Match Preview – Sleaford Town v Swallownest FC, 26th July 2025

In the first league game of the season, Sleaford will host Swallownest at home to begin their 2025/2026 season in the United Counties League Division One.

The Greens had a mixed preseason in terms of results; with a victory against Horncastle, a draw with Appleby Frodingham as well as losses to Bottesford and Louth. Town will go into the new season with several new additions keen to impress. At the time of writing those include Jonasz Gadomski, Josh Wilson, Ben Coleman, Lewis Wisdom-Lockwood and Silas Steward-Caws. The additions provide good depth for Sleaford and will hope to make an impact in a positive season.

Formerly known as Swallownest Miners Welfare, the opponents have seen a rapid rise since inception in 2006, being promoted from the 15th tier to the 10th and currently ply their trade at the highest level in the club’s history. Swallownest will be heading to Eslaforde Park looking for a good start of their own in what will be their 9th consecutive year at this level. To be led by Brad Jones as manager, “Swall” geared up for their new era by facing opponents including Parkgate FC and Chesterfield u21, where they secured a 1-1 draw against the latter. New to the league after transferring from the Northern Counties East League, Swallownest will be wanting to fulfil their ambitions of improving on midtable security as was the case last season, a good result on Saturday could provide a platform for good things to come.

Matt Evans shared his thoughts upon the start of the season and begins by providing a review of preseason as he saw it; “Preseason is always a merry-go-round” he says, “We have said goodbye and good luck to some good men who tried their best to keep us in the premier division but ultimately our fate has dictated that they move on”. Evans adds, “That has opened opportunities for new, fresh, young faces to come and show us what they have to offer. Several have stepped up from the junior section and have pushed for places in the squad”. “The emergence of our new Development Team has given many more the stepping stone they need so it has added further dynamics to our busy schedule”.

In terms of recruitment, the boss remains positive; “There are new additions too. We have been very specific about the type of characters and players that we want and I’m delighted with who has come in” he states, “We are still working on more but it’s a very competitive field and that’s full credit to all of our local rivals”.

Ahead of new beginnings in Step 6 of the non-league game, Matt believes a bright future is ahead; “This year, success will be in the rebuilding” he outlines, “The new partners that have come on board and the returning sponsors are essential for what we want to do over the next few years. If we can continue to grow the number of people coming to watch us, then that too will be a success.” “The Board have been clear that we want a community focused club that we can be proud of”.

Matt also remains delighted with his staff’s valuable contributions; “Isaac, Blake and Scott have worked really hard on the pitch to get the players as ready as possible for what will be a challenging season” he says, “ Morgan has provided them with analysis and data to shape sessions and George has been working hard to rehab some of our injured lads.” “ Its been a really big effort from the entire group”.

Focussing on Saturday, Evans outlines his thoughts on the task at hand; “Swallownest is officially the start of something new and that's exciting for many reasons” he suggests, “ We will need to adapt quickly and settle into our patterns.” “ They’ve had a lot of change in recent years too, so we will look to learn from them and begin our step 6 journey with the best possible start”.

The fixture will kick off at 15:00 at Eslaforde Park. Come down and support the Green Army as we begin the season!

Written by Oliver Burton