Brackley Town 1-1 FC Halifax Town (National League) I've got the thermals on for a Wednesday night in West Northamptonshire to watch yet another National League game. The Saints of Brackley Town have been doing ok under the interim charge of centre half Gareth Dean, previous manager Gavin Cowan recently left to take the job at Shrewsbury Town at the end of last month, on a limited budget Cowan over-achieved with this small part time squad of players, having won the National

Boston United 1-0 Gateshead (National League) I spent a lovely morning on Monday meeting the daughter and granddaughter of a former Nottingham Forest footballer who served in World War II for the Royal Navy, Arthur Hedley Williams was a seaman who also played for Bilsthorpe Colliery and Huthwaite CWS winning the Notts Alliance league title with both. I wrote a full article on the Nottingham Sport website about his amazing story which can be read here . Boston United are unde

Forest Green Rovers 4-2 Woking (National League) It’s a bit of a road trip today. I’ve got a last-minute game in Taunton added to my diary for Wednesday night so whilst in the South-West I may as well stop over on the Tuesday, I look for cheap rooms on Booking.com and find the Hunters Hall Inn in Kingscote at just £54 per night, just a ten minute drive from Nailsworth, the Cotswolds home of Forest Green Rovers FC. After a good start to the season FGR have dropped a little of

Braintree Town 2-1 Eastleigh (National League) The games are coming thick and fast, a busy month ending in Essex ahead of plenty more action to come in February. I last visited Braintree on Bonfire night where there were plenty of fireworks, but not much on the pitch in a dire single goal defeat to Brackley, I’ve seen their results have hardly improved, Steve Pitt’s side have lost their last three, including a penalty shoot out defeat in the National League Cup at Truro City

Peterborough Sports 4-3 Macclesfield (National League North) Storm Chandra has been threatening to call matches off up and down the country today, but Pims Park is made of hardened stuff these days, a 1pm pitch inspection passed, it’ll be my first watch of Macclesfield FC, the team that beat the FA Cup holders Crystal Palace earlier this month. Formed as recently as 2020 after Macclesfield Town went bust, it’s been a rapid rise since local businessman Rob Smethurst brought t

Stamford 3-2 AFC Sudbury (Southern League Central Division) I’m back at Stamford, after watching them last Tuesday at Harborough where I thought they did ok against high spending promotion pushers in 2-0 defeat, they since beat Worcester City 1-0 at the weekend, Jack Duffy scoring on his return, he had a 20 match ban after an altercation with a fan earlier this season, oh how the Daniels have missed him. Bottom of the table on 16 points, Sudbury are only a couple of places a

FC Halifax Town 2-1 Boston United (National League) A ground I’ve been trying to get to for an awful long time is the Shay, longstanding home of Halifax Town and of course Halifax Panthers Rugby League which is very big around these parts of West Yorkshire. Before liquidation in 2008, I always thought of Halifax as a football league club, founder members of the Third Division North in 1921, they stood firm in the bottom two tiers of the league until 1993, following five seas

Harborough Town 2-0 Stamford (Southern League Central Division) On Saturday, Harborough Town were beaten in the top of the table clash at Spalding United, a 3-1 defeat in Lincolnshire leaving the Bees nine points below the Tulips going into tonight’s match with bottom of the table Stamford, but with four games in hand. Ironically Stamford’s last game was also against Spalding at Christmas, the Daniels have had almost three weeks without a match following wintery postponement

Boston United 1-2 Eastleigh (National League) It's been a cold frosty start to the new year and as I wake up this first Saturday of 2026 I'm soon checking my phone if today's game between Boston and Eastleigh is on. They've had the covers on overnight at the Jakemans Stadium and the head groundsman is optimistic, pitch in his opinion playable but the Referee will confirm upon his arrival at 12pm. The Eastleigh team have been staying in the area so every chance will be given

Tamworth 0-2 FC Halifax Town (National League) I’ve spent a couple of days in Whitby, with the wife and in-laws, we went up to Sandsend and Staithes, before coming home through Scarborough, Filey and Bridlington, stopping off at a lovely beach at Fraisthorpe full of dog walkers, heading back home, over the Humber Bridge at Hull towards Nottingham, where I would unload the car, have a brew, then head off again, down the M42 towards Tamworth. The Lambs took a tonking on Boxin

Barwell 2-2 Quorn (Southern League Central Division) So that's it then. Over for another year. Christmas day flashes before our eyes and we're already thinking about 2026 , my wife has us already looking at summer holidays to Croatia. I got a whiskey smoking kit and a chargeable heated seat pad, the latter of which I will aim to use over the upcoming games, perhaps a bit overkill for today as it's not that cold out and I'm not entirely sure how it works yet, a bit of drizzle

Brackley Town 0-2 Morecambe (National League) So DAZN have decided to piss off the whole of the National League Premier Division this weekend by playing every game at any other time they can bar 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, which in a funny way actually works well for me as I took the dog to see Santa yesterday, and initially thought I might miss out on my last round of games before Christmas. It means I can keep the wife happy with a trip to some puppy play field near Hemel

Scarborough Athletic 0-3 Radcliffe (National League North) I was supposed to watch Scarborough verses Hereford last week but the game at Bridlington got called off due to a waterlogged pitch. I didn’t even know that the Seadogs were playing at Queensgate until I got wind of the postponement, so that would have been fun, turning up at the Flamingo Land Stadium and seeing doors locked and half their plastic pitch torn up. I think the move is for this year only, as repairs are

Barwell 1-0 Banbury United (Southern League Central Division) Non league football can be confusing. Eight years ago Barwell were in the Northern Premier League. Just two seasons ago Banbury United were in the National League North, but here for a second successive campaign will the two teams do battle against each other in the Southern League Premier Central Division. I watched a 1-0 win for Banbury at Kirkby Road early last season. The return fixture was 2-1 to Barwell and

Ilkeston Town 0-3 Hednesford Town (Northern Premier League) It's a local one today as I'm out with friends tonight, so I've told the wife I'll be home by 6pm. Ilkeston is just 12 miles from my house so a nice cushty little number on a Saturday afternoon. The Robins have been slipping of late. The last time I seen them they were awful at home to Cleethorpes in 3-0 defeat, before going on a decent run of seven unbeaten, they have since lost their last six not including a Derby

Carlisle United 1-3 Woking (National League) It's so tight at the top, should third place Carlisle get just a draw tonight they'll go back to the summit of the National League table ahead of a cluster of promotion wannabes. Mark Hughes side are unbeaten in nine in the league but did get dumped out of the FA Cup losing 4-1 at Blackpool on Sunday. Woking themselves are on a fine run under Neal Ardley, unbeaten in nine in all competitions, they last suffered league defeat in Se

Quorn 3-2 Redditch United (Southern League Central Division) I played over 500 games as an amateur, I coached around 150 semi-pro matches and have scouted ‘officially’ including today 257 games exactly, but I only ever managed three matches, when completely left alone to my own devices. My first, was for Netherfield Albion against Westside, in the early 2000’s which we won 3-1 back in the Notts Amateur League, when I was helping out my uncle who was then Manager (he had some

York City 5-1 Aldershot Town (National League) I was in New York last weekend for a shopping and show birthday getaway with the wife, this weekend it's old York and back to the matchday grind. I tell her 'if it weren't for the football we wouldn't get these luxurious long haul trips away' which at least appeases her to release me when we haven't got something 'better' to do. York are going well in the National League under Stuart Maynard, Aldershot aren't, under a new Manage

Barwell 5-2 Stratford Town (Southern League Central Division) Formed in 1992 as a merger between Barwell Athletic and Hinckley, Barwell FC became Founder members of the Midland Alliance in 1994 where they joined Stratford Town in the division, and the two teams would play each other, at least twice, every season, until 2009/10 when the Leicestershire side would become champions, thus moving to the Northern Premier League Division One South. That same year, Stratford finished

Forest Green Rovers 3-1 Gateshead (National League) I'm feeling a bit guilty cooking sausages for breakfast ahead of visiting the world's first vegan football club today. Forest Green are going well under Robbie Savage, third in the National League a point behind leaders Carlisle whilst their opponents this afternoon Gateshead are struggling this season in nineteenth, just six points above the drop zone. Kick off time has been put back to 3:03pm which is a statement by the Na