Match Preview – Pinxton v Sleaford Town, 17th October 2025

The Greens will look to bounce back from County Cup disappointment with a return to league action, facing Pinxton away from home.

A 3-0 defeat at the hands of Appleby Frodingham saw Sleaford knocked out of the Lincolnshire Senior Trophy on Tuesday night. This now means that full attention can be directed to the league, where Sleaford currently find themselves fourteenth after sixteen matches.

Hosts Pinxton have had a similar first few months to the season as Town, being placed one position above in thirteenth by a point, although with two games in hand over Sleaford. The miners will be looking for a response to their last outing, being defeated 3-0 at the hands of Dronfield Town. This season marks the club’s second season in the United Counties League set up, having been members of step seven for the four years prior. Pinxton finished a respectable eighth place last year, and will be looking for a continuation in their stability.

A win for Sleaford could see The Greens move up to as high as eighth, subject to other results. A draw could also see them move up two positions, though unlikely due to Gedling MW’s superior goal difference. A loss would see Town drop to a lowest of fifteenth.

Ahead of the fixture, club captain Jonathan Timmins understands the necessity to get over recent results. “We need to bounce back with a strong performance, and I’m expecting a positive reaction from everyone after Tuesday night” he said. “We all know the performances in recent weeks have been really good, so hopefully Tuesday was just a bit of a complacent moment — a blip that we can look back on and learn from.

“To be fair, I’d rather it happened in the cup than in the league. But first and foremost, the work rate, desire, and hunger to win have got to be there this Saturday”.

As a leader in the group, Timmins knows the importance of leading off the pitch as well as on it. “We all know it’s a young squad full of talent, but there are a few players who lack experience, so it’s really important that lads like myself, Lewis (Wisdom-Lockwood), and not just him — players like Niko, Wilson, Bash, Clayton, and others — step up as leaders.

“We’ve got a strong group of senior players who can act as mentors for some of the younger lads who maybe don’t have the experience yet but definitely have the talent”.

Turning attention to Pinxton, the skipper isn’t expecting an easy game. “We know they’re a good side, and I think it’ll be similar to the last few games in terms of the level of opposition, decent and competitive.

“It’ll be a good test for us, not only in terms of bouncing back from Tuesday but also dealing with a big, physical team, which we’re expecting. We’re confident we can get a result, but we can’t afford to be complacent because we know they’ll be tough on the day”.

“Like I’ve said before, though, the main focus has to be on ourselves. If we turn up and play the way we know we can, we’ll give anyone in this league a good game”.

Full details for the game are available on STFC’s social media channels.

Match preview by Olly Burton.