Kelly's heroes are purring again

Hyde United chairman Steve Hartley is pictured being presented with February's EVO-STIK League North 'Club of the Month' at Ewen Fields on Saturday by the Northern Premier League's official historian and statistician Dominic Mckenzie before the top-of-the-table Tigers went on to beat promotion rivals Bamber Bridge 2-1.

Named alongside Stamford in EVO-STIK League South and Barwell in the top flight as the second winners of the monthly honours in 2018, the Tigers were inspired to bounce back from a shock 2-0 defeat at Ossett Albion last week with the kind of form that helped Darren Kelly's side earn their second performance accolade of the season.

To collect another engraved glass trophy and bottle of spirits after winning October's award, Kelly's heroes recorded four victories and a hard-fought draw in February with title-chasing rivals South Shields at Ewen Fields. Currently two points ahead of Shields and the chasing-pack, the Tigers are back in action on Saturday at Tadcaster Albion with rest of the top six playing on Tuesday night and hoping to close the gap.

Mckenzie took time out from writing the new book celebrating the NPL's 50th anniversary 2017-18 season to make the presentation at the weekend. Entitled ‘50 Glorious Seasons - A History of the Northern Premier League 1968-2018’, the book will chart the competition’s proud history since 1968 and is due out this summer.

Image courtesy of Pete Ainger/Hyde United

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