Match Preview – South Normanton Athletic vs Sleaford Town, Saturday 27th September 2025

Its back on the road for Sleaford this Saturday, as The Greens make the trip to face South Normanton Athletic at the Transcare Arena.

Town will be look to get back to winning ways and will certainly feel confident off the back of last week’s performance. Ben Ashall’s last ditch free-kick secured a valuable point as well as securing the second 1-1 draw in as many months against West Bridgford. It is expected to be a tougher test this Saturday however, as they face a South Normanton side eyeing the playoffs in seventh position.

The hosts have made a good account of themselves so far in the United Counties League D1, earning twenty points across six victories and two draws, leaving them two points off the last playoff spot with a match in hand. Wins against the likes of Staveley MW 4-0 and Rainworth MW 7-0 have left The Shiners dreaming of a back to back promotion, having only just been promoted as champions from the Central Midlands Alliance Premier South.

The most high-profile name on the South Normanton team sheet is comfortably goalkeeper Ross Etheridge. The former Derby County, Accrington Stanley and Doncaster Rovers shot stopper is perhaps most well-known to Greens fans for his days at Lincoln City. Loaned in towards the back end of the historic National League title winning season, Etheridge spent most of his time as backup to Paul Farman but did make two league appearances for the Imps after they were confirmed champions. A downward career trajectory however has seen him drop to this level at only 31.

Focussing back on Sleaford, manager Matt Evans spoke about his side’s recent efforts, and believes that Town could’ve had more; “The performances have been really good over the last 3 fixtures” he says, “They are all tight games where with better quality in the opponent's box, we would win more comfortably. I’m confident the lads want to keep building and are enjoying the style of play we are starting to see more of”

Evans has also provided some updates on the selection front; “Jonno is back from America following a work trip. I think his cameo on Saturday proved that jet lag does impact performance. Silas will have a late fitness test to check his recovery; we are confident they won’t be far off”

Matt also knows Saturday will be another tough test for his young squad; “South Normanton will be another side that are keen to take chances” he suggests, “We will need to be ready for them and have confidence in our own abilities. If we stay stuck in this cycle of pressure to score, we will need a very strong defensive performance to remain in the game”.

All appropriate details for the game will be available on STFC’s relevant social media pages in due course, as well as the club’s website.

Match preview by Olly Burton