Another strong weekend showing saw 1874 Northwich continue their fine form with a convincing win over Highgate, as the goals keep coming and confidence builds across the squad. Manager Chris Herbert was pleased with both the performance and the opportunity to manage the workload ahead of a busy schedule.
“We’re really happy with the performance,” said Herbert. “It gave us a chance to get a few lads off earlier than usual to rest up for Tuesday night. We want to be as strong as possible in every game. It’s important we manage the squad well — we’ve got strength in depth and we’ll always aim to stay as strong as we can. Saturday’s win keeps our momentum going and we’ll look to carry that into the next one.”
John McGrath was the standout performer, bagging a superb hat-trick to cap off an impressive display. His manager was full of praise for the forward’s intelligence and sharpness in front of goal.
“As I said when we signed him, John has real quality and a football brain. His second goal in particular shows exactly what he’s about. He’s getting back to full fitness now, which is a huge plus for us. With an attacking four of Mike Hayes, Dale Jennings, Kyle Worsley and John McGrath, it’s hard to find better at this level. We’re scoring a lot of goals — and John’s up and running now.”
Attention now turns to the Cheshire Senior Cup, with a tough away fixture at Cheadle Town under the lights. Herbert knows the importance of the competition — and the opportunity it brings.
“It’s a great chance to get a draw against some of the big clubs like Tranmere, Crewe and Chester. We want to progress in everything we enter. Tonight will be a tough test, but we’ll be ready for it. We’ll go as strong as we can with as few changes as possible. I love Tuesday nights under the lights — we’ll be up for the challenge.”
Cheadle Town are enjoying a solid season themselves, and Herbert expects nothing less than a closely-fought contest.
“They’re a strong side this season. Jake’s got them well organised and they’ll be difficult to break down. We beat them on penalties last season, and I don’t expect this one to be any easier.
We’ll need the fans behind us — they’ve been brilliant. We’re playing some really exciting football at the moment and I’m sure the Riff Raff are enjoying it. Let’s keep growing that fan base and giving people something to get behind.”