In Long Eaton’s previous match, they were able to walk away from the Bradley Football Development Centre in Grimsby with a 3-1 victory over an in-form Grimsby Borough.

Tom Cursons opened the scoring with a neat finish early in the match, however a Jack Debnam penalty meant the game was level at the break.

Riece Bertram quickly put the Blues back in front at the start of the second half, before Tom Sawyer was shown a red card for Boro late on, which allowed Ashaiah Fearon to increase the Blues’ lead in stoppage time.

The Opposition –

Shildon are currently amongst the bottom four on goal difference in the Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division – the County Durham based side sit in 17th but are level on points with Brighouse Town and Lincoln United who are 15th and 16th respectively.

Our visitors have ten wins, six draws and 16 defeats after 32 matches played this season, however, they are currently in some new found form as they have secured three victories in their previous four matches.

High-flyers Stocksbridge Park Steels were the first to taste defeat as a late Billy Greulich-Smith goal secured all three points for Shildon on the 4th of March, then two weeks a later a stoppage time goal from Alex Hutchinson meant that Shildon were victorious once again, this time over Lincoln away from home.

A slight bump in the road on Saturday 21st March saw Shildon narrowly defeated by second-placed Hebburn Town at the J Denham Metals Stadium, after Amar Purewal secured the decisive goal midway through the second half.

However, in Shildon’s most recent fixture, they caused another upset, as three late goals saw them overcome Cleethorpes Town by three-goals-to-one on home soil.

Curtis Bateson put Cleethorpes ahead in the 46th minute, but two goals from Michael Sweet and one from Vinnie Steels in the 76th, 88th and 90th minute secured Shildon a vitally important three points as they look to climb out of the bottom four.

Previous Meetings –

Due to their 140 mile separation, Long Eaton United and Shildon AFC had never competed against each other in any league or cup competition prior to the 2022/23 season.

Thus, in the reverse fixture at the J Denham Metals Stadium on Saturday 12th November 2022, both teams had to settle for a point as the game ended 2-2 after 90 minutes.

An early Ben Hutchinson penalty put the Blues ahead early doors, however a composed finish from Joe Posthill on the stroke of half time levelled the scoreline going into the break.

Tom Cursons came out determined in the second half and shortly fired the Blues back ahead, although it was a goal from Ben Trotter mid-way through the second half which secured a point for both teams.

Managers Quotes –

After the Blues put in a superb performance against Grimsby Borough last weekend, Deakin was adamant that nothing technically wouldn’t change, he said: “I’m expecting more of the same next weekend, so we want to see even more of our fans down at Grange Park when we play Shildon at the weekend – we had 1000+ against Gresley [Rovers] last year when we had the title decider at the end of the season and we need those fans behind us again because it makes a massive difference.

“The team is in good form, they are playing well, and the run we are on at the moment is at the right time of the year which is absolutely fantastic, so I’m hoping that the people of Long Eaton really get behind us now and push us on.”

Referencing the impact of home fans, Deakin added: “If we can see a big crowd down at home then it would be fantastic – the lads deserve it, they need to be cheered on because they have worked hard and they have really put this town on the map.

“Historically, Long Eaton has not been a football club that is particularly well known at this level of football, but now they are fighting at the top end of the table to get promoted into the league above.

“Hopefully, the fans can come out and cheer us on – from my side of it and from the footballing side of it we will be producing more of the same – the lads on the pitch know their roles, and even the ones that are on the bench or are not in the squad know what to do, they make sure they are always in support of their teammates.

“Last weekend, Bradders [Brad Wilson] travelled all the way to Grimsby to support his teammates and he was not even in the squad – that for me is top attitude, you can’t buy that kind of thing – I can only praise the kid highly enough for that.”

In a final thought, Deakin noted: “Overall though, we are just really excited for the match this weekend, we are in good form, so hopefully we get a good crowd – we know that Shildon are a good side, but we will go out their like normal and aim to get three points.”

Match Details –

Long Eaton United vs Shildon AFC
Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division
Saturday 1st April 2023 – 3:00pm Kick-Off

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-up’s on our official Twitter, where there will also be live updates from the match.