HIGSON Cup hopefuls Dalton will not be short of vocal backing when they take to the field at Cleator in the semi-finals on Sunday.

The showdown in West Cumbria will see Dalton start as underdogs against a Cleator side renowned for their prowess in cup competitions, and fresh from a comfortable win against the same opponents in a North Lancs and Cumbria League match.

But with a coach-load of supporters cheering them on, Liam Curwen’s side will go into the game optimistic about their chances of upsetting the odds and reaching the final.

While 2013 National Village Cup winners Cleator have won the North Lancs League and Cumbria League’s premier knockout competition five times in the last 24 years, Dalton’s last appearance in the final was their 2003 defeat to Barrow.

Their most recent Higson triumph came in 1994 when they beat Furness at Hawcoat Park, and this year’s final could be a repeat of that clash, if Dalton win at Cleator and Furness beat Keswick at home in the other semi-final.

And while Dalton’s priority remains Premier Division survival – they head to Keswick tomorrow – the Ulverston Road side would relish a big occasion to look forward to in August, to set the tone for their mouth-watering exhibition match against Lashings All Stars the following month.

The competition saw Dalton produce their best result of the year when they beat holders Workington by 19 runs at the first round stage, and they followed this up with an impressive seven-wicket quarter-final triumph at Haverigg.

Buoyed by those results, Dalton will travel north quietly confident, and top-order batsman Jack Singleton said: “We’ve got a 52-seater bus going up there so we will have a good following and hopefully they can get behind us and help us do it.

“We beat Cleator last year and we’ve always had close games against them, apart from last Saturday.

“I think if we can perform like we know we can on the day I don’t see a reason why we can’t beat them.

“Hopefully we can perform well and not play like we did last Saturday. If we can do it and it will kick-start us for the rest of the season.”

It will be a tough challenge against Cleator, coming hard on the heels of an emphatic 102-run Premier Division home defeat to them last weekend, when Darren Clark struck a magnificent 156 not out.

Singleton and his team-mates hope Clark won’t repeat his heroics at the crease on Sunday, and the fellow batsman doffed his cap to a superb innings.

“He rode his luck early on. There were a couple of edges that looped over fielders’ heads, but after that he just batted really well. We know he’s a good player and he batted really well,” said Singleton, who stressed that while an appearance in the Higson Cup final would be great for the club, Dalton’s priority remains securing top-flight status.

They dropped to the bottom of the table after Cockermouth’s shock win over Furness last week, and are targeting victory at Keswick tomorrow to get them back on track.

“It’s a massive weekend for us,” he stressed.

“After we beat Cockermouth (a fortnight ago), we thought they play Workington and Furness in the next two games so they won’t get anything there.

“They’ve only won one game all year, and that was against us, and then they go and turn Furness over.

“We’ve got to knuckle down and get the basics right. If we do that then we can start winning a few more games.

“Saturday is a must-win for us and hopefully we can win and take some momentum into Sunday. It’s a cup game so anything can happen.”

Also hoping to seal a Higson Cup final place are Furness who entertain Keswick.

Scott Pearcey’s side need to bounce back after their first fruitless weekend of the season saw them beaten by Cockermouth and then knocked out of the ECB National Club Championship by Ormskirk.

It’s also semi-finals day in the Vigodny Cup, with Lindal Moor A hosting Whitehaven A and Ulverston A at home to Egremont.

There is cup action of the Twenty-20 variety in the Northern League on Sunday.

Barrow lead the Division One North One table ahead of their away game at Penrith, with victory assuring them a place in the Finals Day.