UP NEXT, after an early exit in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round last Saturday the miners face another long away day as they travel to face Wisbech Town for a third away visit in twelve months.

Kimberley will be keen to put the disappointment of the FA cup behind them as they bid to maintain their good start to the league season and put together a run that could see them build on the good work done in the last few months of last season.

Wisbech will also see this fixture as a chance to get some points on the board, having had the better of the league meetings between the two sides last season. They also exited the FA cup at the first hurdle last weekend and will want to move on from that as soon as possible, building on their last good result in the league.

Last weekend, Kimberley visited last season’s defeated play off finalists, Boston Town in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round. A first half goal from Frazer Bayliss was followed up by a goal in the second period from Richard Ford gave Boston a comfortable win and passage into the next stage of the cup.

Wisbech were also in FA cup action last weekend as they visited Haverhill Rovers. Sam Bennett scored his second and third goals of the season for Wisbech as they crashed out 3-2.

LAST TIME AROUND

The last time the two sides met was in early March at The Stag Ground during Kimberley’s crazy run of win one, lose one in their battle against the drop. The miners started well, with Zak Sandhu opening the scoring as early as the second minute. They had a goal disallowed for handball as the ball was bundled into the net in a pileup of players. The referee must have had good eyes to spot any handball. Wisbech were given a penalty after a clumsy tackle in the host box. Ben Alsopp guessed the right way and saved the spot kick. Kimberley could, and should have gone on to wrap the game up by half time, such was their dominance in the first half. The second half however, was a different story. The visitors came out of the blocks in the same manner as Kimberley did in the first half and were rewarded with an equaliser just as quickly into the second period. With forty two minutes remaining, Kimberley would have expected to pick up where they left off in the first half and regain the lead. This was not the case. A very lacklustre second half from the hosts saw Wisbech take control of the match and wrap up the win with less than ten minutes to go as a cross was not dealt with and the ball found its way into Alsopp's goal.
Final Score - Kimberley Miners Welfare 1 - 2 Wisbech Town

Before that, the sides met towards the end of November at Wisbech. In a match that seriously lacked quality from either side, the home side managed to edge it, with a goal midway through the first half to send the miners back home with a 1-0 defeat.

The two sides met earlier in the season at Wisbech in September in the league cup. Wisbech opened the scoring against the run of play through Elliot Foster. Kimberley scored twice in two minutes after the half hour mark through a Ryan Wheatley header and Kai Wilson’s low shot from the edge of the box after coming on for Ben Morley just five minutes into the match through injury. Foster equalised for Wisbech midway through a scrappy and angry second half. With penalties looking likely, Josh Timson scored the winner in the first minute of injury time to send the miners home with what turned out to be their last win of the season so far.

In the 2023-24 season, the two teams met in March at the Stag Ground. Jon Challinor bagged the only goal of the game as Wisbech took the points in a 1-0- win.

The away match was in November 2024. Sam Murphy scored in the first half, Aaron Coyle equalised on eighty minutes for the final score to be 1-1.
Earlier in the season, the two sides met at the Stag Ground in the league cup. A comfortable win for the home side came through goals from Aaron Coyle, Nathan Banton, Kole Lambert and Bijan Pakrouz after going into half time at 0-0. Final score, 4-0.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE OPPOSITION

Although a Wisbech Town existed in the 1890s, the current club was established in 1920 by the merger of three local clubs. They initially played in the Peterborough & District League, winning it in 1924–25, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1931–32 and 1932–33. In 1935 the club turned semi-professional and joined the United Counties League. Former West Ham player Sam Jennings was the first major signing, and the club won the United Counties League Cup in their first season.

In 1945–46 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup, but lost to Ipswich Town. The following season they won the league title, a feat repeated the season after. In 1950 they switched to the Eastern Counties League, before joining the Midland League in 1952.
In 1995–96 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since the 1960s, but lost 5–1 at Kingstonian. However, after finishing second in the league that season the club were promoted to the Midland Division of the Southern League. Whilst playing in the Southern League, the club's reserve team entered the Eastern Counties League. The club reached the first round of the FA Cup again in 1996–97, losing 2–1 at home to St Albans City. The following season they reached the second round, after beating Billericay Town 2–1, before losing 2–0 at home to Bristol Rovers.

Having finished the 2012–13 season in second place in the Eastern Counties League Premier Division, the club were eligible for promotion. However, this opportunity was declined in favour of a voluntary lateral movement, rejoining the United Counties League Premier Division instead. They were runners-up in 2017–18, earning promotion to Division One East of the Northern Premier League. After finishing bottom of the Northern Premier League Midland Division at the end of the 2021–22 season, the club were relegated to the Premier Division North of the United Counties League.

Honours

Southern League
Division One champions 1961–62
Eastern Counties League
Champions 1971–72, 1976–77, 1990–91
League Cup winners 2010–11, 2012–13
United Counties League
Champions 1946–47, 1947–48, 1949–50

FINALLY
Both sides will want to get over last weekend’s FA cup exits while also being conscious of maintaining a good start to the league season. The last three meetings between the two sides have lacked in consistent quality and while the result is key, supporters will be hoping for an entertaining encounter this early in the season. With things looking up from both sides, we can surely be hopeful of a good match.

We appreciate that it's a long trip, and we really appreciate those of you who will be travelling to support the boys.

See you there.