Sleaford will look to bounce back from a disappointing exit from the FA Vase on Saturday, a victory here would certainly get Town on the right path once more. Sleaford find themselves in twelfth place on ten points after seven matches, whereas the hosts are nineteenth after six games played and 5 points. Despite the gap in league positions, Sleaford will still have to perform at their best in order to come away with the points.

West Bridgford’s men’s senior team was only founded in 2011, but the club have had fairly major success in youth development prior to this. Notable alumni of the club include former EFL and Premier League mainstay Simon Francis, most known for his time at AFC Bournemouth, as well as Lionesses hero Mary Earps, now at French titans Paris Saint-Germain. Saturday’s opponents also lay claim to being the country’s “largest” club, having over 120 registered teams.

Joining the UCL in 2021, West Bridgford have been fairly consistent since then, finishing mid table on each of the last four seasons. Their highest finish was last campaign, where they were placed fourteenth out of nineteen teams. This season, as previously mentioned, they have not started well. Times have been tough at the Regatta Sports Ground as well as away, with West Bridgford losing three and drawing two since their opening day victory away at South Normanton Athletic.

Ahead of the fixture, Town manager Matt Evans is keen to return to form; “We got the Vase game on the worst weekend possible following Dobbo's injury and 7 players away for the bank holiday weekend.” he says, “These things happen so we are fortunately that we have a development team full of eager players! It was great to see the excitement and anticipation in the eyes of the lads getting their debuts, even if it did have a feel of pre-season about it”.

“It’s obviously disappointing to go out early or make a debut in a loss, but there is plenty more to play for with County and League cups ahead. These experiences will make everyone better as long as we continue to learn from them”.

After a wrath of unavailability in recent weeks, the boss is pleased to have a number of his players back; “This weekend, we welcome back the majority of Saturday's absences which will allow us to freshen things up.” he comments, “As the summer holidays begin to wind-down, we hope to find more rhythm and regularity”.

“Having already used 26 different players across the 8 competitive games, we haven’t been able to develop the tight-knit relationships needed to succeed. You could see Retford had those in abundance”.

Despite the opponents’ tough start, Evans knows Town need to control their destiny if they want a result; “West Bridgford are another team that have had a rough start and will take confidence from our recent result against Clipstone.” he suggests, “The scout report we have gives us some insight but ultimately we have to focus on ourselves and making the most of what we have available to us”.

The appropriate details for the fixture are available on Sleaford Town FC’s relevant social media pages.

Match preview by Olly Burton