After heroically ending Kendal Town’s unbeaten run on Tuesday evening, the Blues currently find themselves sitting pretty in seventh position in the table. A fourth win in six matches against the Mintcakes ensured that Simon Garner’s men obtained their best start to the season in decades and with a tough few months on the fortnight, the Blues can overt their attentions to FA Cup action this weekend, as they travel to face seventh tier outfit Marine AFC at the Arriva Stadium.

Another victory on the road in midweek meant that the Blues have now won twice on the road in four attempts and having scored eight in the process away from Shawbridge they will travel to Merseyside full of confidence that the goals will continue to flow.

Garner’s men overcame the tricky obstacle of Pickering Town in the last round of the FA Cup and after defeating their opponents 5-1, the Blues will be desperate to continue their run in the cup for atleast another round.

Taking the scalp of a superior Non-League side would further enhance the confidence in the dressing room at Shawbridge and the momentum brought from victory should maintain the clubs play-off push.

Scoring 20 times in seven matches between early August and mid-September has further shown that the likes of Scott Bakkor and Lloyd Dean have the firepower to lead the Blues to glory and with Louis Mayers currently on five goals, the front man will be hopeful of reaching double figures by the end of the month.

In defence the Blues are yet to obtain their first clean sheet of the campaign, despite getting close to that all-important shut-out a number of factors have prevented the likes of Gregg Anderson and Tom Murphy from gaining the upper hand.

The introduction of FC United loanee Chris Lynch has benefited the back four and against Marine FC the team will have to play to the best of their ability in order to prevent the home side from hitting the back of the net.

Blues Key Man

Introducing himself to the Blues faithful in the best of circumstances on Tuesday evening, playmaker Callum Hendry scored a brace and dictated play from start to finish against an experienced Kendal Town side. Mixing pace, trickery and lightning fast speed, the Blackburn Rovers trainee has quickly gained a reputation for being one of the hottest prospects in the Non-League game and the Shawbridge hierarchy will be hopeful of keeping hold of their whiz-kid for as long as possible before he returns to Ewood Park.

Our Opponents

Sitting 16th in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League, Sean Hessey’s Marine FC side have started their respective campaign in steady fashion. Obtaining eight points from their first eight fixtures, the Mariners have picked up a solitary victory on the road but predominantly gained a reputation for being the draw specialists of the division.

With three draws from three matches at home and three draws from four matches on the road, the Mariners have lost just once this season. However the inability to convert stalemates into victories must be worrying for Hessey and his backroom staff and this trend will need to change if the side are to once again survive relegation.

Scoring seven and conceding six in the league so far, the Mariners have set down a marker for being incredibly hard to break down. With goals seemingly harder to come by, the defence will hope to pick up more clean sheets throughout the months to come, with the forward line surely determined to score more goals.

As the likes of Jamie Menagh and Town Owens continue to find their feet at the club, the attacking prowess is there for the Mariners fan base to admire. However football is all about putting the ball in the back of the net and against the Blues they will hope to do just that.