Daisy Hill are back in action in the North West Counties League First Division North tonight when they travel to face runaway league leaders FC St Helens (7.45pm).

Back in August, Daisy fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat at home to tonight’s opponents, and since then FC St Helens have gone on a formidable run of form that now sees them 11 points clear at the top.

They have currently gone nine games without defeat, and with leading scorer Joe Barker having bagged 27 goals in 28 games so far this season, there is little doubt Daisy face a tough test against a side that has only lost once at home in the league all season.

Nonetheless, Daisy manager Lee Hill insists taking on the form side in the league is a good challenge for his players.

“It’s a chance for us to put ourselves up against the best in the league, see where we are at and how far we are away from that level,” said Hill. “It’s a daunting task, but it’s also a game that the lads and all the staff are looking forward to.

“When we played them last time, it was a good game, and we probably deserved a little bit more than a narrow defeat.

“But it was very early in the season, people were finding their feet, and we are a different side compared to what we were then.

“You can’t really look too far back at performances and results, you have to look at recent games, and we have had them watched.

“We obviously have to be aware of their leading scorer (Joe Barker), he is a top-class player who has scored lots of goals, although most of the teams up at the top of the table have a player like that.

“You can’t take the threat lightly, but we do have experienced defenders like Glenn Matthews, Dean Singleton, Ben Unsworth and Jake O’Brien.

“They relish games like this when they are up against top strikers, and we will be up for the challenge.”