The Match Background

For the Greens, it’s set to be an afternoon of real significance on home soil after back-to-back league defeats over the last week. A third on the bounce on Saturday afternoon would turn what was a promising start to the campaign into a frustrating one and potentially leave the Greens flagging some 12 points behind the leading pack already. No doubt Player/Manager Tom Ward has not been aided by a string of unavailability’s, injuries, and suspensions in the opening week of the campaign, but with many of those players now returning to fold, Ward is eager to see his side lose the ‘unlucky’ tag and mount a serious push of their own. Frustration reigned on Wednesday evening after the Greens slipped to a 5-3 defeat at the hands of Newark & Sherwood United – a game that ran away from the hosts in eight-second half minutes following Ward’s own dismissal for a second yellow card. Philosophical at full-time, Ward admitted he probably didn’t help his charges by getting sent off, but nevertheless expressed the need for his side to show more on Saturday and a three-point haul over one of their closest rivals will certainly be the perfect way in which to kick-start their campaign.

Team News

Player/Manager Tom Ward welcomed back captain Charlie Ward on Wednesday evening following the end of his suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards at the end of last season, a welcome boon for the Greens ahead of a busy period of fixtures. Joe Smith will also be available again on Saturday following his own one-match suspension on Wednesday for his sending-off in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round Replay with Wellingborough Town, while Ward’s own suspension for his dismissal on Wednesday will not take effect in time to effect tomorrows meeting with the Whites. Elsewhere Ward will check on the fitness of both Ryan Flitton and Harrison Ainslie after both were absent from the contest with Newark & Sherwood United, while central defender Kyle Watkins will continue to be assessed as he steps up his return from a hamstring strain picked-up during pre-season. New signing Ollie Fields impressed on Wednesday evening and he’ll be likely to start once again alongside fellow “new” face Finlay Armond, who returned to the Greens in the week after a short spell at Shepshed Dynamo.

The Opposition

It has been a summer of change for opponents Lincoln United after what was an historic – yet in a sense disappointing – 2023/2024 campaign. When the two sides last met here in February, the Whites 5-0 Lincolnshire Senior Trophy semi-final victory continued their incredible fight on four fronts – the Whites also at the time quarter finalists in both the United Counties League Knockout Cup and the Isuzu FA Vase as well as sitting top of Premier Division North. Hope, hype and expectation did not translate into silverware though and by the end of the campaign a drained Whites side had lifted just the Lincolnshire Senior Trophy at the expense of Boston Town, losing out to Sherwood Colliery in both the Premier Division North title race and the Knockout Cup while their FA Vase exploits were gut-wrenchingly snuffed out in a semi-final penalty shootout defeat to Romford FC.

That emotionally draining end to the campaign saw former manager Chris Funnell step down at the beginning of the summer and the club set about quickly appointing Scott Hellewell as boss after a successful spell at Winterton Rangers in which he took them from NCEL Division One strugglers to the Northern Premier League Division One East. Himself ready for a new challenge after relegation at Rangers last season, Hellewell set about shaping his new squad, built predominantly around a string of his former Winterton Rangers players, as well as a significant core of last seasons successful side. Retaining top-scorer Jack McMenemy and club captain Sean Wright were integral to that business and it is around these two that Hellewell has integrated a squad that looks set to challenge once again. Amongst them is former Green Tristan Drummond, while Harry Millard is another name not all that unfamiliar to those in Green, while Hellewell’s former lynchpin at Winterton, Scott Matthews, has been an instrumental addition to his team.

3-0 winners at fancied Bourne Town in midweek, that backed up a 2-0 win last weekend at home to Gresley Rovers which got the Whites season back on track after things had threatened to unravel in the wake of their FA Cup exit at the hands of NCEL side Goole AFC. That setback had followed hot-on-the-heels of a 2-1 defeat at Newark Town the midweek previous, though the visitors on Saturday are still handily placed, with nine points from 12 and breathing down the necks of league leaders Boston Town. There are still rumblings of discontent though, not least in the form of marquee summer recruit Gregg Smith departing to Boston Town under a shroud of controversy this week. Smith – himself a former Green – had made just one appearance for the Whites with many fans expressing frustration online at his premature departure. It’s difficult to read anything into football at this level, but the Whites come out of it in the same position they went in. Favourites and with the weight of expectation on them.

Previous Meetings

Saturday afternoon’s contest will be just a fourth competitive meeting between the two sides following a trio of meetings last season. The Whites had the better of those meetings, winning 7-0 and 5-0 at the MKM Ground, formerly in the league and latterly in the Lincolnshire Senior Trophy. Chief tormenter back in October was the now-departed Matt Cotton who bagged himself four of the Whites seven that day – 209 spectators seeing Ted Gibbons, Tobias Liversidge and now-Green Joe Smith score a further three to condemn the Greens to their heaviest defeat of the campaign. Cotton was absent when the two sides reconvened in February in County Cup action, but Liversidge and Gibbons were not, both bagging themselves strikes alongside a further two from Jack McMenemy in front of 237 spectators. The Greens however did have a notable success of their own, defeating the Whites in their own back yard at Ashby Avenue. Gregg Smith was, ironically, central to that victory, though it was Ryan Lennon who was on hand to grab the goal that handed the Greens a deserved victory in front of 150 spectators.

The Match Details

Admission to The MKM Ground (NG34 7ER) on Saturday afternoon is priced at £7 for adults and £4 for concessions, with under-sixteen’s free (alongside a paying adult). We also offer a military discount for those in the armed services, and this grants you entry at £5 upon production of a valid ID. Cash and card can be accepted at both our turnstiles and at the hot food counter which serves a variety of hot and cold drinks and snacks. Our matchday programme can be found on our website or social channels in the lead up to kick-off, but for those who prefer a printed memento, you can pick up a complimentary teamsheet at the turnstiles or in the bar. Saturday’s match referee is Ellis Mills, and he is assisted on the day by Nino Vacca and Stefan Calarasu. Kick-off at Eslaforde Park is scheduled for 3:00pm.

Words; Oliver Atkin