Belper Town and Mickleover Sports go head-to-head in the First Division South play-off final at Christchurch Meadow tomorrow (3pm) as they bid to join county rivals Ilkeston and Matlock Town in the league's top flight.

Home advantage goes to Belper, who finished eight points ahead of Sports in the table after 40 matches.

But both sides have already seen off teams that finished above them on their own turf.

Fifth-placed Mickleover survived a late rally to beat second-placed Coalville Town 3-2 in their semi-final on Tuesday night.

And fourth-placed Belper won 2-0 at third-placed Leek Town the following evening.

Now the two clubs will face off in a promotion showdown.

"It's a local derby and it's great for Derbyshire," said Belper boss Peter Duffield (pictured).

"Hopefully, there will be a big turnout.

"Both teams have won away from home against sides that finished above them in the league.

"So there will be no clear favourite this weekend.

"Just because we're at home, that doesn't really mean anything.

"It's a one-off game and anything can happen.

"We are confident but Mickleover will be saying the same thing.

"It's going to be too close to call."

Glenn Kirkwood, who shares Mickleover managerial duties with Craig Hopkins, believes their team will go into the final as underdogs.

"No-one is expecting us to win. I guess we're the underdogs, like we were against Coalville," he said.
"I still don't think anyone fancies us in the final.

"We will keep calm as there is little pressure on us. I want the players to play free-flowing football like they have been doing.

"My message to them is to just go out there and enjoy playing football.

"It's not very often you get to play in a play-off final.

"It's great for the county that there are two Derbyshire sides in the final, with a place in the Premier Division at stake next season.

"We just hope that the local people come and show their support for two great clubs."

The two finalists have already met each other three times so far this season.

Belper were comfortable 4-0 winners at home in August's league encounter but Sports gained revenge with a 3-2 FA Trophy victory at Christchurch Meadow in October.

The return league fixture at Station Road, on New Year's Day, ended in a 1-1 draw.

"We were the better side when we beat them 4-0 but they are the better side when they beat us in the FA Trophy," said Duffield. "Then the next game was a lot more even.

"Both teams have changed since then and it will come down to whoever handles the occasion best on the day.

"The league table and form goes out the window now."

Duffield hopes to be able to pick from a full-strength squad again following victory over Leek.

"It was a tight affair, as we expected," he said. "Both teams gave everything they'd got.

"I get on well with the Leek manager and I felt for him afterwards, because I know what it's like.

"It could have gone either way.

"In the first half, they were the better team and in the second half, we were the better team.

"In tight games, it's all about who take their chances and we managed to do that.

"I couldn't be more proud of the players but the hard work starts again now.

"We can't pretend it's just another game – it's not.

"We've got to work hard and make the right decisions, which we did very well at Leek.

"Nobody made any bad decisions and if someone did slip up, there was someone there to cover for them.

"The back five were immense and we will need a similar performance this weekend."

Kirkwood described Sports' performance at Coalville as "magnificent".

"We smashed them! The 3-2 scoreline doesn't really reflect the game – it makes it look a lot closer than it actually was," he said.

While Belper were knocked out of the play-offs at the semi-final stage last year, Sports have plenty of experience in the shape of former Burton Albion duo Aaron Webster and Chris Palmer.

"Aaron Webster was playing in the League Two play-off finals this time last year and now he's playing with us for Mickleover," said Kirkwood.

"We have experienced players such as Chris Palmer, too. We have a nice blend."

Admission is £8 for adults, £4 for concessions and £1 for under-12s.

Source: Derby Telegraph