Pontefract Collieries prepare for festive Yorkshire derby tests

Colls were left inactive when their scheduled game at Grimsby Borough was postponed due to a frozen pitch last Saturday.

Their home match against Brighouse Town the previous Friday also had to be called off and the match has now been rescheduled to take place on Saturday, February 11, 2023.

More derbies are on the horizon before then with Ponte next entertaining Stocksbridge Park Steels who are enjoying a much improved campaign this time round and will provide tough opposition on Boxing Day (kick-off 3pm).

The South Yorkshire club go into the match in third place in the table, four points and four places above Craig Rouse’s men with both teams having played 18 league matches.

They have a strong away record with five victories on the road so far, but with Ponte having only lost once at home it has the makings of a Christmas cracker.

Another big derby follows on Monday, January 2 (3pm) with Colls travelling to play Ossett United who are showing signs of revival after changing manager and are likely to provide stiffer opposition than when they lost 3-1 at Pontefract back in August.

Ponte will be looking for more goals from their top scorer Adam Priestley who has hit the ground running after joining the club in the summer and with his tally of 13 goals currently stands as the second highest scorer in the division, two behind Worksop’s Liam Hughes.