Town will be looking for a response, after a disappointing display in Nottinghamshire saw them well beaten 4-0 by Sandiacre Town at the weekend. Southwell will be a different test for Greens, as they themselves have had a mixed start. Winning on opening day thanks to a last-ditch winner versus Clifton All Whites, ‘Bramleys’ have stumbled in the last two fixtures, being defeated by Dunkirk and Swallownest in that run. Before the season even began, the opponents had to bid farewell to Cal Law, who had been at the club since he was 6, suggesting it could be a tough year without some crucial players. City have competed at this level since the 2022/23 season, their highest finish to date coming last year as they finished 12th placed out of 19 teams.

Perhaps the most fascinating battle in the game on Tuesday will be between Greens winger Benji Zalewski and Southwell player Kaeden Bennison. Becoming U15 County League winners together in their time playing at secondary school, the two will be very accustomed to each other, also having shared the pitch together for a number of years at their youth club AFC Warriors Saxons. Bennison will be looking to add to his tally of one goal this season – that one being the winner on opening day – whilst Zalewski will be hoping to get up and running in his Sleaford career. Despite whatever happens on Tuesday night, it will be fascinating to see the two compete for bragging rights.

After a difficult outing on Saturday in Sandiacre, manager Matt Evans understands midweek is crucial for Sleaford to rebuild momentum; “We have to respond well to the situation we find ourselves in” he admits, “Saturday was a reminder of how difficult this league is - everyone around the club is working hard, really hard, to ensure Sleaford Town becomes attractive to players, sponsors and most importantly fans; the effort on the pitch simply has to match that off of it”.

⁠Reflecting on Saturday, the boss feels town have to get back to it ahead of a busy schedule; ”No sports person wants to lose and no footballer turns up to have a bad day but we sometimes get surprised by what happens” he states, “some of us would love several hours on the training pitch working out the answers, others want to get on with the next game and take an opportunity to perform better, quickly”.

⁠Ahead of the game, Evans revealed some updates surrounding team selection; “We are waiting for the FA to confirm availability on one key man from our pre-season preparations” he hints, “Its a crazy time of year, especially for young lads that go away with their parents still. Its going to take weeks before we have a settled side unfortunately, but we do have one back from holiday and another back from the Oasis gig”. Will there be changes? Definitely maybe!