Matlock Town will be hoping to avoid a cup upset on Tuesday night as they make the short trip to the Raygar Stadium to face off against Derbyshire rivals Belper Town in the First Round of the Integro League Cup.
While Matlock have been struggling in the league as of late, their cup form has been impressive. Within the past month, the Gladiators have secured a First Round Proper spot in the FA Trophy and a Quarter-Final place in the Derbyshire Senior Cup.
With the Gladiators squad still being on the light side, Matlock will be hoping to see if they if they can progress in yet another cup competition.
The Opposition
The Nailers play in the eighth tier of English football (one below Matlock Town) in the Northern Premier League Division One South East league. Belper are having a terrific 2019/20 campaign so far. The Nailers are still unbeaten in the league this season and only lie in fifth position by virtue of having so many postponed matches and also due to a very impressive run in the FA Cup.
Belper Town come into this cup tie in excellent form having won their last four games in a row and being unbeaten in their last five. Last Saturday, the Nailers defeated Loughborough Dynamo away from home in the league 2-1 thanks to goals from Craig Nelthorpe and Alex Peterson and in their most recent game at home they were held 2-2 in the league by Newcastle Town.
Belper were just one match away from reaching the First Round Proper of the FA Cup. Their fantastic run was ended by National League outfit Notts County where the Nailers were defeated away from home 2-1.
As well as a memorable run in the FA Cup, the Nailers are still involved in the Derbyshire Senior Cup after a 2-0 upset victory at Buxton in the Third Round. With this cup pedigree and the fact Belper Town have won eight out of their ten league games scoring an average of two goals per game, Steve Kittrick will make it very clear to his squad that the Nailers are more than capable of causing an upset and the Gladiators cannot allow any complacency going into this Integro League Cup tie.
Belper Town’s manager is Grant Black and the assistant manager is Mick Norbury. The Nailers play at the Raygar Stadium on Bridge Street in Belper. The ground can allow up to 2,650 people inside and has a seated capacity of 500. The club’s most recent trophy win was back in 2010 when they lifted the Northern Premier League President’s Cup. The club were founded in 1883 and are nicknamed The Nailers due to the town’s nail-making industry.
One to Watch
25 year old striker and club captain Alex Peterson will be a key player to watch out for. Peterson has scored 7 goals in 18 appearances this season but five of those goals have come in his last five games.
Peterson started his career at Doncaster Rovers where he made six league appearances for the South Yorkshire outfit. After being released by Doncaster, Peterson joined Scarborough Athletic before moving onto Ossett Town. He joined Belper from Ossett Town in June 2018.
Peterson is described by Belper Town’s manager as hard-working and everything you want in a captain.
Team News
Spencer Harris may be a doubt for Tuesday night’s match as he was substituted in the first half of last Saturday’s game following an injury. Nathan Whitehead and Craig King remain on the long-term injury list.
Previous Meeting
Matlock Town’s most recent encounter with the Nailers was last season on December 4th, 2018 in the Derbyshire Senior Cup Quarter-Final.
The Gladiators fell behind midway through the second half after a goal from George Milner but strikes from Luke Hinsley and Marcus Marshall rescued Matlock and gave them a 2-1 victory at the Proctor Cars Stadium in front of a crowd of 280.