North Wales Crusaders head coach Carl Forster has expressed his side’s desire to finish the 2024 Betfred League One season on a high, as victory over Workington Town last weekend kept Crusaders in the race for the play-offs with just four games remaining.
The first of those four games shall prove to be another tough test in the shape of second placed Keighley Cougars who shall take on Forster’s side at Hare Lane, Chester, owing to the unavailability of Stadiwm CSM due to construction work at the stadium.
Speaking to the media ahead of the clash, Forster said: “Last week’s win wasn’t pretty, and periods of that game probably wasn’t the best rugby we’ve played this year, but at the end of the day we needed that win, and you could see what it meant to the boys at the final hooter.
“Sometimes in sport, when you’re in a bit of a rut and things are going against you, then you need an ‘ugly’ win to kick start a good run, and lets hope that’s exactly what this does for us now.
“We’ve had a really tough season in terms of injury, and we’ve had a lack of consistency in our combinations, that wouldn’t help any side, but as a few players start to come back in these final games, I think that having a small squad who have had to put their hands up for each other during the year could be a real asset for us now.
“This week is another really tough test, Keighley are a quality outfit, they’ve spent big money to get out of the division this year, and they’ll probably know that defeat to us could all but hand the title to Oldham, so they come to us with a huge amount of pressure on their shoulders.
“For us, we just have to play our game and stick to what we’re good at, our middles have been outstanding this year, they drive us forward and set that strong field position, and if we can play a little bit smarter in good ball then it gives us every chance of coming away with two points.
“We want this, and these lads will fight until the last second of the final home game against Cornwall to ensure the club ends up in a play-off place, once you’re there you only have to look at our run last season, anything can happen.”
Tickets for Sunday’s game are priced at £10 adults and free for under 16’s, you can purchase yours by clicking HERE.
