September Preview
Matt Jones looks at our September fixtures after a busy August with 5 wins and 3 defeats.
Sat 5 Sep - Bromsgrove Sporting (a) FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round
Address: The Victoria Ground, Birmingham Road, Bromsgrove, B61 0DR
Nuneaton start the month off with their toughest fixture yet, as they take on Step 3 high flyers Bromsgrove Sporting of the Southern League Premier Central.
Aaron Roberts and Luke Softley make quick returns to their old club after leaving Sporting in the summer, and with several of the Hednesford side that won the division last season, Bromsgrove are a tough prospect, but Nuneaton hope to give a good account of themselves and potentially cause an upset.
Sat 12 Sep - Matlock Town (a) FA Trophy 2nd Qualifying Round
Address: Causeway Lane, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3AR
It doesn't get any easier as yet another away cup game sees Nuneaton travel to the picturesque ground of Matlock Town. The NPL Division 1 East team have made a solid start to the season, and currently are in the top 5, and thrashed Lichfield City 5-0 in the previous round.
Tue 15 Sep - Wellingborough Town (h) league
Address: The Oval, Coventry Road, Bedworth, CV12 8NN
And it still gets no easier as the leaders (as at the end of August) come to town as Nuneaton finally get to play a home game for just the third time this season. Wellingborough have won their first 8 games of the season in all competitions ahead of a local derby with Kettering Town in the FA Cup, and Nuneaton will be hoping for a drop off in that form before the two sides meet.
Sat 19 Sep - Shepshed Dynamo (a) league*
Address: Butthole Lane, Shepshed, Leicestershire, LE12 9BN
Nuneaton finish off their extremely tough run with a trip to Shepshed Dynamo, who sat 3rd in the league as at the end of August, and still remained in the FA Cup and FA Trophy, with their only defeat being a 1-0 loss to Bedworth United.
*the match is subject to the result at Bromsgrove
Tue 22 Sep - Grantham Town (h) league
Address: The Oval, Coventry Road, Bedworth, CV12 8NN
A game to try and target for Nuneaton is the night time home game against Grantham Town. The two sides meet for the first time since the thriller of a cup tie last season which Nuneaton won on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
The Gingerbreads have made a solid start back to life in Step 4, and although they fell at the first hurdle in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy, they secured 2 wins, 2 draws and a defeat in their opening 5 league games putting them 8th in the table at the end of August. Nuneaton striker Terry Atem was on the books of Grantham last season.
Sat 26 Sep - Corby Town (h) league
Address: The Oval, Coventry Road, Bedworth, CV12 8NN
The first Saturday home game of the season. Nuneaton will be looking to pile more misery on a side that since beating FC Peterborough 7-1 in the FA Cup, had lost every game up until a 3-3 draw with local rivals AFC Rushden and Diamonds on August Bank Holiday Monday to gain their first league point.
Mon 28 Sep - St Ives Town (a) league
Address: Westwood Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 6DT
Nuneaton's final match of the month is a long Monday night trip to St Ives Town, and its a poignant one for us as it was the venue of the final Nuneaton Borough match in January 2024.
St Ives have struggled since relegation from the Southern League Premier Central last season, and at the end of August had only beaten Sutton Coldfield Town, with an away draw at Grantham giving them 4 points and 18th place in the table, and were knocked out of both the FA Cup and FA Trophy at the first time of asking.
Overall a very tough month that should hopefully ease off towards the end, and hopefully Nuneaton can keep themselves in midtable at the very least.
