MANAGER Gari Lewis is relishing Penrhyncoch’s crunch home clash with basement rivals Caersws on Wednesday evening, when his side resume their quest for Cymru Alliance survival.
After their superb 3-2 victory away at Holyhead Hotspur had boosted hopes of escaping the drop, the Roosters - like the rest of the league - were left kicking their heels last weekend as their trip to Ruthin Town was postponed due to the Arctic weather conditions.
Caersws, who themselves have fallen behind in their fixtures after suffering at the hands of the weather this season, were also sidelined as their scheduled trip to Holyhead Hotspur became another casualty of the ice and snow.
So all eyes will now be on Wednesday night’s encounter as Penrhyn look to take a giant stride towards safety against a Bluebirds side who will arrive at Cae Baker eight points behind, but with three games in hand on the Roosters.“It’s a derby and hopefully there will be a good crowd, a good atmosphere and a good game," said Lewis. "I got the boys in on Sunday and they trained really well on the 4G at Aberystwyth University. They looked sharp, and everyone’s raring to go.
“Of course it’s big game for both sides. Caersws have picked up a bit in the last few weeks, they’ve signed a couple of new players, but whatever happens we’ve still got seven games left, and there’s a lot to be played.
“They’ve got games in hand, but I’d prefer to have points on the board.”
Lewis said he will be looking for the same kind of display that earned his side a crucial victory in Anglesey.
“The lads were immense, and fully deserved the win,” said Lewis. “We had to dig in for the first 30 minutes, but totally dominated the second half.
“We had some big players back, which made a difference, and to win on the road like that gave us a boost.
Penrhyn hope to be close to full strength, although there is a doubt over the availability of Rob Murfet.
Meanwhile Caersws manager Graham Evans is keen for his side to continue their improved performances as they look to avenge their 5-2 home defeat to Penrhyncoch in September.
The Bluebirds remain in the relegation dogfight, after losing 2-0 at home to high-flying Airbus UK Broughton last time out, but despite suffering a 12th defeat of the season they offered plenty of positives.
“Losing to Airbus was hard to take as I felt we worth a point,” said Evans. “The work ethic and attitude was spot on. We need to build on these performances, and make them count.”
The Bluebirds may be without injured former Aberystwyth Town duo Rhydian Davies and Luke Sherbon, but striker Steve Blenkinsop returns.
Meanwhile Penrhyn face another big game on Saturday when they host Porthmadog, after which a race night will take place at the Cae Baker club.
Successive postponements against Guilsfield, Holywell and Queens Park mean that Craig Papirnyk’s men have not played since their 6-0 defeat at Airbus UK Broughton on 3 February.
Porthmadog have dropped to ninth place in the Cymru Alliance table, but they will be eager to capitalise on their games in hand, and will also take heart from a 3-0 win over Penrhyncoch at the Traeth in November..