I LOVE a big clash and this Saturday’s trip to Harrogate has got the feel of just that. Whilst the hosts come in to the game out of form and with a host of injuries to key players, the opposite is true for us.

Last Saturday’s trouncing of Worcester City was the perfect build up to arguably our toughest game to date.

Such was the ease of the win that we could withdraw arguably our two best players, Phil Turnbull and Josh Gillies.

Sadly, for those who wanted to see us really take the sword to Worcester, the withdrawals seemed to spell an end to the rugby score that with thirty five minutes left, felt inevitable.

Whilst scoring goals from set-pieces is no great surprise given the penchant we have for a ball chucked in to the box with unnerving accuracy, the thing that really pleased me was the manner the quality deliveries were dispatched.

It’s one thing having Gillies and Terry Galbraith putting the ball in to the right place; it’s another thing having the players who can display the ability and composure to convert. Fortunately, we have a number of players who can do just that.

The biggest positive for me was the two-goal return from Mark Beck. I’m not too sure what other fans make of the big target man but I bloomin’ love him.

He’s never going to get twenty goals per season. A quick look over his past record would suggest that. However, his overall game play is so important.

I would imagine most centre halves will hate playing against him.

Whilst his aerial ability immediately stands out, his touch and ability to bring other players in to the game is what really floats my boat. He rarely misuses the ball.

Whilst the likes of Hardy, Gillies and Thompson make the headlines, their jobs would be made a lot harder without Beck.

So, with all our star turns in form and available, we make our way down to the home of the best cuppa where we find our opponents, Harrogate Town, in almost the polar-opposite situation.

Having lost their last four games, they are currently struggling with a long injury list which includes ex-Darlo loanee Ben Parker and ex-Crawley and Wycombe forward Jon-Paul Pitman.

With Harrogate having been one of the pre-season favourites for the league owing to significant investment in their playing squad – they are virtually full-time professional – this was one of the first games most Darlo fans looked out for when the fixtures were released.

Having enjoyed a couple of good days out to Harrogate Railway, most will be hoping for the same at Town.

I love a good mass-mobilisation of Darlo fans. Always have. In recent years, I suspect a big factor behind our good away form has been us outnumbering home fans, often by a number of multiples.

This season has been a bit different with much larger clubs than we’ve faced in recent years occupying the division.

However, there is a good prospect of us outnumbering the home support on Saturday, providing the perfect opportunity for us, the twelfth man, to once again cheer our lads over the line.

It could well be the perfect time to play Harrogate Town and with a huge following backing the lads, I am feeling pretty confident that we will be heading back up the A1 with all three points to further boost our title challenge.