Daisy hope for third-time lucky this season against the Old Boys

Daisy Hill take a break from league action this weekend as they welcome Holker Old Boys to the Plumb Factory Stadium tomorrow in the second round of the Edward Case Cup (3pm).

The sides have already met twice this season in the North West Counties League First Division North, with a 1-1 draw up in Barrow on the opening day of the season being followed by a narrow 1-0 win for the Cumbrians in the return fixture at Daisy Hill in late August.

From there, Holker went on a winning run of form that propelled them to the top of the league table, but they head into this weekend’s game on the back of two successive defeats, the latest at table-topping Atherton LR last Saturday.

However, Daisy manager Lee Hill believes those results are a just a minor setback for a side he expects to present a tough challenge.

“The group of players Holker have will be looking to right the wrongs of the last couple of weeks,” said Hill.

“They have a relatively small squad, who are experienced and always up there challenging at the top of the table, and I don’t expect anything else other than a tough and hard-fought game.

“We could certainly have had had an easier draw, although it does help that we are at home and have played them twice already this season, as it’s likely that we will face pretty much the same squad on Saturday we’ve faced already in the two previous games.

“We know what they will bring, they are up near the top of the league for a reason, and it’s up to us to match it.

“We’ve got a couple of squad members missing for various reasons so we will have to freshen up the starting XI a little, and give some minutes to other players.

“It’s a break from the league and a bit of a free-hit in a sense, and we are looking forward to it.”

After their cup tie this weekend, Daisy Hill return to NWCFL First Division North action next Saturday at fellow mid-table side, Darwen (3pm).