The Blues head into this match after a weekend to forget – Deakin’s squad visited the Windsor Foodservice Stadium, home of league leaders Worksop Town, and walked away with a 7-1 defeat.

Northern Premier League East Division’s top goal scorer Liam Hughes netted an 18-minute hat-trick early in the match, then Liam Hardy netted a brace either side of a Jamie Walker free kick to take the score to 5-1, and finally, goals from Alexandrs Starcenko and Tavong Kuleya put the game way out of Long Eaton’s reach.

With that win, the Tigers extended their lead at the top of the table to 17 points with a game in hand on second placed Stockton – although, for Deakin’s side, it will definitely be one to move on from as we look to build momentum going into a busy period of rearranged fixtures.

The Opposition –

As mentioned prior, Stockton currently sit second on 45 points in the Northern Premier League East Division with 14 victories, three draws and seven defeats to their name so far this season.

The Anchor’s in fact have three players leading the way in their squad’s golden boot, as Kevin Hayes, Nathan Mulligan and Michael Roberts all have ten goals in the league at this point in the season – although, it was only Hayes that managed to score in their last match.

On Saturday 21st January, Stockton welcomed Pontefract Collieries to the MAP Group UK Stadium but fell to a 3-2 defeat on home soil.

Matty Tymon and Hayes gave the Anchors a two-goal lead early in the match, however, a superb second half comeback in which Jack Vann, Gavin Rothery and Jack Shepherd got the goals that secured all three points for the travelling Ponte.

Previous Meeting’s –

The last time that the two sides met was of course in this season’s reverse fixture at the home of Stockton Town on Saturday 3rd December 2022 and the Blues were able to claim a 2-1 victory away from home.

Blues’ fast thinking centre-back Luke Cox put Deakin’s side ahead after just three minutes, then in the space of two minutes, Tom Cursons slotted the ball home to double Long Eaton’s lead, but Stockton flew straight down the other end and Adam Nicholson tucked the ball home to regain the hosts’ one goal deficit.

The Anchors piled on the pressure in the second half, and it seemed as if it had come to fruition in the 90th minute, as Tom Coulthard was brought down in the box and Stockton were awarded a penalty – Nathan Mulligan stepped up to take but Sam Wilson pulled off a superb save to claim all three points on the road.

Therefore, Stockton will be looking to reply and snatch all the points when they visit Grange Park this Saturday.

Manager’s Quotes –

Looking ahead to this weekends game against Stockton, whilst also keeping in mind the rough atmosphere around last weekends defeat, Ian Deakin said: “I look forward to every game, even last weekend against Worksop, because you want to test yourself against the best teams in the league, it’s how you develop as a team.

“The quicker my lads can get last weekend out of their minds, the better really, it was just a blip and an off day in my opinion – over the last 10 games I thought the lads had been excellent and had picked up some good, promising results.

“We played Stockton away earlier in the season and got a result, 2-1, which was fantastic to be fair and that is exactly what they are going to have to do again – we are back at home which will be a huge plus if we can get a big crowd behind us.”

With focus on the squad going into this weekend, Deakin added: “No matter who you play, no team goes out on the pitch to play badly, for me going into Stockton I am going to keep my faith in the players that we have fit and available to play.

“More than anything, we are just looking forward to trying to get back on track and get some more three points on the board, so yes we are really looking forward to this weekend.

“They are a tough and a good side, that is why they are where they are in the league, but usually we play better against the better sides, last Saturday was an off day, but we are more than looking forward to the game.”

Match Details –

Long Eaton United vs Stockton Town
Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division
Saturday 28th January 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-ups on our official Twitter, where there will also be live updates from the match.