Spennymoor are hoping to go one better against league leaders King’s Lynn in their big clash on Saturday.

Moors head for Norfolk in buoyant mood after beating Darlington 3-1 at the Brewery Field on New Year’s Day, and getting back on track after losing to Gateshead and Darlington in their previous games. Before that, they had gone 13 games unbeaten to propel themselves into the thick of the play-off contention.

The Linnets will be a stiff test, but earlier in the season when the two teams met at the Brewery Field, manager Jason Ainsley felt at the time that his team could have come out with more than just a 2-2 draw.

Now, Moors are confident of inflicting King’s Lynn’s first home defeat of the season. They have dropped just six points at home this season in twelve league games, and have taken advantage of York’s recent stumbles to go four points clear at the top of the table “The players showed what they were all about in midweek, there were some monumental performances,” said Ainsley.

“We came off the back of two losses against local rivals, and the players could have folded after Darlington scored their equaliser, but they did well in the second half and it was a fitting way to start the New Year. It was a good performance because Darlington were in a rich vein of form, they’d won four home games in a row before they played us. It was important that we got the win against Darlington after two defeats.

“You go 13 games unbeaten and then lose two games, especially against your rivals, and some people think that the world has collapsed. “But you don’t get too down when you lose, and you don’t get too high when you win.”

Moors travelled down country on Friday for an overnight stay near King’s Lynn.

Meanwhile, there have been three recent outgoings from the Moors squad, two of them on loan.

Defender Jake Hibbs went on loan to Bradford PA just after the New Year’s Day game, following winger Ryan Hall, who went there between Christmas and New Year, also on loan. Both of them haven’t really established themselves as regulars, and have gone for three months.

Midfielder Dan Ward, who was signed during the summer after his release by Middlesbrough, has left the club and signed for St Patrick’s Athletic in Ireland.

In the BetVictor NPL Premier, leaders South Shields, who are three points clear at the top, are at Ashton United.

Whitby, who are 14th, are at home to Gainsborough, while Morpeth, a place above them, are at Lancaster.

In the BetVictor North West Division, Marske United are at home to Brighouse, and Dunston are at Ossett United.