East Harling manager Stacey Lawrence targets another derby win over Attleborough in the Hadley & Ottaway Anglian Combination Division One
Back in 2014 Stacey Lawrence was just three games into his tenure as East Harling manager when they were thrashed 8-0 by neighbouring Attleborough Town.
The size of task in hand for Lawrence and his team was evident that day, having also lost their two games prior to that 6-0 and 4-1.
However, slowly but surely the Green Army have recovered from that bleak day, to the point where they go into tomorrow’s Hadley & Ottaway Anglian Combination Division One home encounter against Attleborough with many people regarding them as favourites (2pm).
East Harling have already put their rivals to the sword once this season, coming out on top 5-2 in September’s Mummery Cup tie.
And Lawrence is confident that a similar performance this time around will land his men all three points.
“Losing that game 8-0 was a real eye opener,” said the boss, who will take charge of the side for the 160th time at the weekend.
“But we have gone from that to being the favourites to beat them on Saturday, which is a little bit crazy when you think about it because Attleborough are a big side in the area.
“We were dominant for much of the 5-2 win and we will look to do the same again.
“If we can match that performance then they are going to have to play very well to get anything.”
East Harling head into the derby following a welcome return to form last time out.
They had lost three games in a row prior to the trip to Aylsham, but a single goal from Jack Flynn was enough to seal victory.
Speaking previously to the Express, Lawrence had stressed the need to get back to basics, and he was pleased to see the team take his instructions onboard.
“Aylsham are a good side who are going to be right up there,” he added.
“We were gritty, dogged and relied on that bit of magic to win us the game. We also owe a big thank you to our goalkeeper because he has made some great saves.
“They will think they deserved a point and they probably did, but we dug in.
“We have to do that every week. It is all about being tough to beat and for that to happen everyone has to do their job.
“Every player gave everything they had on Saturday, but now we need to back it up against Attleborough. The win counts for little if we lose to them.”