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PRE MATCH | Towey anticipating tough Vics test

PRE MATCH | Towey anticipating tough Vics test

Callum Chadwick10 Aug 2018 - 16:30
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Kev Towey admits his Widnes side are under pressure to progress in the Emirates FA Cup this Saturday

Co-manager Kev Towey has admitted that there is pressure on his Widnes side to progress in the Emirates FA Cup this Saturday with victory over Northwich Victoria.

Vics have been installed as pre-season title favourites in the Hallmark Security League Premier Division, looking to emulate Widnes' success last season after the Whites completed a double, lifting the Macron Cup and clinching promotion to the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League.

The game marks the beginning of Widnes' competitive season, with Towey's men having to temporarily play home games at Barnton's Townfield Lane until the end of the Super League season after the Halton Stadium failed FIFA's artificial pitch regulations.

"As part of the agreement, our club invested in Barnton's pitch," Towey explained.

"I don't mean this disrespectfully, but we wanted to get it to a better standard for both ourselves and Barnton. The type of football we play is conducive to a flat surface so we needed that. With the lack of rain, though, the pitch - like lots of other Non-League sides - is weeks behind in terms of progress.

"It'll eventually come to fruition, but it's four or five weeks behind schedule, purely due to the lack of rainfall. With normal rainfall, it would already be in the condition we'd expect it to be at but it's just something we've got to get on with."

Towey has warned his players that their opponents in the Extra Preliminary Round will be coming with a point to prove after Widnes comfortably beat Northwich 4-0 towards the end of last term, coupled with a midweek league loss to promotion rivals City of Liverpool.

He added, "It's not going to be an easy game and there's prize money at stake in this competition.

"They've bolstered their squad and it will be a totally different team to the one we beat at the back-end of last season. There's pressure on us to win. We're the higher-ranked side and we're the side in the higher division.

"We're not going to be expected to win but if Northwich come and beat us, people would see it as a bit of an upset."

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