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Match Preview: Dunston UTS (H)

Match Preview: Dunston UTS (H)

Rob McNeil30 Sep 2022 - 10:00
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https://www.longeatonutd.co.uk

Long Eaton United welcome Dunston UTS to Grange Park on Saturday afternoon for the Blues’ third consecutive home match in a run of four.

The Blues head into this match off the back of a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Northern Premier League East Division title candidates Worksop Town.

Grange Park played host to the match, and it was James Hanson’s late first-half goal for the Tigers that turned out to be the only goal of the game and meant that Worksop walked away with all three points despite efforts from Jack Rogers that seemed destined to find the back of the net.

The Opposition -

Dunston UTS find themselves in similar form to that of our own – the only difference is that the Tyne and Wear based side are still competing in the Isuzu FA Trophy.

The visitors exited the Emirates FA Cup in the Second Round Qualifying and currently sit 10th in the league, one place ahead of the Blues by a +1-goal difference, but with the same record of two wins, two draws and two defeats after six matches played.

DUTS in fact come into the game off the back of a six-goal thriller, as they drew 3-3 with Pontefract Collieries at the UTS Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Mikey Dunn gave Pontefract an early lead, but Dunston gained the advantage late in the second half through a Michael Fowler penalty and a strike from Dunston’s new signing Carl Finnigan, although an Adam Priestly brace and then another Dunston penalty, this time scored by Terry Galbraith meant that the end-to-end match ended with the points shared.

Previous Meetings –

Given the obvious 160+ mile distance between the two sides, and with this being the Blues’ first ever season competing at step four, Dunston and Long Eaton had never competed in the same league prior to this season.

Even if you look through the history of our visitors with the alternation of their club’s name; from Dunston Federation Brewery to Dunston Federation, then to Dunson UTS and now Dunston, it is not simply just the league that the two sides have never met in, but cup competitions as well.

In the history of the FA Vase, FA Trophy and FA Cup, the two teams have never crossed paths, thus this may indeed be the first ever meeting between Long Eaton and Dunston.

The Manager’s Quotes -

“Sometimes you are going into the unknown and that’s better, because it hyper focusses you and helps you perform over 90 minutes”, Ian Deakin said looking ahead to the Blues’ first ever meeting with Dunston UTS.

“Well to be honest with you, given the league that we were allocated, most of the teams are northern and you start to pick up on certain traits like their physicality and how they like to play more direct.

“That kind of thing is good for us though, because we have obviously never played them before, so myself and the squad are looking forward to that match once again at home, and that is also the beauty about football – there is always another game around the corner.”

After a tough run of games that has put the Blues on a three match losing streak, Deakin added: “This is the first time, I think, where we have really come under a bit of a run where we have lost games – well I say we have lost games, but we have gone out of two cups in extra time and penalties, and then we lost the match on Tuesday night.

“We probably deserved to get something out of the game on Tuesday night, and some goes for both the cup matches, but at the moment we are just lacking that conviction in the final third and its unlike us.

“I am not going to press the panic button because we have a strong squad with a few players missing currently, but yeah it is one of them – we just have to keep moving forward now and I have no doubts in my mind that they will give me a reaction on Saturday.”

Match Details -

Long Eaton United vs Dunston UTS
Northern Premier League East Division
Saturday 1st October – Kick-Off 3:00pm

Grange Park (Long Eaton United FC)
Station Road
Long Eaton
Derbyshire
NG10 2EF

Ticket Information -

£9 Adults
£7 Concessions
£3 U16s

£2.50 Matchday Programme

The match kicks off at 3:00pm and we advise all supporters to arrive early to avoid any queues or delays.

Card payments are preferred and accepted at the bar, at the kitchen and for entry into Grange Park – although, cash payments are still accepted!

Also, you can see the team line-ups on our official Twitter, where there will also be live updates from the match.

A reminder that this weekend from 1st October to 2nd October, the FA-led campaign ‘Play Safe’ will be running and the Blues will be backing the campaign to help raise awareness of the importance of safeguarding in football.

For more information on the campaign, read our article: https://www.longeatonutd.co.uk/news/play-safe-weekend-2022-2732373.html

Further reading