On Tuesday 28th October Hednesford Town and Stockton Town will make another attempt to play their Northern Premier League Premier Division game at Keys Park after the first encounter was postponed due to floodlight failure. The game will see the fifth placed Pitmen against the seventh placed Anchors with both teams looking to keep the pressure on the teams above them.
This is Stockton’s second season in the Premier Division. They gained promotion through the East Division Play-offs in 2023/24, beating Dunston 5-3 on penalties after a 4-4 draw and last season finished in third place with 75 points from 42 games. Despite beating Guiseley 1-0 in the Play-off semi-final, they were disqualified from the final after fielding an ineligible player.
Stockton have picked up the majority of their 20 points on their home ground from four wins and two draws while on their travels they have drawn three games, 0-0 at Prescot Cables, 2-2 at Rushall Olympic and 1-1 at Whitby Town, winning 2-1 at Cleethorpes but losing 0-2 at Gainsborough Trinity, their only league defeat of the season although they exited the FA Cup at the first hurdle, losing 1-2 at Trafford. Their leading scorers are Kevin Hayes with six and Michael Sweet with five.
Hednesford are still undefeated at home this season in all competitions including four wins and a draw in the league. Akheem Rose has found the net on nine occasions with four league goals and five in the FA Cup. The average home attendance is 1,861 in all competitions.
It’s ten days since both teams played a league game, Hednesford getting a creditable 0-0 draw at Lancaster City while Stockton lost 1-2 at home to Ashton United although they also bowed out of the FA Trophy on Saturday losing 2-4 at Clitheroe.
During the ten day break the Hednesford squad has seen some changes. Keeper Ryan Brown has returned to his old club Kidsgrove Athletic on a season long loan and Matthew Barnes-Homer has been turning out for Shifnal Town scoring once in three games. Coming into Keys Park are another keeper, Xander Parkes from Leek Town, midfielder Max Sheaf from Gateshead and wide forward Jermaine Hylton who has played for Swindon Town, Newport County, Solihull Moors and spells in Scotland with Motherwell, Ross County and Arbroath.
Kick off on Tuesday night is at 7.45pm with admission being £13 adults, £10 concessions, 16-17, and disabled (non-wheelchair access), £5 U16 and free for U10s but all U16s must be accompanied by a paying adult. Supporters are advised to use the Fanbase app to purchase tickets although cash or card payments can be made at the ticket office up to 30 minutes before kick-off.
