After four successive away league outings, Newcastle Blue Star finally return to the KD Stadium on Tuesday night and after a quartet of hard-fought clashes on the road, there will be little rest offered when back on home soil.
The last of those four successive away league outings was played at the team who currently sits last in the Northern League Division One table and just like how Tow Law frustrated Blue Star at Scotswood earlier in the season, they did the same on their own patch at the weekend.
Efficiency from Saturday’s hosts, profligacy by the visitors and with this combination of factors at play, both sides had to make do with a 2-2 draw at full time – a point arguably more celebrated by Tow Law than it was Blue Star.
Then again, it is this stage of the season where you sometimes have to look at the bigger picture. A picture that still sees Marc Nash’s men in the top five of the table before their midweek outing and they do so after a rather bizarre day of results elsewhere.
Bar Blyth Town’s win at Penrith, every other member of the current top eight had to make do with a draw and due to this, the equation in terms of promotion for Blue Star is largely the same as it was before their recent trip to County Durham.
That trip means a collection of five points from the twelve road points on offer and every last one of them may be needed when the 42nd and final league game of this arduous season has been completed in April.
The 36th of those is in just a few hours and it has all the hallmarks of a promotion six-pointer. Not only is this one of the precious games in hand being used but it is also being used against the team that sits one place above Blue Star in the table.
That outfit is Boro Rangers and they will be keen to further their cushion that currently keeps them safely in the playoff pack. With a number of teams nipping at their heels, they also know that an addition to their points tally would be rather welcomed come the end of Tuesday night.
While both teams will hope that fortune favours them this time around, especially as the reverse fixture saw six goals evenly divided at Phoenix Park last October with Sean Reid’s 96th minute leveller rescuing a draw.
A point each that afternoon but now each outfit will be looking to go for the jugular in a bid to earn all three. The run-in to the playoffs starts on Tuesday night, what was a marathon is now more akin to a sprint.
Something which sets up this upcoming clash rather nicely. A warm welcome goes out to the visiting Boro Rangers team and support and for those who lend their voice to the home team, make sure to bring the noise throughout.
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