BISHOP AUCKLAND vs STOCKTON TOWN
Competition: Durham Challenge Cup second round
Date: Tuesday 18 January, 2022
Kick-Off: 7:45pm
Entry: £7 Adult, £6 Concession, £3 Under-16s
Ground: Heritage Park, Stadium Way, St Helen Auckland, Bishop Auckland, DL14 9AE
Live Updates: @stockton_townfc
Stockton Town make the short trip across County Durham to take on Ebac Northern League Division One side Bishop Auckland in the second round of the Durham Challenge Cup.
Last time out, striker Jamie Owens notched his 100th Stockton goal in his 177th appearance for the club, to help move the Anchors up to third in the Northern Premier League East Division with a 3-1 win against Lincoln United.
The victory was Stockton’s ninth in succession in all competitions, the run dating back to the 4-0 triumph over Tadcaster Albion in late November.
In the previous round of the competition, Michael Dunwell’s side knocked divisional rivals Hebburn Town out of the Challenge Cup, with Adam Nicholson and Jonathan Franks scoring inside the first 20 minutes of the game to see the Anchors through.
The two sides met in this very competition just over two years ago, with Stockton emerging convincing 7-0 winners at Heritage Park.
MILESTONES
- Stockton (994) are six goals away from the landmark of 1,000 goals scored under Michael Dunwell’s leadership
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Stockton Town and Bishop Auckland have met eight times in all competitions to date, with the Anchors triumphing in five of those fixtures. Here are the results from the last five meetings between the two sides:
18 Jan 2020: Stockton Town 2-1 Bishop Auckland – Ebac Northern League Division One
23 Oct 2019: Bishop Auckland 0-7 Stockton Town – Durham Challenge Cup
17 Aug 2019: Bishop Auckland 1-2 Stockton Town – Ebac Northern League Division One
09 Mar 2019: Bishop Auckland 0-5 Stockton Town – Ebac Northern League Division One
29 Aug 2018: Stockton Town 0-2 Bishop Auckland – Ebac Northern League Division One
FORM GUIDE
Bishop Auckland: D W L W L
Last Game: Drew 1-1 vs Whitley Bay
Stockton Town: W W W W W
Last Game: Won 3-1 vs Lincoln United
THE OPPOSITION
Bishop Auckland are one of the most famous names in the history of non-league football, having won the FA Amateur Cup, the precursor to the FA Vase, a record 10 times and reached the final on eight other occasions.
The Two Blues currently sit 19th in the Northern League Division One with 19 points from 23 games, just a point behind Penrith and Billingham Town with a game in hand.
The 19-time Northern League champions have won two of their last five league matches to move off the basement of Division One, but have played just one match in nearly five weeks due to a combination of postponements.
Bishops defeated Gateshead Rutherford 4-0 and Seaham Red Star 1-0 to reach this stage of the Durham Challenge Cup, Matthew Waters scoring the only goal to edge past the Wearside outfit.
There are a couple of names in the Bishop Auckland squad which will be familiar to Anchors supporters, in the form of Jamie Poole and Sonni Coleman.
PRE-MATCH QUOTES
Speaking after Saturday’s win against Lincoln United, manager Michael Dunwell looked forward to the upcoming Durham Challenge Cup tie against Bishop Auckland.
He said: “We’ll see how players are. They’re two tough games [Bishop Auckland and Pickering Town] coming up.
“The Durham Challenge Cup is the only cup competition we are in now and if you’re in a cup competition you want to try and win it.
“We’ll make a few changes but we will still have a strong squad out whoever we play. We go there to try and win the game and get through to the next round.
“There’ll be two or three changes but not as many as in the last round against Hebburn.”
