UP NEXT, the first team welcomes bottom side Harrowby United to Greenwich Avenue with revenge in mind after a humbling reverse fixture just seven days previous.

Kimberley will go into the match with one victory from their last five matches. This is part of a long stretch of poor form that has seen the miners drop from top of the table to seventh and outside of the playoff places.

Harrowby United are still propping the table up as they prepare to visit the miners at Greenwich Avenue. With two wins in the last five matches, the arrows have moved level on points with the two teams directly above them and just two points behind Blackstones in sixteenth.

LAST TIME AROUND

Last weekend, the two sides met each other at Harrowby in what was a very poor match on a very poor pitch. Both sides lacked quality but it took a moment of excellence as debutant Tom Hill smashed home from the edge of the box to take the points for Harrowby. Full Time, 1-0 to the Arrows.

The two sides last met in April last season. A superb, dominant performance gave the Miners their biggest away win in the league this season and a first away win by more than one goal. Lewis Weaver, on his first start since returning from going AWOL at Clipstone set up Paul Johnson with a great run and low cross from the left for Johnno to tap the ball into the goal from six yards to give the miners a half time lead. Early second half goals from Finn Ryder and Lewis Weaver wrapped up the 3-0 win for Kimberley.

The two sides last met at the Stag Ground in October 2024 in what was an entertaining five goal thriller. Kemal Yeniberitz opened the scoring for Harrowby, with Nathaniel Peters equalising minutes later to go into half time at one apiece. As was customary at the time, Kimberley let in two quick goals in the second half as first Tom Harris and four minutes later, Jack Gurney scored for Harrowby. Braden Noon-Brandy bagged a late consolation for Kimberley. Final Score 2-3.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE OPPOSITION

The club was established in 1949 and initially played in the Grantham & District League. They remained in the Grantham League until joining Division One of the Central Alliance in 1967. However, after a single season in the Central Alliance the club transferred to Division One of the East Midlands Regional League.

A fifth-place finish in 1973–74 saw Harrowby promoted to the Premier Division. The league became the Midlands Regional Alliance in 1985, and the club won the Premier Division and Challenge Cup double in 1989–90. They subsequently moved up to Division One of the United Counties League. Although the club won the division in 1991–92, they were unable to take promotion to the Premier Division. However, after finishing as Division One runners-up in 2002–03, the club were promoted to the Premier Division.

The 2005–06 season saw Harrowby finish bottom of the Premier Division, after which they dropped back into the Grantham & District League. The club spent the 2007–08 season in the Lincolnshire League, finishing bottom of the table, before joining the Supreme Division of the Central Midlands League. In 2009 they were renamed Grantham Rangers, but folded at the end of the 2009–10 season, which had seen them finish bottom of the Supreme Division.

A new Harrowby United was established in 2012 when Grantham & District League champions Beehive United changed their name to Harrowby United upon taking promotion to Division One of the United Counties League. In 2013–14 a third-place finish saw the club promoted to the Premier Division. They were relegated back to Division One after finishing second-from-bottom of the Premier Division in 2016–17. In 2023–24 the club finished fifth in Division One, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Clipstone 4–1 in the semi-finals, they defeated Newark Town 2–1 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division North.

HONOURS

United Counties League - Division One champions 1991–92
Midlands Regional Alliance - Premier Division champions 1989–90
Challenge Cup winners 1989–90

FINALLY

Both sides are in dire need of consistency. Kimberley have the opportunity to make up for last weekend’s poor performance while Harrowby can move off the foot of the table with a second win over the miners.

There’s plenty of parking and the clubhouse and bar will be open.

Kick off is at 15:00

See you there