Hednesfordvs.Gainsborough

Both teams are in the bottom half of their respective divisions, Hednesford sitting in 16th place in the Northern League West and the visitors down in 20th position of the Northern League Premier.

Match preview

In front of the BBC cameras in October, Hednesford held high-flying National League side Gateshead to a 1-1 draw at Keys Park before coming through 3-1 in the subsequent replay.

The 39 hardy-souls who made the long trip to the North-East were rewarded with the club's most famous victory for more than a decade, the Pitmen coming from behind to seal their spot in the first round.

Steve King and his players deserved their plaudits from that fixture, and for their 3-2 triumph at league leaders Widnes FC that followed four days later.

However, Hednesford have been desperately disappointing in their most recent two games, collecting just one point from home fixtures against the bottom two sides in their division in Hanley Town and Atherton Collieries.

As well as requiring a late equaliser to scramble a draw with Hanley, Hednesford lost 2-1 to Atherton despite having a player advantage for the final 30 minutes, the visitors scoring their winner when down to 10 men.

On Thursday, it was announced by King had been relieved of his duties after just 23 games, former Southampton technical director Martin Hunter now leading a management team for Saturday's match.

Last time out, Trinity recorded a 4-1 win at the home of Clitheroe, who sit on the same amount of points and games as Hednesford in the Northern League West.

Russ Wilcox's side were playing their first game in 11 days, Gainsborough also defeating National League opposition in the form of Boston United on the same evening that Hednesford were upsetting the odds at Gateshead.

Gainsborough impressively recorded a 4-0 win in Boston, building on having secured a 2-2 draw against their fifth-tier opponents three days earlier.

Although they sit just two points above bottom spot in the Northern Premier, Gainsborough have at least three games in hand on all the teams above them.

They have also not suffered defeat since losing 2-0 at Macclesfield Town - the unbeaten league leaders - on September 24.

Hednesford Town FA Cup form:

D

W

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D

W

Gainsborough Trinity FA Cup form:

W

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D

W

Team News

Hednesford will be forced into at least one change with Ollie Harrison cup-tied for this fixture. Josh Endall will be restored to the centre of the backline as a straight replacement.

Manny Duku is on standby to replace Rob Stevenson, who picked up an injury last weekend, in attack, while Jake Jervis is an alternative to Dominic McHale.

Omar Holness will retain his spot in central midfield if Simeon Maye remains sidelined.

Given the manner of the win over Clitheroe and a midweek with no game, Gainsborough could stick with the same starting lineup.

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers youngster Aaron Simpson - who also appeared on Love Island in 2021 - was recalled at right-back for that fixture and should feature again.

Hednesford Town possible starting lineup:

Rose; Rowe, Endall, Johnson, Taylor; Holness, Spence, McHale, Trickett-Smith, Bearne; Duku

Gainsborough Trinity possible starting lineup:

Wharton; Simpson, Jackson, Conway, Lancaster, Cogill, Butroid, Helliwell, Clarke, Howe, Preston

We say: Hednesford Town 2-3 Gainsborough Trinity

Both teams defied their place in the league pyramid and own form to upset the odds in the fourth qualifying round, putting them on somewhat of an even platform here. While Hednesford rose to the occasion versus Gateshead, we feel that Gainsborough will prove too strong in attack given their recent exploits on their travels.

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