Gresford Athletic boss Steve Halliwell has targeted his first ever victory over 'bogey side' Guilsfield this weekend.

The Colliers recent upturn in form has yielded three victories and two draws from their last five league games, a run that has lifted them to sixth in the table.

But, since Halliwell's appointment just over two years ago, wins against the Guils have proved elusive so far.

Gresford's last three league meetings between the sides have all ended in defeat, with last season's bad-tempered clash at Oswestry's Park Hall ground prominent in Halliwell's mind.

After seeing four of his players shown red cards in the game, the Colliers boss ordered his remaining players off the pitch as the game was abandoned.

Bemused by the losing sequence, Halliwell is now determined to end his side's hoodoo.

He said: "I don't like to talk about bogey sides, but that's exactly what Guilsfield have been for us since I came to the club.

"Recent history certainly shows that we've been second best against them and that there's a bit of needle there after our last few games too.

"We had to play them at TNS last year and tempers boiled over a little bit, so it's important we keep our discipline this weekend.

"They've got a good team bond down there and always stick together and they certainly won't be coming here to roll over.

"But in current form we feel confident heading into each game and we'll need to maintain the levels we've shown in recent performances to keep this good run going."

In-form Gresford striker Jake Eyre will miss the game with a knee injury, but Wrexham youth midfielder Sam Pilkington could feature after joining the Colliers on loan.

Airbus could see their title challenge derailed if they continue to concede 'sloppy' goals, says Andy Thomas.

With a healthy 10-point lead at the summit, the Wingmakers remain the frontrunners for this season's Cymru Alliance title.

But after their 100 per cent winning record was ended by Flint in mid-December, last weekend's 2-1 home reverse to Prestatyn undermined their progress further.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's clash at Ruthin Town, assistant manager Thomas said: "I'm not concerned by our overall performances, because generally they've been very good.

"We're still creating chances and dominating games, but we've let in some sloppy goals in the last month or so that we should have defended better.

"Whenever there's a setback like we had against Prestatyn, we know the players are desperate to put that right in the next game.

"We're in a strong position in terms of our squad and we feel there aren't many players at other clubs who would improve what we already have here.

"The lads are looking forward to Ruthin, where we're looking to get back to winning ways and hopefully another clean sheet."

Airbus take a full strength squad to face Chris Wiliams' seventh-placed Ruthin side.

Holywell Town boss John Haseldin has demanded that his relegation-threatened side turn performances into points quickly this season.

Four defeats from their last five outings has left the Wellmen languishing in 14th place ahead of tomorrow's game at in-form Prestatyn.

And while Haseldin has been generally happy with recent displays, he accepts that his side need to arrest their slump in form rapidly.

He said: "The most frustrating part is that we've done enough in some of these games to have earned a point or even three, but we've

come away with nothing.

"We were guilty of some weak defending at Ruthin last week, but we also created plenty of chances in the final third and had a couple of really strong penalty shouts turned down.

"I'm not one to make excuses, but it would have been a different game if certain decisions had gone our way.

"But that's gone now and we need to be ready for the rest of the season, because these are all massive games we have left now.

"We need points on the board quickly and, with the players we have coming back into the side, hopefully we can start doing that at Prestatyn."

Newly-signed striker Morgan Jones could start for Holywell after re-joining the club.

Meanwhile, skipper Paul Williams returns to the side along with James Graham, Rob Jones and Tony Roebuck.

Flint Town United boss Niall McGuinness expects his side’s sternest test this season at Porthmadog.

Along with third-placed Bangor City, Flint and Port have emerged as the likeliest challengers to runaway leaders Airbus.

Flint recovered from their mini-slump in form with a convincing win at Holyhead last week, but go up against Craig Papirnyk’s in-form side at Y Traeth tomorrow.

McGuinness said: “They’re one of the most well-established sides in this league and always seem to find a level of consistency in their results.

“As a group, they’ve been together a long time and this season they’ve climbed to second place on the back of a good run.

“We looked ahead to this game and rested players in midweek for the NEWFA Cup game and hopefully we’ll reap the benefits of that at Porthmadog.

“Beating one of our top four rivals at this stage would be massive and it’s something we have to do if we’re serious about challenging Airbus and the league’s other big sides this season.

“The slip-ups we had after beating Airbus meant we lost ground at the top, so we know it’s a case now of taking as many points as we can off the teams around us to claw back that points difference.”

Flint have no fresh injury concerns, but will not be able to call upon newly-signed midfielder Gerard Kinsella with international clearance still pending.

Buckley Town head into their clash at Conwy Borough looking to break their three-game winless run.

Dan Moore’s side were edged out in a 2-0 home defeat to Bangor city last weekend, a result that saw them fall to 11th in the table.

They face a Borough side who leapfrogged them in the table with an impressive 2-1 success at Guilsfield last time out.

Injured pair Luke Douglas and Connor Littler miss out for Buckley, with Connor Littler out through suspension.

Third-placed Bangor City will overtake Porthmadog with victory in Friday night's home clash with Denbigh Town.

Rhyl can also stake a claim for a top three spot in their evening clash with Penrhyncoch.

Saturday’s only other league fixture sees basement side Holyhead pursue only their second league victory of the season at Llanrhaeadr.