HEAD coach Ian Boden thinks a week off came at just the right time for his inconsistent Crosfields side.
Soap return to action on Saturday when they welcome Askam to Hood Lane – a game in which they will be looking to recover from a defeat to West Bowling last time out.
They will be favourites to do so against a Cumbrian outfit rooted to the bottom of National Conference League Division Two.
However, their only win this season came against Soap – a fact Boden is acutely aware of.
“The weekend off came at the right time for us as a team,” he said.
“The loss against West Bowling was a hard one to take – we only had to close our sets out, defend well and be clinical enough in the right areas.
“We bombed three tries in the final quarter of the game and we need to be able to put teams to bed earlier.
“We’ve been losing games we should have won and it’s not something any of the team or the coaching staff feel is acceptable.
“The players have responded well tonight in training and are buying into the things we need to put the wrongs right.
“They will come with some confidence in the earlier season result and will no doubt give us a tough game.”
Meanwhile, Woolston Rovers will be boosted by the return of several key men for their home game against Salford City Roosters on Saturday.
Woolston Rovers are at home again on Saturday. Picture by Simon Whitehead
Head coach Mal Holt emphasised the importance of getting back on track in what is a congested Division Three table.
He said: “We need to get back to winning ways at the first opportunity if we are to keep pace with the top two – it is vital that we don’t lose any more ground.
“Salford gave us two really tough games last season that we managed to come out on top in, but they will count for nothing come Saturday.
“We will be boosted by the return of seven or eight lads who missed last week’s game, so that will strengthen our squad and give myself and the coaching staff a nice selection headache.
“We will be really fired up for this game and we can’t wait to get back out on the field and produce the standard of rugby that I know we are capable of.”
Amateur rugby league fixtures, Saturday, kick off 2.30pm:
National Conference League:
Division Two: Crosfields vs Askam
Division Three: Woolston Rovers vs Salford City Roosters
North West Men’s League:
Division One: Hindley vs Latchford Albion
Division Three: Burtonwood Bridge vs Crosfields A, Culcheth Eagles vs Wigan Bulldogs, Leigh East A vs Woolston Rovers A
Division Five: Rylands Sharks vs Bolton Mets
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