Lancaster looking for revenge as they face Morpeth Town - for third time this season - in FA Trophy

A few groans must have been heard amongst the Lancaster City supporters when they learned that it will be another trip to Morpeth Town again this weekend.
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The Dolly Blues take on the North East side in the third round proper of the FA Trophy on Saturday.

It will be the third time this season that City will play at Craik Park having already played there in the NPL Premier Division and FA Cup.

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It hasn’t proven to be a happy hunting ground so far for Mark Fell’s men – they drew 2-2 in the league and then were walloped 4-1 in the cup just days later.

Mark FellMark Fell
Mark Fell

There were some mitigating factors in that heavy defeat as the Dolly Blues were reduced to 10 men before half-time after Niall Cowperthwaite was unluckily red carded.

But it was still a chastening experience and so there is bound to be some trepidation for City’s followers when they make the trip to the Highwaymen again.

However, for Fell he was pleased with the draw as it will give his men a chance to exact some sort of revenge on Town.

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“It’s Morpeth Town again and we’ll probably get North East officials again,” said Fell.

“But I was actually made up with the draw because I am the sort of person who likes to right wrongs.

“I want to have the opportunity to go and put things to bed.

“We were so unfortunate when we went up there last time because it was such an injustice in the FA Cup so for me I see it as an opportunity to try to correct that.”

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At this stage of the competition, City could have had a tougher draw against a side higher up the football pyramid.

But despite being below Lancaster in the league table, Morpeth head into the fixture with some form behind them.

They have not tasted defeat in any competition since October 23 and have built up a head of steam under new manager Craig Lynch, who has taken over the role from Stephen Turnball permanently after initially taking over the reins temporarily.

“They are below us in the table but they have some form,” said Fell, who watched his team beat Basford 1-0 in the league on Saturday before overcoming AFC Darwen 2-0 in the LFA Challenge Trophy on Tuesday.

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“The target for is to get to the turn of the year in the top 10 or eight and to be still in the FA Trophy.

“That will be a great platform for a play-off push and also see how far we can get in the Trophy.”

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