The Greens arrive at the Loughborough University Stadium on the back of a gritty 3-2 win over Heanor Town at The Longwater Stadium last Saturday afternoon. The Greens were made to work hard for their three points by a dogged Lions side who refused to go away despite 2-0 and 3-1 deficits throughout the contest. Sam Wright was the hero last weekend, netting a first ever Sleaford hat-trick, he opened the scoring in the 24 minute when he beat his namesake Myles Wright in the Heanor goal to a longball over the top - leaving Wright the easy task of slotting the ball into an empty net. Wright was then on hand a minute later to double the Greens advantage practically from the kick-off when he guided a wonderful header beyond Myles Wright following Joe Butler’s cross. Heanor roared back though and found themselves back in the contest just before the break when Bart Korzeniewski curled a sumptuous effort in off the far post. Wright was the man again though to restore the Greens two-goal lead in the second period when, much like his first effort, a goalkeeping error allowed Wright to quite literally walk the ball into the net. There was still time for Korzeniewski to reply once again for Heanor to make it a nervous last 15 minutes for the Greens, but despite plenty of late pressure, they held firm to secure the three point haul.

The good news keeps coming for Tom Ward too as the Greens player/manager is optimistic to see the return of two of his star men. Joe Smith has returned to training this week and will be hoping to see his first minutes since the Lincolnshire Senior Trophy defeat to Brigg Town in October, while there were no adverse reactions from Rodrigo Goncalves 10-minute cameo last weekend - meaning the dangerous wingman will be pushing to claim his first start since scoring the opener against Selston FC at the beginning of November. Elsewhere, Boston United loanee Han Stevens will be hoping to see more minutes following his Greens debut last time out, while Harry Johnson, on loan from Grantham Town will hope that two energetic performances in his loan spell so far will lead to further minutes. The Greens announced the dual registration of Matt McBride yesterday, again from Grantham Town. Akeel Francis will sit out the last game of his three match suspension this weekend, while Joe Butler and Joe Braithwaite will also be missing due to suspension after the pairing accumulated too many yellow cards.

Opponents Loughborough Students meanwhile are once again showing real class and quality at the top of the United Counties League Premier Division North. They have repeatedly challenged at the top end of the division since a lateral movement from the Midland Football League before the Covid affected 2019/20 season. The Students sat in 4th position at the time of the null & void decision, a spot they then occupied upon the completion of their first full season as a UCL club last season. They club are technically a full-time side and they have taken the league by storm this season sitting top and remaining unbeaten in the league so far this campaign. They did record just one of only four draws (alongside 14 victories) in league action at Boston Town last weekend – requiring a 91st minute equaliser to prevent their first reversal of the campaign. Two of their other stalemates arrived in two contests against Anstey Nomads meaning that Newark & Sherwood United are the only other side to take points off the Scholars this season. They had relative success in the FA Cup seeing off Newark and then step four Carlton Town before succumbing 3-1 to Northern Premier League leaders Gainsborough Trinity in the 1st Qualifying Round. There was disappointment in the FA Vase though after a 2-1 defeat at Stourport Swifts means there will be no repeat of the Scholars record breaking run to the semi-finals that they enjoyed last season. There will also be no Knockout Cup triumph either after a resounding 5-0 reversal at Anstey Nomads saw them knocked out in the 2nd round.

As with any team challenging at the right end of the league the Students side is littered with quality and danger men. The Scholars boast four players who are well into double figures in terms of goals this season with Anthony Lynn (12), Dylan Edwards (13) and Ethan O’Toole (15) all led by top scorer Matthew Bowman wo has recorded 16 strikes in all competitions this season.

There have been five meetings of the two sides overall with Loughborough holding the upper hand over those contests, recording four wins and one defeat. That defeat arrived 13 years ago when the Greens – courtesy of two Gary Walters strikes – progressed from an FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie. Since then, the Scholars have dominated proceedings including 13-0 and 11-0 victories in Leicestershire – record defeats of any kinds since the early 1960’s for the Greens. The two meetings last season were closer but still ultimately resulted in Students victory with a 3-1 reversal at Eslaforde Park (Tom Ward the scorer), following up a 2-0 defeat at the University Stadium earlier in the season.

As always we’ll have live match updates on Twitter and once again these are sponsored by the wonderful team at Sleafordian Coaches. Entrance to the University Stadium is priced at £6 for adults and £3 for concessions – come and lend the lads your support as they look to put in a statement performance against one of the divisions best sides!

Words: Oliver Atkin