MATCH PREVIEW | Stockton Town v Carlton Town

STOCKTON TOWN v CARLTON TOWN

COMPETITION: Northern Premier League East

DATE: Saturday 5th November 2022

KICK-OFF: 3:00PM 

ENTRY: £9 Adult, £7 Concession, £3 Children 

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

LIVE UPDATES: @stockton_townfc – Twitter

TICKETS: Match tickets are available to be purchased ahead of the game, as well as on the door, via this link https://stocktontownfc.ktckts.com/brand/match-tickets

*A remembrance ceremony will take place ahead of kick off. Fans are encouraged to turn up to the game wearing a poppy to show support as Stockton Remembers those who have served for us.* 

Stockton Town face Northern Premier League East new boys, Carlton Town, for the first time in the club’s history. 

The Anchors have found their winning form again over the last few weeks, beating Bridlington Town 4-0 and Brighouse Town 2-0 over the last two weeks. 

A penalty from Nathan Mulligan and late sealer from Matty Tymon was enough to give the Anchors three points in Brighouse last week after a challenging game in tricky conditions. 

These wins were much needed for the Anchors after a little blip in form which saw them fail to win the three league games prior. 

The recent wins see Stockton remain top of the Northern Premier League East with a four-point gap over North East rivals Hebburn Town.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

This is the first meeting between the two clubs.

FORM GUIDE

Stockton Town: W L L W W

Last Game: Brighouse Town 0-2 Stockton Town

 Carlton Town: L L W L D

Last Game: Carlton Town 1-1 Cleethorpes Town

THE OPPOSITION

Carlton find themselves in the Northern Premier League East division after being relocated from the Midlands division this summer. The Millers are certainly not new this tier, with this season being their 16th consecutive season in step four of Non League. 

Despite sitting 16th in the table, Carlton have picked up some impressive results so far this season. Some of these include beating Shildon 4-0, earlier in the season, and most recently picking up a point against high-flying Cleethorpes Town. 

Carlton have a dangerous attacking presence, with forwards Bradley Wells (6) and Aaron Opoku (5) having 11 goals between them so far this season. 

The Millers will be without Striker Nat Watson for today’s game following his sending off against Cleethorpes Town last weekend. 

THE VIEW FROM THE OPPOSITION 

Carlton joint manager Tommy Brookbanks spoke about their tough upcoming fixtures, including today’s game against Stockton and said:

“There’s no ‘top six’, if we won a couple we’d be in there… looking at all the games we’ve played against the so called top teams, there’s been nothing in it.”

PRE-MATCH QUOTES 

Speaking after the Anchors’ 2-0 win at Brighouse last weekend, assistant manager JD Briggs spoke ahead of today’s game and said:

“It’s great to go and play new teams and see what they’re about, it’s like what it is was last year. Obviously, you don’t take anything lightly, don’t take anything for granted but the only thing we want out of the game is three points.”

Defender Lewis King also spoke last weekend and said:

“We’re excited, it’s another home game and we love playing at home. Hopefully we can get a big crowd in… 

“They’ll be another tough test, there’s no easy game in this league, cliché to say but it’s true. We’ll go into that full of confidence and hopefully pick up another win and another clean sheet.”

PROGRAMME 

Stockton Town’s award-winning match programme The Anchor will be available in the ground for just £2