PENISTONE Church and Wombwell Town are due to face each other on Saturday with both looking to end longwinless runs in the NCEL Premier Division.
The match is due to take place at Penistone’s ground from 3pm, after the teams played out a 1-1 draw in Wombwell earlier in the season.
Church have not won in 11 league games while Wombwell are without a victory in 12 Premier Division fixtures.
Both sides’ last league victory was at home to Bottesford Town in consecutive weeks in September.
Town – who have taken just two points from 11 Premier Division away games since promotion last season – are currently bottom of the league and four points adrift of safety in the two-team relegation zone.
Penistone are 13th, six places and six points clear of the drop zone.
Wombwell manager Karl Rose said: “Penistone is a great club.
“They have been really high up in this league for a lot of years but they’ve dropped off a bit.
“Our first game with them was a humdinger and it could have been five apiece.
“We’re on a bad run and desperate for a win. We will try to get it in this derby.
“Penistone had better results earlier so they are a bit higher.
“Penistone shouldn’t go that many games without winning, they are too good for that.
“But it is a tough league.
“They will look at us, bottom of the league, as a chance to get three points.
“But it doesn’t matter if you’ve not won in one or 12, you are always looking for a win.”
Church coach Brett Lovell said: “I looked at our 16 players on Saturday.
“They’re a fantastic set of lads that should be doing better as a group and that’s me included.
“Mark my words, there are sleepless nights had at our houses wondering what we can do to change our fortunes.
“We need to eradicate the defensive issues and stay in games for longer periods of time and start stringing some results together.
“We move on to another tough derby game on Saturday when we play Wombwell Town – a side like us who are struggling for results at the minute so something might give.”
Wombwell saw two home games called off this week.
They have struggled to adapt to the Premier Division after winning the Division One play-off final in April.
Rose said: “We’re not used to runs like this because we’ve had a lot of success as a club.
“We have to pick up wins now. Losing becomes a habit.
“It is not as if we’re getting battered.
“We feel we should have a lot more points but we haven’t been ruthless and other teams have.
“Last year we were smashing goals in for fun but now we’re not.
“I think we’ve only had one clean sheet all season.
“It’s still been enjoyable, better than shopping, but it’s so frustrating at times.
“It’s horrible looking at the table when you’re at the bottom.
“We’re not adrift but we need to go on a bit of a run.
“Teams have come back from much worse than this before.”
Church lost 3-1 at Eccleshill United on Saturday.
The hosts took an early lead then, after Luca Defalco levelled, Eccleshill netted again within minutes.
United added another in the second half.
Lovell said: “We were beaten by the better side, a side that played the conditions, the pitch and defended their goal better.
“That’s as simple as I can put it.
“They scored three goals and not one of them was further out than three yards which is disappointing.
“They were three poor goals to concede.
“We’d worked hard to get back into it but then we just gifted them a second goal and we went in 2-1 down at half time.
“Kicking downhill for the second half, we felt that we should still have a chance in the game but we never really laid a glove on them.
“On another day if it hadn’t been for our goalkeeper Harry Ambler it could have been more.
“He saved a penalty, pulled two or three good saves off and they hit the bar.
“We had a chat with the players in the changing room.
“It wasn’t a time to shout and bawl because it wouldn’t have got us anywhere.
“So we had a good constructive chat in which a few home truths were mentioned.
“I told the players that we are in a scrap for this football club to retain its Premier League status.”
