Match Preview: Coalville Town (H), Tues, 17th March, 7:45pm
Date: Tuesday 17th March 2026
Time: 7:45pm
Competition: Sports Ground Development United Counties League Cup Semi-Final
Opponent: Coalville Town FC
Venue: The Oval, Coventry Road, Bedworth, CV12 8NN
Admission Prices: £10 Adults, £8 Concessions, £5 Students 17-19, £1 Under 17s, Under 5s free
Weather forecast: Clear night, 9°C
Nuneaton Town take a break from league action on Tuesday night as they look to reach the final of the United Counties League Knockout Cup.
Their opponents are Coalville Town of Division 1, the final remaining step 6 side in the competition. Despite being a division lower than Nuneaton, the Ravens will provide a tough test as they sit in 4th in their league with 24 wins, 8 draws and 4 defeats, and are within sight of securing a play off place.
They are familiar opponents for Nuneaton, having regularly met Boro' in the Southern League Premier Central seasons ago before both sides encountered financial issues and dropped to Step 6.
One familiar face we may see on Tuesday is Scott McManus, the Coalville captain is a former Nuneaton Borough player from the Southern League Premier Central days before moving to the Ravens.
The other semi final sees Kimberley Miners Welfare take on Moulton in a Premier North v Premier South divisional clash on Saturday, although at the time of writing this may change due to a pending appeal.
Nuneaton will be looking for an improved performance after having only been saved from a home draw with Daventry Town by a last minute Kyle Jardine winner, followed by Saturday's abandoned match at March Town United in which Nuneaton were 2-1 down with just a couple of minutes remaining. With a league title just 7 points away with 5 (or 6 depending on the outcome of the March game) games left, it's a good chance to push for a potential double trophy haul come the end of the season.
Coalville Town history:
Founded 100 years ago this year as Ravenstone Miners Athletic, which is the origin of their Ravens nickname. From 1947-1951 they were known as Ravenstone Swifts before reverting to their previous name, becoming just Ravenstone from 1958. After being unable to improve their Ravenslea ground to Leicestershire Senior League standard they moved to Coalville in 1995 and were renamed Coalville FC before a final change of name in 1998 to Coalville Town FC.
They went from strength to strength over the early years of the 21st century, and reached the Midland Alliance in 2003, before losing to Wycombe Wanderers in their FA Cup debut in 2004-05 as they reached the first round proper. They repeated the feat 18 years later eventually losing to Charlton Athletic.
Coalville Town were FA Vase finalists in 2010-11 losing to Whitley Bay, and FA Trophy quarter finalists in 2023-24.
Coalville Town were beaten to the Southern League title on goal difference in 2022-23, and were defeated by Rushall Olympic in the play offs, who then went on to defeat Nuneaton Borough on penalties in the final. And despite their FA Trophy run the following season, they briefly shut down their men's team, before reforming it in the United Counties League Division 1 for 2024-25. They finished 10th in their debut season and are challenging for the play offs in their second season.
Previous meetings:
9th Sep 2023 - Southern League Premier Central
Nuneaton Borough 4-1 Coalville Town*
(Lita, Stenson, Lafleur, Furlong)
18th Mar 2023 - Southern League Premier Central
Nuneaton Borough 0-1 Coalville Town
*result expunged from records due to Nuneaton Borough league resignation
Last 5 (all league unless stated):
Sat 14 Mar - March Town United A-A Nuneaton Town (2-1)
Sat 7 Mar: Nuneaton Town 2-1 Daventry Town
Sat 28 Feb: Yaxley 0-5 Nuneaton Town
Tue 24 Feb: Nuneaton Town 3-1 Northampton ON Chenecks
Sat 21 Feb: Nuneaton Town 3-3 (7-6 pens) Grantham Town (UCL Cup QF)
Coalville Town:
Sat 14 Mar: Coalville Town 5-1 Clipstone
Thu 12 Mar: Sandiacre Town A-A Coalville Town (1-1)
Tue 10 Mar: Coalville Town 1-0 Dunkirk
Sat 7 Mar: South Normanton Athletic 2-2 Coalville Town
Tue 22 Feb: Coalville Town 2-2 (2-4 pens) Aylestone Park Reserves (Leics & Rutland Senior Cup)
