Skegness set to welcome Hucknall on back of good win

​The Lilywhites rounded off the outgoing year with a 3-1 win at Newark & Sherwood on Saturday, first-half goals from Dec Johnson (2) and Gary King enough to seal all three points, Kian Sketchley having

That keeps Chris Rawlinson’s men in the play-off places going into a match on Saturday that sees them up against the side currently bottom of the UCL Premier North standings, with just one win to their name all season.

Hucknall, promoted last season, have lost all of their last eight games, that coming after a three-game unbeaten run. They last won in September against Ashby Ivanhoe.

But Rawlinson says he’ll again be ensuring his side take nothing for granted.

He said: “Hucknall are having a difficult time but there are no easy games in this league and we need to be on our mettle.

"It’s a home game so hopefully we’ll get plenty of support and the rain will hold off too.

"We’re not looking beyond that, it’s really a case of taking one game at a time.”

On Saturday’s win, Rawlinson said: “It was good to get the win after the disappointment of losing on Boxing Day.

"Had their keeper not pulled off a string of great saves we could well have scored five or six.

"Once again we were missing big players but the depth of our squad means whoever you bring in it works really well so it was a really pleasing performance.

"We’ve won seven in the last nine so we’re more than happy with that.”

The game with Hucknall will then be followed by something of a polar opposite challenge a week later, with current league leaders Sherwood Colliery the hosts in Nottinghamshire.

Further tough challenges will await after that too, with other play-off/promotion contenders in the form of Eastwood CFC (away) and Belper United (home) to face Rawlinson’s men before January is out, United then hosting Skegness in the return fixture at the start of February.