MORPETH TOWN VS STOCKTON TOWN PREVIEW
COMPETITION: Northern Premier League Premier Division- Matchday 23
DATE: Thursday 1st January, 2026
KICK-OFF: 13:00
ENTRY: £12 Adults, £8 Concessions, £4 under-16’s
GROUND: Craik Park, Pegswood, Morpeth, NE61 2YX
LIVE UPDATES: @stockton_townfc – Twitter/X
LIVE COMMENTARY: Anchors Radio (mixlr.com)
Stockton Town head to Northumberland to open the New Year to meet with Morpeth Town.
The Anchors come into the game off the back of a dominant win against Hebburn Town, winning 4-1 on Boxing Day after a fantastic second-half showing.
Jake Petitjean, Adam Nicholson and Tom Coulthard’s goals were helped by an own-goal by Michael Turner which secured a big three points to launch Stockton back into a playoff position.
Loanee Ryan Barrett returned to action in the game after missing a few weeks with a groin problem.
Vinnie Steels is also expected to return to face his former side after missing a month with a hamstring injury.
THE OPPOSITION
The Highwaymen are known for being a very strong home side. They come into this game on a six-game unbeaten run at Craik Park, dropping only two points and conceding just two goals in those games.
Young Craig Lynch remains at the helm, having been appointed in 2021 when he was just 29 years old, after spending three years there as assistant manager prior.
Danger-man Nic Bollado is Lynch’s top scorer so far this campaign, with five goals to his name, playing a lot of games up front lately.
Alongside Bollado, Morpeth’s squad consists of many longtime players, as well as their own academy graduates. In their most recent outing against Whitby Town, Will Dowling, Aaron Chungh and Matty Griggs all started, with all three being products of their academy.
Today, on the 31st, Morpeth announced the signing of striker Joe Brayson, who joins on loan from Newcastle United. Joe is the son of Northern League legend Paul Brayson.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The two sides have plenty of history from slightly corresponding their Northern League days, but earlier this season was the first time Stockton picked up a victory since a League Cup meeting in 2018. Here are the results from the five most recent meetings:
30 Jul 2022 – Morpeth Town 2-0 Stockton Town – Pre-Season Friendly
25 Jul 2023 – Morpeth Town 4-3 Stockton Town – Pre-Season Friendly
20 Aug 2024 – Morpeth Town 2-1 Stockton Town – Northern Premier League Premier Division
19 Apr 2025 – Stockton Town 1-1 Morpeth Town – Northern Premier League Premier Division
25 Aug 2025 – Stockton Town 2-0 Morpeth Town – Northern Premier League Premier Division
FORM GUIDE
Morpeth Town (15th): D D W L W
Last match: Whitby Town 1-2 Morpeth Town
Stockton Town (5th): W D D W W
Last match: Stockton Town 4-1 Hebburn Town
PRE-MATCH QUOTES
Following last week’s victory over Hebburn Town, Manager Michael Dunwell looked ahead to the clash by saying:
“All of the local games, where we know a lot about each other, they’re always very tough because you can cancel each other out.”
They’ll be a difficult opponent, like any team is in this league, but we’re on a good run and we just want to continue that. We’ll take one game at a time, and we’ll prepare properly for what we know will be a tough game.”
