Matlock Town meet Scarborough Athletic on Tuesday evening in the Northern Premier League at the Proctor Cars Stadium.
Both teams are struggling for form currently and the Gladiators will see this match as a big opportunity to get back into the play-off zone after two league defeats in a row away at Nantwich Town and Lancaster City respectively.
The Opposition
Steve Kittrick will be very familiar with Tuesday evening’s opposition as Kittrick was Scarborough Athletic’s manager between January 2016 and March 2019. Kittrick was at the helm for 177 competitive games for the Seadogs: winning 90, drawing 29 and losing 58. Kittrick’s biggest success with the Seadogs was finishing in runners-up position in the NPL Division One North in the 2017-18 season and clinching promotion to the Northern Premier League.
Scarborough Athletic finished a very respectable 8th position in their first ever NPL campaign last season but the start to this season has proved to be a real struggle. The Seadogs currently occupy 18th position in the league just hovering above the relegation zone. The North Yorkshire outfit have won only one league game so far in the 2019/20 campaign and have scored only seven league goals in their opening ten games. Scarborough’s most recent match was also in Derbyshire as they were defeated 1-0 at Mickleover Sports last Saturday.
Scarborough Athletic is the rebirth of the original Scarborough football club which came to an end on June 20th 2007 after being wound up in the high court. This sadly brought an end to Scarborough’s 128 year existence. Due to the club’s links with the original team’s lengthy stay in the Football League, Scarborough Athletic have one of the biggest fan bases in the NPL and have attracted an average crowd of 987 to the Flamingo Land Stadium so far this season.
One to Watch
35-year-old veteran striker James Walshaw will be one to watch for Matlock Town fans at the game. Walshaw has been one of the few bright spots for the Seadogs this season scoring in four of Scarborough Athletic’s last six games.
This is Walshaw’s third season with the Seadogs and was part of Steve Kittrick’s promotion-winning squad that took Scarborough Athletic up to the Northern Premier League. Walshaw’s previous clubs include Altrincham, Harrogate Town, Bradford Park Avenue and Farsley Celtic.
Team News
Matlock’s only injury issue is the long-term lay-off for Nathan Whitehead. Luke Dean and Piteu Crouz have both fully recovered from their injuries and featured in Matlock’s most recent match away at Lancaster City. Dan Bramall is still suspended but will be available for selection once again for Matlock’s home league match against fellow Derbyshire rivals, Mickleover Sports, on Saturday 12th October.
Previous Meeting
Matlock Town’s most recent encounter with Scarborough Athletic was on January 19th this year at the Proctor Cars Stadium. The game ended in a 0-0 stalemate and gave the Gladiators their first league point of 2019. The Seadogs team were, of course, managed by Steve Kittrick while Josh Lacey featured in Scarborough’s starting eleven.
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