UP NEXT, the miners are back at Greenwich Avenue after three matches away. This time around, we welcome AFC Mansfield as we move towards the festive period.

Kimberley come into this fixture amid a dip in form that has seen them drop from top spot to fifth in the league. This dip sees the miners winless over ninety minutes since October, a run that stretches back ten matches.

AFC Mansfield over the same period have seen their fortunes improve somewhat and while inconsistent, have moved up the table and away from the relegation places, with a six point gap from second bottom. They come to us for only a fourth away fixture since the end of September.

Last weekend, Kimberley made the short trip to Ilkeston Town’s Microlise New Manor Ground, where they faced third from bottom Heanor Town. Heanor took the points as they won their first match since the start of October. Two goal in four minutes in the first half came from Kian Zamboglou and John King gave Heanor the win.
Final Score - Heanor Town 2-0 KMW

AFC Mansfield were also in action last weekend as they welcomed league leaders Boston to the Forest Town Arena. The championship hopefuls maintained their position at the top of the league via a goal on the stroke of half time through Matt Cotton.
Final Score - AFC Mansfield 0-1 Boston Town

LAST TIME AROUND

The two sides met on a late September Tuesday night as they travelled to Forest Town to face AFC Mansfield in the Nottinghamshire Senior Cup. A goalless 90 minutes led to penalties. Up stepped Tom Smith in goal, who saved two spot kicks to give Kimberley passage into the next round.

Just seven weeks before, the sides met in the league, also on a Tuesday night at the Forest Town Arena. Two goals from Kole Lambert demonstrated the miners’ dominance in a 2-0 victory that really should have been more. A great performance from the team in white and green.

Last season, the sides last met at the end of November last year as they played out a 0-0 draw at the Forest Town Arena. Both sides put in a lot of effort, and it was Kimberley who looked the more likely to take the points. The last twenty minutes were littered with chances on goal as Kimberley pressed for the win, but it was not to be.

The two sides met earlier in the season in mid August at The Stag Ground. A straightforward match for AFC Mansfield saw two goals in each half to give them a 4-0 win on their travels. Ryan Ingram scored twice in the first half, with Gareth Curtis doing the same in the second half.

Before that, the two sides last met in January of last year at the Forest Town Arena in front of just 71 spectators. Jordan Alls gave Kimberley all three points with the only goal of the game.

The two sides met earlier that season in the FA Vase, again at the Forest Town Arena. More goals, but the same result saw Kimberley progress in the competition as Kole Lambert and Luis Parkes scored for the miners, while Keelan Grist scored for AFC Mansfield in front of 62 fans.

The league fixture at the Stag in the 2023-24 season came right at the start of the season, on the first of August under the lights. A comprehensive 3-0 victory for the miners, with goals from Aaron Coyle, Jack Oldham and Luis Parkes doing the damage in front of a healthy 171 supporters.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE OPPOSITION

AFC Mansfield was formed in 2012 and joined the Central Midlands Football League, signing a 10-year rolling deal to play at the Forest Town Arena.

The newly-formed club - nicknamed 'the Bulls' - began their journey in the 2012/13 season, when they fought on four fronts and nearly won the lot.

For the first time in the Bulls' history, they found difficulty in adapting to their new league despite a promising start to the 2018/19 campaign.

The ray of sunshine in the first half of their season was another impressive FA Cup run which ended at a much higher side in Kettering Town, who could only just edge past the Bulls with a 2-1 win despite a very nervy ending.

At the start of the 21/22 season u21 Boss and club captain Phil Buxton was announced as the new AFC Mansfield Boss after Chatfield resigned as Boss to take up a new role elsewhere.

In 2022 founder Andrew Saunders announced that he was leaving the club to pursue a new opportunity. The Bulls were sold to NEFA, an independent football academy headed up by Spencer Fearn and Ryan McKnight. In November 2022 Spencer Fearn transferred his shares to long time director and Bulls Fan Mike Abbs and promptly appointed club legend Phil Buxton as club manager. Club founder Andrew Saunders rejoined the club at the start 23/24 season as director and general manager. The Bulls maintained their place at Step 5 and set about improving the squad for 2024/25.

Honours

Central Midlands League
North Division champions 2013–14
League Challenge Cup winners 2013–14
Nottinghamshire Intermediate Cup
Winners 2012–13
Toolstation Charity Cup
Winners 2017–18

FINALLY

Both sides will be desperately looking for a win, with the visitors in better but inconsistent form. Kimberley are looking for a first win in eleven, while the bulls are looking to continue to move away from the bottom two spots.

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

Kick off is at 15:00

See you there