Match Preview

The Match Background

The first of the Greens final two regulation United Counties League Premier Division North games takes place on Saturday afternoon as out-of-sorts Eastwood Community visit The MKM Ground for a game that could scarcely be bigger for the Greens. Tuesday evenings 2-0 victory at Pinchbeck United was as comfortable as it was gritty and determined and it moved the Greens back to within just three points of Skegness Town in the fourth and final pay-off spot in Premier Division North. The fact that the Greens have made it this far is testament to a strong end to the campaign and victory today, coupled with any dropped points on the Lincolnshire coast will see the Greens take the fight for 5th to the final day of the campaign. Skegness hold the cards of course with a far superior goal-difference essentially making their lead four points, but in a league that has proved itself unpredictable if nothing else, the pressure remains firmly on the Lilywhites. All the Greens can do then is take six points and hope for favours from elsewhere and they’ll certainly look at today as an opportunity to extend a run that has seen them defeated just once in their last six games in Premier Division North, with visitors Eastwood on a disappointing spiral down the table. Amongst the title challengers at Christmas, just one victory in 13 games since has piled on the misery and the pressure at Coronation Park as Community look to plot a way towards a winning end to the season. Defeats to Pinchbeck United and Hucknall Town in recent weeks were compounded further last weekend with a 2-0 defeat against Boston Town that saw Community drop as low as 9th in Premier Division North. So, with the play-offs still a realistic possibility for the Greens, victory on Saturday would guarantee a finish of no less than 6th in any case, so there is plenty riding on the result this afternoon.

Team News

Player/Managers Tom Ward and Nathan Arnold are likely to enjoy the novelty of having a full squad to choose from on Saturday afternoon, something the Greens have very rarely enjoyed for much of the campaign. The only real worries for Ward and Arnold will be on the fitness of Eli Christie who missed Tuesday evening’s victory at Pinchbeck United as a result of a troublesome knock, while Issa Gaye missed out having suffered in a tackle against Boston Town a fortnight ago also, but otherwise, the Greens are looking at a full compliment. Jake Henderson made a welcome return to action after recovering earlier than expected from the knee injury he sustained at Hucknall Town in February while players such as Sebastian Robbemond and Kyle Simpson will be hoping to build on enterprising cameos in recent weeks with further minutes on Saturday afternoon.

The Opposition

Opponents Eastwood Community meanwhile pitch up in Lincolnshire with their play-off hopes dead in the water. For that, they have a rotten run of just one win in 13 games in all competitions since the turn of the year to thank as the Red Badgers plummeted from title-challengers to also-rans in a matter of weeks. Having begun the season with fresh investment and fresh impetus, the mood around Coronation Park was one of quiet confidence after a poor campaign last time out saw them only creep away from distinct relegation worries in the final weeks of the campaign. Exciting summer recruitment only added to the sense that Community could well be dark horses for success with Chair Darryll Claypole making no secret of his desire to kick-start a run up the pyramid for the Red Badgers.

And those ambitions were well on course with Community reaching heights of as high as 2nd during a first half of the season which saw them consistently challenging amongst the play-off group. After losing their opening two Premier Division North fixtures, the Red Badgers then instigated a run of six games unbeaten which included this afternoon’s reverse fixture – Community defeating the Greens 2-1 on a roasting day at Coronation Park. That was part of a wider run of games that saw Community defeated just once – to Sherwood Colliery – in twelve games in Premier Division North. That run also included victories over Lincoln United and Loughborough Students as the Red Badgers emerged as one of the leading sides in the run-up to the festive period.

Three straight defeats in the weeks leading into Christmas Day were the first signs that things were going a little awry for the Nottinghamshire outfit, particularly a 6-1 hammering at Loughborough Students which saw them ship four goals in 19 minutes following the half-time interval. Since then, just three wins in 15 games in Premier Division North has seen the Red Badgers plummet out of contention altogether and a 2-0 defeat at Boston Town last weekend saw Community drop all too close to the bottom half of the table after spending much of the season amongst the top ends. Defeats to Pinchbeck United and Hucknall Town have been hammer blows for Community and will likely have put a little pressure on managers Martin Ball and Darryll Thomas.

Ball and Thomas will no doubt point to a shredding of the spine of the side that hit the heights during the first half of the campaign, the headline of which saw their 20-goal top-scorer Kyle Tomlin depart for step four Anstey Nomads. They will also suggest that star summer signing Marcus Marshall missing much of the campaign through injury was another hammer blow to their plans, while experienced head’s such as Romaine Graham departing to return to Newark & Sherwood United have only added to their troubles. That being said though, Community still poses a danger and recent draws with Lincoln United and Sherwood Colliery suggest that things might not all be plain sailing for the hosts today. The goal-scoring burden was taken on in joint by Derek O’Connor and Tyler Blake who both now have 17 goals for the season while players like Terry Atem, Jermaine Hollis and Kemani Wilson bring with them a wealth of United Counties League experience.

Previous Meetings

Saturday will represent a 6th meeting between the Greens and the Red Badgers and the previous five have yielded an even record with both sides enjoying two wins alongside a draw. That draw came just before Christmas 2022 when the two sides played out a 0-0 stalemate at Coronation Park in front of 201 spectators in Nottinghamshire – the sides also trading two red cards that day with Andre Johnson seeing red on his debut for Eastwood, while the Greens also saw Joe Butler dismissed midway through the second half. That followed on from what had been a narrow 1-0 victory for the Greens at Eslaforde Park on the opening day of that campaign with Joe Butler the man in the headlines once again, this time for scoring the games only goal just after half-time – 126 spectators also witnessing Jacob Sturgess getting sent off for the visitors in first-half stoppage time.

This season’s corresponding fixture didn’t see any red cards but did end in victory for the Red Badgers in front of 213 fans at Coronation Park. The Greens had already visited that neck of the woods two weeks earlier to face Belper United and found themselves 2-0 down early in the second half through Ryan Tait and Marcus Marshall strikes. Ryan Rushen had forced the Greens back into the contest, but despite a string of late chances, there was to be no comeback for the visitors.

The Match Details

Admission to The MKM Ground on Saturday afternoon is priced at £7 for adults and £4 for concessions with under-16’s free (alongside a paying adult). There is also a military discount available when showing the relative documentation for £5. We can accept both cash and card at the turnstiles and at the bar and snack bar which will be open throughout the game. Copies of our matchday programme the ‘Green Army’ will be available once again with copies priced at £1.50 each on the turnstiles and featuring an interview this week with Jake Henderson. Saturday’s match referee is James Astley, and he is assisted on the day by Mason Bussey and an official yet to be confirmed. Kick-off at the MKM Ground is scheduled for 3.00PM.

Words; Oliver Atkin