Match Preview – Sleaford Town vs Retford United, Tuesday 21st October 2025

The Greens return to Eslaforde Park this midweek to face high-flyers Retford United in their next UCL Division One fixture.

Sleaford will look to get back to their best, where they won successive matches 3-0 earlier this month, as they come up against one of the league’s best teams. Disappointment last time out saw The Greens defeated 4-1 at the hands of Pinxton in a difficult afternoon on the road. It promises to be another tough test again this evening, as the visitors in second place have only lost one league match all season.

Retford United were perhaps unfortunate not to be promoted last season. The Badgers finished in third but ultimately lost in the playoff semi-final to eventual winners Blackstones. This campaign looks to be a similar story in terms of success as the visitors are some ten points of cross-town rivals Retford FC in first place but have two games in hand. Ten wins and three draws have seen United earn an impressive thirty-three points in fourteen games, with the only loss coming at the hands of FCV Grace Dieu ten days ago.

Sleaford must be aware of League top goal scorer Lewis Chambers if they want to get a result out of the game, as the United attacker has netted a ludicrous twenty goals in seventeen matches across all competitions this season. Josh Devereux has also scored ten goals in nineteen appearances.

Focusing back on a Sleaford perspective, manager Matt Evans believes that Town are on the right track, even if results haven’t matched performances. “Over the past 6 games, we've had one performance that I'm really disappointed with and a handful of periods where we haven’t done the right things” he said. “On the whole, we've played some really good football and dominated possession. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the results to confirm that”.

In a hectic month for games, Evans understands the effect of a packed schedule on his team. “I think 7 games in a month is a lot” he added. “Some of the lads have played University/School football on top too.

“I'm sure fatigue is a factor so we are looking forward to a quieter November where training sessions can have more impact”.

In terms of the opposition, Evans knows it will not be an easy test. Retford United will be a tough opponent” he said. “Their league position suggests they know what it takes at this level. Like Retford FC, they were disappointed to not get promoted last year and we expect them to be better than most step 5 teams.

“But, it’s a Tuesday night in Sleaford... anything could happen!”

There has also been some positive news on the transfer front, as Sleaford have acted quickly to secure the services of Callum Brown. An experienced 27-year-old centre half, brown has signed for the Greens from Louth Town, and will add a wealth of experience into the dressing room, having competed in the Northern Counties League previously.

All details for the game are available on STFC’s media pages.

Match preview by Olly Burton