MATLOCK TOWN VS STOCKTON TOWN PREVIEW
COMPETITION: Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division – Matchday 33
DATE: Saturday 22 February, 2025
KICK-OFF: 15:00
ENTRY: £12 Adult, £8 Concessions, £4 11-18 year-olds & students, free under-10’s
GROUND: Matlock Town FC, Proctor Cars Stadium, Causeway Lane, Matlock, DE4 3AR
LIVE UPDATES: @stockton_townfc – Twitter/X
With 10 games remaining in the season, every game now is vitally important for Stockton Town, and Saturday’s trip to relegation-threatened Matlock Town will be no easy feat.
The Anchors come into the game following Tuesday’s huge victory at fellow playoff contenders Ilkeston Town, where goals from Kevin Hayes and Arjun Purewal helped Michael Dunwell’s side bring back all three points after a 2-1 win.
That win was the perfect bounce back from a 1-0 defeat at Mickleover last weekend. The game also saw midfielder Fenton John make an impressive debut, after the former Middlesbrough prodigy joined on loan from Gateshead in midweek.
This also marks the last game of Adam Nicholson’s suspension, meaning he will be back for next weekend’s home meeting with Basford United.
THE OPPOSITION
Matlock Town have 11 games remaining to secure their position in the NPL Premier Division for another season. The Gladiators currently sit two points ahead of Bamber Bridge, who sit in the final relegation spot, with Leek Town sandwiched between the two.
Managed by ex-professional footballer Ryan Cresswell, who Anchors fans may recognise from his three-year spell at Sheffield FC prior to joining Matlock in September 2024, the Derbyshire-based side have only recorded one win so far in 2025, a 2-1 victory over Prescot Cables in January.
But after making four new additions in midweek, including Elliott Whitehouse from Macclesfield, Jack Stobbs and Liam Ravenhill from Buxton and standout youngster Cameron Wilson from Scarborough, they fought from two goals behind to pick up a point against 2nd placed Ashton United on Tuesday.
The Gladiators are however led by one of the league’s top scorers. 27-year-old Montel Gibson has 14 goals to his name in the league so far, placing him 9th in the scorers standings.
As well as Gibson, Matlock have a experienced ex-professionals, notably Comoros international Fouad Bachirou, who spent most of his career in the top division of Sweden with Graham Potter’s then-led Ostersunds before making a big money move to Malmo. He is now partnered in Matlock’s midfield by the very familiar name of Adam Clayton, who I imagine needs no introduction to a majority of Anchors fans, after making 213 appearances for Middlesbrough during the peak of his career.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The two sides met at the Map Group UK Stadium back in November where Josh Scott’s late goal was the difference between the teams in a very slender encounter.
2 Nov 2024 – Stockton Town 1-0 Matlock Town – Northern Premier League Premier Division
FORM GUIDE
Matlock Town: D L D L D
Last Game: Matlock Town 2-2 Ashton United
Stockton Town: W W L L W
Last Game: Ilkeston Town 1-2 Stockton Town
PRE-MATCH QUOTES
Stockton Town assistant manager JD Briggs spoke ahead of this test following victory over Workington on Saturday by saying:
“It’ll be really tough. They’ve made another four signings at the beginning of this week to strength their squad, we will have had them watched [against Ashton on Tuesday] and a draw with Ashton is a good result for them.
“They’re at the other end of the table where they probably didn’t expect to be, but it’s just going to be as tough as it was tonight [against Ilkeston]. It’s another away game and every away game is difficult in this league, but to get a result like we did here, we’ll enjoy it and prepare for Matlock appropriately.”
Words by Jordan Clarke
