MATCH PREVIEW | Stockton Town v Belper Town

STOCKTON TOWN VS BELPER TOWN

COMPETITION: Northern Premier League East Division

DATE: Saturday 18th November, 2023

KICK-OFF: 15:00

ENTRY: £9 Adult, £7 Concession, £3 kids (tickets available online or at the gate)

GROUND: MAP Group UK Stadium, Bishopton Road West, Stockton-On-Tees, TS19 0QD

LIVE UPDATES: @stockton_townfc – Twitter/X

LIVE COMMENTARY: Anchors Radio (mixlr.com)

It’s second against third in the  Northern Premier League East Division, as Stockton Town welcome Belper Town to the MAP Group UK Stadium.

Only two points separate the two sides going into the game, with Belper in second place and the Anchors in third.

Stockton are coming into the game on the back of an outstanding midweek victory over National League Gateshead to advance into the quarter-finals of the Durham Challenge Cup.

An early goal from Michael Fowler and a treble from Mikey Roberts helped the Anchors to a 4-0 victory against a Gateshead side with a number of first-team players.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

This is the first meeting between the two clubs.

FORM GUIDE

Stockton Town: W W W L D

Last Game: Stockton Town 4-0 Gateshead

Belper Town: W W D L W

Last Game: Belper Town 1-0 Liversedge

THE OPPOSITION

Following relegation from the Premier Division last season, Belper have started their inaugural East Division campaign mightily, finding themselves second in the table, one point behind league-leaders Hebburn Town with a game-in-hand.

The Nailers are coming into the game with a two-game win streak to extend, following a slender victory over Liversedge last weekend.

Lee Attenborough’s side are the home of the league’s current top-scorer, with forward Kevin Bastos leading the way on 13 goals already this season. However, Bastos will miss the game against the Anchors following his dismissal against Liversedge last weekend.

PRE MATCH QUOTES 

Speaking after the delight of Wednesday’s victory over Gateshead, Manager Michael Dunwell said:

“It’s going to be a tough game, they’re up there for a reason and it’s because they’ve had a really good start to the season.”

“They’ve had a couple of indifferent results, similar to everyone else in the league, but they’ve got a good squad there, they’ll come here and they’ll fancy themselves. I think it’ll be a really close, good game between two good footballing sides.”

“The best team on the day will come out with the win, but it’s not going to change what we want to achieve whether the result goes either way. But we’re confident at home, with our good home record this season, that we can get the three points.”

Words by Jordan Clarke.