We were short but loss has hurt us
SCOTT Rimmer has challenged his Fleetwood Hesketh side to finish as high as possible in the L&DCC First Division after a disappointing weekend.
Premier League high-fliers Northern inflicted a painful ten-wicket drubbing on Friday evening as Hesketh crashed out of the Liverpool Echo Knockout Cup at the second round before tabletopping Southport & Birkdale won by seven wickets in league competition a day later.
Rimmer’s men were bowled out for just 76 runs in the limited overs game, with their counterparts - who compete a division above in the L&DCC pyramid - knocking off the target in less than ten overs.
Hesketh put up more of a fight against Southport, with Huw Summerfield’s highscore of 38 helping the visitors to a par score of 153 all out.
The home side had no problem chasing down the total, however, and Rimmer believes it is now crucial to target a safe mid-table finish.
“We were short of first team regulars against Northern so we were never going to be able to compete but the manner of defeat was still disappointing,” the captain said.
“But it was good to see the sort of standards we need to get to.
“It’s tough to get the message across right now because so many first teamers were missing, but maybe if we play a Premier League side again next year we can look at how we can reach those levels in the coming seasons.”
Fleetwood are now 42 points above the relegation zone and 40 points behind third-place Wigan.
With this in mind, Rimmer wants his players to set sixth-placed Ainsdale in their crosshairs.
“I think we’re going to be in and around mid-table all year,” he said. “Southport & Birkdale and Orrell Red Triangle are blowing the rest of the league away really.
“There’s a few down there at the bottom and then the rest of us are going to be fighting it out with ourselves for a place inbetween to be honest.
“You look at Ainsdale, they’ve got a good thing going on with a young team. It would be nice to compete with them and try to finish above them in the table as a target for this season.”