THE GAME
- Gainsborough Trinity v Hednesford Town
- Northern Premier League Premier Division
- Kal Group Stadium, Northolme, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 2QW
- Saturday 31st January 2026, kick off 3pm
THE HOME SIDE
Gainsborough sit in eighth place in the NPL Premier League table with 36 points but have played only 22 games, less than any other team in the division. Twelve of those games have been played at home and have returned five wins, four draws and three defeats against Hebburn (1-4), FC United (0-1) and Ashton (0-3) while they have won five, drawn two and lost three away including a 0-2 defeat at Keys Park back in September. The club have enjoyed another good FA Cup run this season, getting to the First Round Proper before losing 1-2 to Accrington Stanley. Their leading scorers are Jonny Margetts- the much travelled striker has eight league goals and four in the FA Cup and FA Trophy while Lewis Butroid and Frank Mulhern both have seven in all competitions.
THE PITMEN
It’s another 100 mile journey for Hednesford Town when they travel to Lincolnshire for their 14th away league game of the season. From their previous 13 away games Hednesford have won six, drawn three and lost four giving them 21 points compared to the 30 they have earned at home. With Hebburn winning their game in hand last week, The Pitmen find themselves off the top spot for the first time since November 18th last year. They are a point behind the Tynesiders but six ahead of third placed FC United and nine ahead of Warrington Rylands in fourth following their defeat at Prescot Cables on Tuesday night. The top four have all played 26 games.
THE GAFFER
Manager Gavin Hurren is expecting another difficult match on Saturday, he said: “Gainsborough will be a really tough game, I know I seem to say this every week but every game is a tough game in this league. If we go there with the right application and game plan we can get a result”.
FORM
From their last six games both Gainsborough and Hednesford have picked up 11 points. Gainsborough have a GD of +5 while Hednesford a GD of +4.
- GTFC: WWLDDW
- HTFC: WWLDDW
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
Most of Hednesford’s previous recent visits to Northolme have been at step 2 with just one, in 2018/19 coming in the NPL. The last five games have seen one win for The Pitmen, two draws and two defeats.
- 2005/06 1-1 Lee Barrow (pen) ATT 362
- 2013/14 2-1 Marvin Johnson, Wayne Riley ATT 343
- 2014/15 0-1 ATT 457
- 2015/16 1-3 Kyle Perry ATT 361
- 2018/19 0-0 ATT 812
MATCHDAY DETAILS
The game is segregated with admission at £13 adults, £9 concessions, £6 U16s with U16s free with a paying adult, payment by cash only at the away turnstiles. Hednesford fans will be housed in the open terrace at the away end with limited seating also available. The printed matchday programme is £2.50.
Car parking at the ground is generally reserved for players, officials and media but there is plenty of cheap parking in the town centre which is around a 10 minute walk away.
Gainsborough’s home kit is all blue and their average attendance this season is 696, the highest being 917 v FC United and the lowest 367 against Hebburn. The ground has a capacity of 4,304 with 504 seats.
The game will be covered by Hednesford Town Radio on Mixlr if you can’t make it over to Lincolnshire.
