"IT is about rivalries, friendship and passion."
Those are the words of Cleethorpes Town boss Andy Liddle as he prepares his side to face local rivals Grimsby Borough tomorrow night.
Clee clash with Borough in a match billed as the 'Battle of Bradley – part three'.
Both sides play in the Northern Counties East Division One and both have the Bradley Community Stadium as their base.
In the previous two meetings this season between the area's top amateur sides, Liddle's Clee Town emerged victorious on both occasions.
Thursday's league match promises to be a fiercely fought derby – and both Liddle and Grimsby Borough joint manager Nigel Fanthorpe are predicting an attractive, open game.
Liddle said: "It is a big game for the area.
"Credit to Grimsby Borough, they have been established in this league for some time now.
"They have had an up and down season, but they showed in the two previous games us that they are a good side.
"The games were tight, there was not a lot in it. But we are capable of beating anyone. We have beaten them twice this season and there is no reason we cannot win again. That said, I think this game will be harder. I think it will be a good, open game this time around. They will be determined not to lose to us for a third time".
Liddle admitted the derby matches are hotly-anticipated by players and managers alike.
"When the fixtures came out at the start of the season, they were the games everyone was looking out for," he said. "It is about rivalries, friendship, passion and banter. Individual players from both sides know each other, and we have players at Clee who used to be at Borough".
Of the Clee Town players who have crossed the divide and joined from arch-rivals Borough, Lee Stephenson will be missing due to a ruptured calf and Luke Mascall will not be available until mid-January when he will have served a monster 112-day ban for amassing a large number of suspensions – most of them during his time at Borough.
Lewis Buckthorp, who has captained Grimsby Borough in the past, should be available for Clee Town if he has fully recovered from a hamstring problem.
Borough joint boss Nigel Fanthorpe is keeping cool ahead of the showdown.
"We narrowly lost 3-2 to them in our last meeting when we came from 2-0 down in the cup to 2-2 – and then threw it away at the end," he said. "It should be a good game. We are both good sides and it could be end-to end.
"I think we are always capable of scoring goals, but we must keep it tight at the back. It's just another game for me – another three points we are out to get."
