JORDAN Gidley will be hoping to take inspiration from his heroics in last year's Challenge Cup clash against Bootle, as Barnoldswick Town take on their Merseyside counterparts again this Saturday, in a clash of two in-form sides.

Manager Danny Craig called it "a man of the match performance", and Bootle were so impressed that they promptly signed the goalkeeper for themselves.

Gidley is back at Town now though and Craig believes that he can repeat what he did last April.

He said: "He's already played with character (against Bootle) once so we're hoping he can do it again. He was outstanding for us in the first leg of that semi-final.

"They probably signed him off his performance in the first leg."

Craig knows all about the threats that the in-form Bootle can pose, and he identified the areas that his side would need to address.

He explained: "They're very, very strong in midfield. They've got a midfield playmaker that, if we can stop him from playing, that should stop the service to the front players, he's very dangerous.

"Also, when you've got a player like Ryan Cox in the team, who's scored 25 goals this year, it's pretty simple.

"If we stop him from scoring goals, we'll give ourselves a good chance."

Town have been in good form themselves. Although their last game saw them go down 4-1 to league leaders Runcorn Linnets, that was their first league defeat since January 9.

Craig was adamant that, although his side's away performances have stood out in the New Year, they can play just as well on home soil, saying:

"We know how we want to play, we go out there and the players deliver most weeks.

"When we take our chances and we score early, we tend to win games.

"I don't think it matters whether we're at home or away."

Craig did admit that the raft of recent postponements were a concern for him, with his Town side not having played since February 24.

He confessed: "It has been frustrating for us. I don't know how it will have affected the players until training tomorrow night.

"And until they get out there in the real-life game situation, you don't know how it will affect the players physically.

"If you've not played for so long, it can be difficult to reach the standards that you would do when you're on a ten game back-to-back run.

"But tactically and mentally, I expect them to be on point and they should be right where they need to be."