Match Preview – Sleaford Town FC vs Dunkirk FC, Saturday 13th September 2025

A return to league action is calling for The Green Army, as a 3pm kick-off will see them contest UCL D1 rivals Dunkirk for the points.

Sleaford’s last outing saw them bow out of the UCL Development Cup, suffering a 4-0 defeat to step 5 playoff hopefuls Northampton ON Chenecks. This Saturday’s opponents Dunkirk will provide a different but challenging test nevertheless for Matt Evans’s team.

Founded in 1946, the Nottingham based outfit are currently playing their fifth season in the UCL D1, as they had been transferred down a league into this level at the end of the Covid 19 pandemic. Beforehand, they had been steady step 5 competitors, competing in leagues including the East Counties Football League and the Midland League Premier Division. Since joining the United Counties League in 2021/22, finishes have been inconsistent with Dunkirk finishing seventh, eleventh, fourth and then thirteenth last season.

So far this campaign, The Boatmen have seen off Southwell City 2-1, Clipstone 6-0, Clifton All Whites 2-0, and Swallownest 1-0 in the league, whilst also conquering AFC Mansfield 2-0 in the FA Vase. The man leading Dunkirk’s scoring charts is William Gillies, who has netted four goals in eight appearances, suggesting Town must keep him quiet to be in with a shout of the points. They are currently in twelfth place, on thirteen points.

Sleaford will be looking to get back amongst the points come the end of the game, as the last three fixtures have seen Town pick up only one point, leaving them in fifteenth place after nine games on eleven points.

Ahead of the fixture, Town winger Benji Zalewski spoke to the media, and started by reflecting on his start at Eslaforde Park: “This season has been my first ever season in men’s football on a Saturday” he says, “I think I’m adapting well to the physical and tactical side of things and I feel like I’m definitely improving that side of my game on top of other things as well”.

“I’ve still got a lot of things to improve on but that’s where staff and teammates have been doing a great job in helping me develop and I am very grateful… it’s a challenge I love”

Reflecting on Saturday’s disappointment, the young Pole believes a lot was learned from the test; “I think from games like that you learn a lot especially knowing the fact that they’re an experienced step 5 side challenging for play offs” Zalewski adds, “With me wanting to gain more knowledge, I think looking at players in my position, I want to see what they’re doing, what I’m not doing and just slowly implementing things like that into my own game as soon as possible and even Saturday”.

Despite any setbacks, Benji is sure that Sleaford can turn things around; “As a team we are very confident” he suggests, “We don’t turn up to training sessions to kick a ball, go home and not get anything out of the session. The management team do a lot of hard work behind the scenes for us, to get things done at training and all the lads see the positive side of it”.

“We want to give back as players and also to the fans as we have so much more to show them, as players we just have to trust the process and be patient”.

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

Match preview by Olly Burton.