UP NEXT, the first team play host to Birstall United in the the FA Vase in the first of two matches in three days over the bank holiday. We welcome today’s opponents to our temporary home at Greenwich Avenue, home of Basford United.

Kimberley will be looking to maintain their great start to the season with a victory that would see them through to the next round of qualifying for the FA Vase.

Birstall United will make a thirty mile trip from Leicestershire for today’s match having had a mixed start to the season in division one of the Midland Football League. With six league matches played, Birstall have won twice, drawn twice and lost twice and will be looking at today’s FA Vase match as a welcome break from the league programme.

Last weekend, Kimberley faced one of last season's relegation rivals as they travelled to Gresley Rovers. With the score at 0-0 at half time, the miners stepped things up in the second half. It took until the 75th minute for Finn Ryder to open the scoring. New signing Joao Silva Pevide played a delightful through ball into Ryder's path, for the striker to run clear and do what he does best, sliding the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper and into the middle of the goal. Ryder then doubled his tally with three minutes of normal time remaining as he pounced on an awful first touch from the Gresley goalkeeper who tried to control a long ball from way outside of his area. Ryder simply stole the ball from him and slid it into an unguarded goal from just outside the box. Substitute Lewis Weaver got in on the act in the 90th minute as he capitalised when the goalkeeper parried a headed shot, the ball hitting Weaver from two yards out and ending up in the back of the net. A solid 3-0 victory saw the miners sitting proudly at the top of the table in first place after five matches as well as a third clean sheet of the season for Tom Smith. A long way to go for the rest of the season, but already things are feeling a lot better than this time last year.

Birstall’s last match was on Tuesday night as they hosted AFC North Kilworth. North Kilworth took the lead in the second half through Ellis Weston, only for Karl Whymark to equalise for the hosts. A 1-1 draw saw Birstall sitting in mid-table after six games played.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE OPPOSITION

The club was established in 1961, and initially played Sunday league football in the Leicester & District League. After winning three championships and the Leicestershire Sunday Intermediate Cup, they switched to Saturday football, joining the Leicester Mutual League. They won divisions five, four and three in consecutive seasons, before winning Division One in 1972–73. They retained the league title the following season, also winning the Leicester Junior Cup South with a 4–0 win over Oadby '67.

After winning a third Division One title in 1975–76, Birstall joined Division Two of the Leicestershire Senior League in 1976. Their first season in the Senior League saw them win the Division Two title and the Tebbutt Brown Cup, beating Division Two runners-up Hillcroft 3–0 in a replay after a 1–1 draw. Promoted to Division One, Birstall finished as runners-up in 1981–82, a season in which they also won the Tebbutt Brown Cup, beating league champions Anstey Nomads 1–0 in the final. The two met in the Tebbutt Brown Cup final again in 1984–85, with Birstall winning 3–2.

In 1993–94 Birstall won the league's Floodlight Cup. The 1995–96 season saw them win the Leicestershire and Rutland Senior Cup with a 1–0 win over Oadby Town in the final. They won the cup again in 1997–98, defeating Ibstock Welfare on 4–3 penalties following a 1–1 draw, and retained it the following season, beating Oadby Town 2–0 on penalties after a 2–2 draw; the season also saw them finish as runners-up in the (now renamed) Premier Division. After winning the Premier Division in 2015–16, the club were promoted to the East Midlands Counties League.

At the end of the 2017–18 season, Birstall were transferred to Division One of the United Counties League. The club were runners-up in Division One in 2022–23, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. Following a 3–2 win over Newark Town in the semi-finals, they lost the final against Hucknall Town 5–3 on penalties after the game ended in a 1–1 draw. At the end of the 2023–24 season the club were transferred to Division One of the Midland League. The club won the Leicestershire and Rutland Senior Cup in 2024–25, beating Heather St John's on penalties in the final.

Honours

Leicestershire Senior League
Premier Division champions 2015–16
Division Two champions 1976–77
Tebbutt Brown Cup winners 1976–77, 1981–82, 1984–85
Floodlit Cup winners 1993–94
Leicester Mutual League
Division One champions 1972–73, 1973–74, 1975–76
Leicestershire and Rutland Senior Cup
Winners 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2024–25

FINALLY

Both teams will welcome today's match but for different reasons. Kimberley will be looking to rack up another win and build some momentum before Monday’s trip to Sherwood Colliery. Birstall will see this as a chance to get their season going with a win that could see them pick things up in the league afterwards.

Kick off is at 15:00