be needed to clear a pathway from the clubhouse to the stand if the green light is given.
It demonstrates the club’s anxiety to avoid a third National 2 North fixture being postponed because of the Siberian conditions.
The scrapped games at Luctonians and table-topping Loughborough Students, along with all others disrupted in the league, will now be played on February 5 and 26 respectively which are vacant dates in the schedule.
That will leave just one other free Saturday - March 19 - which will be used to rearrange tomorrow’s games, most if not all of which are likely to be postponed.
With most of what is forecast to be a bleak winter still to come, the fear is that there will further be fixture congestion that would present a major problem for clubs generally and for Westoe in particular.
Because of the overlap with the start of South Shields Cricket Club’s league commitments on the ground, alternative arrangements will already have to be made to stage the last game on April 30 when Rugby Lions come to town.
Chairman Duncan Murray said: “If there is any way that we can possibly play this game we will do it. We just can’t afford to have a greater fixtures backlog than we already have.”
One option being investigated today was the availability of the new all-weather pitch at Harton Technical College where the senior squad now train, though it would require the opponents‘ consent to play there.
Mr Wightman said: “Fortunately the ground had not frozen beneath the snow and I would say there is a chance, albeit an outside one, of the game being played.”
Would-be spectators are advised to contact the clubhouse (telephone 4561506) to find out what the verdict was.
On the face of it, Dunes Adventure Island-sponsored Westoe, in third top spot with victory in all but one of the 12 games so far, should have no problem disposing of basement club Manchester who have lost all of theirs..
Indeed, the Wood Terrace faithful will be disappointed if a four-try bonus point is not gained against opponents who have conceded 736 points while scoring just 75 and seem relegation certainties for the second year running.
For they were also the whipping boys of National One last season and appear to be in free fall after a dramatic change in fortunes, having risen to that level six years ago by being promoted six times within a decade.
The players, who have suffered one humiliation after another, and their officials and supporters deserve the utmost respect for their loyalty in very difficult times.
And respect is what they will get from Gareth Nesbit’s men because his stance always is that in this division any team is capable of beating any other.
The game is being sponsored by Port of Tyne Authority.
