The clashes between the ­promotion hopefuls are expected to influence who will play National Premier League football in 2015 and Maitland have the early advantage after their 2-1 win at Cooks Square Park.

The Magpies trailed 1-0 at ­halftime, but a double to top scorer Ben Martin was enough for the hosts to claim all three points.

And Law said the result demonstrated the strength of Maitland’s playing group this season.

“For me, I think it showed just how good our squad is,” he said.

“All three guys we brought off the bench had an important part to play and did an excellent job.

“As well as the first 11 who started we had two very good players that didn’t even strip off and it just shows that we’ve got a 17-man first grade squad of very high quality.”

Maitland host Cessnock City on Sunday afternoon looking to consolidate their place at the top of the table.

But Law said Maitland would not take their Coalfields rivals lightly despite the good result on Wednesday.

“I’ve been to watch Cessnock a couple of times this season and if we don’t turn up ready to go we will drop points,” he said.

“The impressive thing for me after we won was how focused the guys already were, it was a very professional attitude.

“The players in the shed afterward were already saying that beating Valentine will mean nothing if we don’t go out and beat Cessnock on Sunday.”

The clash with Cessnock will be Maitland’s third game in eight days including an 8-0 win on a heavy pitch at West Wallsend.

The Magpies were to train on Thursday night and Law did not rule out rotating his squad for Sunday.

“We will see how the boys pull up before we do anything,” he said.

“But I honestly wouldn’t have a problem giving any one of those 17 boys a shirt for the weekend because I know they’ll do the job.”

Kick-off on Sunday is at 2.30pm.

Elsewhere in the first division, Thornton host Valentine on Saturday night, with kick-off at 6pm.