Rob Ambrose admits that his Spalding Town side are in for one of their toughest games of the season on Saturday as Bracebridge Heath roll into town.
Hosts Town are just 14 points behind the perennial title contenders ahead of the Spalding Grammar School clash (noon) after grabbing a morale-boosting victory over Louth last weekend.
A repeat of last year’s stunning four-wicket success over Bracebridge – their first-ever triumph in the Lincs ECB Premier League – would likely propel Spalding back into the top six.
But skipper Ambrose has warned his side that they’ll be punished if they don’t bring their A-game.
He said: “It’s always hard against them. All-round, I’d have to say they are as good as anyone in the league.
“It’s going to be hard, but we’ve got nothing to fear if we play like we did last week.
“We beat them last season and we weren’t as strong then as we are now.
“But if we don’t turn up, we’ll get punished – make no mistake about that.”
Spalding welcome back Tim Norris and Chris Dring to the squad, meaning Ambrose has an embarrassment of riches.
He’s also hoping to have teenager Henry Charlton back in the fold ahead of the second half of the season.
Saturday marks the half-way stage in the campaign, with Town very much on target to finish the promised land of the top six.
But Ambrose just wants his charges to take things a game at a time.
He added: “There aren’t really any targets now, only to improve on last year – which we look on course to do.
“We’ll look to get a few more wins in the second half of the season and let’s see where it takes us.
“The Louth win has brought us in line with the top six, so that’s a boost.”
