THE GAME
- Rushall Olympic v Hednesford Town
- Northern Premier League Premier Division
- Dales Lane, Daw End, Rushall, West Midlands WS4 1LJ
- Thursday 1st January 2026
- Kick Off 3pm
THE HOME SIDE
Rushall Olympic sit in 19th place in the NPL Premier League table with 24 points from 22 games. Their home and away records are virtually the same, picking up identical results with three wins, three draws and five defeats both at Dales Lane and on their travels, the only difference being 18 goals scored and 19 conceded at home compared to 10 scored and 18 conceded away. Their last home game saw a 5-1 win over Leek Town but this was tempered by a defeat by the same score at Ilkeston on Boxing Day. Their leading scorer is Kian Riley who is on loan from Solihull Moors until 3rd January with six league goals while Alex Moore who rejoined the club from Stourbridge this season has four. Familiar faces in the Rushall squad will be Carter Lycett who made 36 starts for The Pitmen in 2021/22 and Fenton Heard who had five games on loan from WBA in 2023.
THE PITMEN
Hednesford Town enter 2026 at the top of the NPL Premier League table with 45 points from 23 games, two ahead of Hebburn Town and five in front of FC United of Manchester who have two games in hand. The Christmas fixtures saw The Pitmen and FCUM play out a 1-1 draw as the Keys Park record attendance was broken for the second time in seven months when 4,784 were in attendance while Hebburn’s run of nine consecutive wins came to an abrupt end with a 1-4 defeat at Stockton. Hednesford go into the New Year undefeated in their last 10 league games.
FORM
In the current form table Hednesford are in second place with 12 points from their last six league games and a GD of +5 while Rushall are in 18th place with four points from six games and a GD of -3.
- HTFC: DDWDWW
- ROFC: LWLLLD
THE GAFFER
After the FC United game Manager Gavin Hurren, said: “Another month undefeated and we expect another tough game at Rushall like it was here. They’ve got some good experienced players and in local derbies the form book goes out of the window but we’ll be at it.”
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
Back in the early 1980s the two clubs met regularly in the West Midland League. Between 1980/81 and 1983/84 Hednesford visited Dales Lane four times in the league, winning three and drawing one. From 2011/12 to 2016/17 there were a further three visits in the Northern Premier League which saw two defeats and a draw while in the Southern League in 2021/22 and 2022/23 there was a defeat and a draw.
MATCHDAY DETAILS
Rushall Olympic play at Dales Lane which has a capacity of 1,400 and a record attendance of 1,311 for the FA Cup First Round game against Accrington Stanley in November 2024. This season their average league attendance has been 343 with a high of 403 against Warrington Rylands and a low of 301 against Warrington Town.
Useful information
- The ground can be reached by the 997 bus from Walsall.
- Rushall play in amber and black shirts and black shorts and the pitch is 3G which was installed in 2019.
- There is a Clubhouse named Coll’s Bar and food is available from Pics Pantry (cash only).
- Tickets for the game are only available online via the Rushall website and on sale until 1pm on matchday at a cost of £14 adults, £10 concessions, £6 U18s and £2 U12s, make sure that you select the correct section of the ground (home or away).
- Concessions are seniors over 60, students with valid NUS card, Emergency Services, NHS staff and Armed Forces with a Blue Light Card and other valid ID. Maximum of four U12 tickets with an adult or concession ticket.
- For those that have bought a ticket online, please enter through the double gate next to the new turnstiles where your ticket will be scanned on entry.
- Every adult will be searched before entry. Please do not bring and use any pyrotechnics or instruments at the ground. Anyone found with smoke bombs, pyrotechnics, instruments (e.g. drums) will not be allowed into our ground.
- Other useful information can be found on Rushall Olympic website.
- For those that can’t make it, listen to live commentary on Hednesford Town Radio.
