PREVIEW | KIMBERLEY MINERS WELFARE VS ASHBY IVANHOE

ANOTHER TUESDAY NIGHT UNDER THE LIGHTS, ANOTHER CUP MATCH

UP NEXT, After a disappointing weekend, The Miners are back at the Stag Ground, where they welcome Ashby Ivanhoe in the league cup. Ashby will make the short trip North having had the original fixture switched to the Stag due to the Ashby pitch not being ready after having new drainage.

After an awful performance in the away trip to Sleaford on Saturday, Kimberley will want to put it behind them as quickly as possible. Tuesday night’s match represents another chance to turn around a poor run of results, as they face a Ashby side whose only two wins of the season have come in the FA cup.

The Miners’ last match, as mentioned, was a disastrous away trip to Sleaford Town in the league on Saturday. Sleaford took the lead on 16 minutes after a cross was turned in from six yards out after some poor defending. The Ashby number eight doubled his tally along with their lead from the spot after he was felled in the box. Tom Smith pulled off a great save with ten minutes to half time to deny Sleaford a third. Sleaford were 2-0 up at half time, with Kimberley registering just one shot on goal. A slightly improved second half saw Kimberley pres higher up the pitch and put Sleaford under increased pressure without creating much in the way of opportunities. Sleaford rubbed salt in the wounds as they made it three midway through the half. A late flurry from Kimberley came as they searched for a consolation, but it was not to be. Sleaford 3-0 Kimberley MW.

Ashby Ivanhoe’s last match was a 0-0 bore draw at home against previously bottom side, Deeping Rangers, giving Deeping their first point and clean sheet of the season.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The last time that the two sides met was in December last year. In front of a crowd of 237, the sides went into half time with the score at 0-0. The second half saw both sides hit the back of the net through Dylan Reason and Macauley Holmes respectively. Michael Pearson was given his marching orders for a second yellow card just after the hour mark.

The sides met again at the Stag in October in the league cup. Sam Grouse scored the only goal of the game for Ashby. Pearson in the book again for Kimberley.

The league match at Ashby was in mid August of last year. Grouse, Harrison and Carta all on the scoresheet for the home side in a 3-0 Ashby win.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE OPPOSITION

Ashby Ivanhoe Football Club was founded in 1948 and play their home matches at the NFU Sports Ground, Lower Packington Road, Ashby de la Zouch in Leicestershire, which they moved to in 2012, and purchased in 2021. Before that, the club had played at Hood Park from when they were formed in 1948, until the end of the 2011/12 season.

The club currently consists of two adult teams, the first team are in step 5 of the United Counties League Premier Division North and the Knights are at step 6 in the Everards Brewery Senior League Premier Division.

The club has forty youth teams, covering both boys and girls.

The 2022/23 season was one for the record books and it was quite fitting that during the year the club celebrated its 75th Anniversary, the Senior and Junior sections, both thrived bringing home a whole raft of silverware and promotions. The First Team fought eventual league winners Dudley Town all the way to the end and finished 2nd place - the highest league position that the club has ever finished. This led to a home play-off Semi-Final, which saw us narrowly beat OJM Black Country 1-0 to reach the Play-Off Final. The Play-Off Final was a momentous day in the history of the club as it would see us beat Droitwich Spa 2-1 with a last-minute Joel Carta goal in front of a packed NFU crowd of 1023 to seal promotion and bring Step 5 to the town for the first time ever.

Honours
East Midlands Counties Football League
League Cup Runners Up: 2016/2017
Leicestershire Senior League
Premier Division Champions: 2010/2011
Division One Winners: 2022/23
Division One Runners Up: 2007/2008
North Leicestershire Football League
Premier Division Champions: 1994/1995, 1996/1997 1998/1999, 2002/2003
Premier Division Runners-Up: 1997/1998, 2004/2005
Cobbin Trophy Winners: 1996/1997
Chairmans Shield Winners: 1995/1996, 1996/1997
Leicestershire Senior Cup Winners: 2022/23 Runners Up: 2011/2012, 2012/2013
Coalville Charity Cup
Winners: 2010/2011
Runners Up: 2002/2003
Midland Football League
Division One Play Off Final Winners: 2022/23
Presidents Trophy Winners: 2022/23

FINALLY

Both sides will be looking for a much needed win to carry some confidence into their next few fixtures.

Admission prices are as follows

Adults £7 Concessions £4, under 16’s free with a paying adult

Please come along and support the lads