United Counties League Premier Division North action is back on the agenda at The Longwater Stadium on Wednesday evening with Lincolnshire rivals Skegness Town the visitors – kick-off 7.45PM.

The Greens continued their brilliant league form with a comfortable 4-0 victory over basement markers Heather St. Johns at the weekend. The Greens have now won five games on the trot in league action – their last defeat a 2-0 reversal at the hands of Sherwood Colliery on August 13th. The Greens barely had to break sweat on Saturday with Ryan Rushen securing himself a brace – bundling home after Akeel Francis had been denied from the penalty spot and then doing similar to Ryan Flitton’s second half corner. Joe Smith was on hand to head home the Greens second on Saturday with debutant Jonny Nyantou coolly sweeping home a fourth goal as the 90 minutes closed up.

It will be that season long battle between Jacob Fenton and Ryan Rushen that will create the most intrigue pre-match. The two forward men continue to push each other on to even greater heights with Assistant Manager Louis Bland admitting at the weekend that it is becoming impossible to choose a starter out of the two. Elsewhere Joe Butler will be looking to force his way back into the starting XI after missing out on Saturday afternoon while Ryan Flitton, who came in for his first appearance of the season against Heather, will hope to keep his place after a lively performance out wide.

Opponents Skegness Town meanwhile arrive in NG34 on the back of three consecutive defeats that culminated in a narrow 1-0 reverse at table toppers Loughborough Students on Saturday afternoon. The Lilywhites have suffered mixed fortunes so far this campaign and saw a change in manager early on with Chris Rawlinson replacing Nathan Collins in the hotseat. Town’s last victory arrived on the 17th September with a tight 1-0 victory over Belper United at The Vertigo. Previous to that they were comfortable 4-0 victors over fellow Lincolnshire rivals Deeping Rangers and also secured a notable victory over step four Loughborough Dynamo in the FA Cup back in August.

Despite their lowly league placing, the Lilywhites are sure to present a real stern test with an abundance of United Counties League experience in their side. The Greens will need to be wary of the threat of top scorer Jonnie Lockie – leading the Skegness charts with five goals and an assist to his name so far this season. There is considerable National League North experience in the Lilywhites side too with former Boston United pair Connor Marshall and Kern Miller joining Lilywhites stalwarts James Lambley and Ben Davison amongst others.

The two sides have already met this season with the Greens running out 3-2 victors on the coast back in August. Connor Marshall opened the scoring in the 8th minute before the Greens overturned that lead within the opening 15 of the second half with Ryan Rushen and Joe Smith the scorers. Skegness were level in the 71st minute through the dangerous Jamie Potts before Mitch Griffiths stole the show and the points with a brilliant effort from distance in the 90th minute.

As always we’ll have live match updates on Twitter and once again these are sponsored by the wonderful team at Sleafordian Coaches. Entry is priced at £6 for adults, £3 for concessions with under-16’s free. Remember also to pick up a copy of our matchday programme “Green Army” priced £1.50 on the turnstiles.

Words: Oliver Atkin