Nuneaton Town welcome North Ferriby United to the LDJ Solicitors Stadium on Saturday afternoon as both sides look to build on recent victories, after losing a game to the weather last weekend. Both sides finished February on a high, the Boro' won at The New Bucks Head on a freezing Tuesday evening as they defeated AFC Telford United 2-1, whereas the Villagers secured just their second victory of the season with a, surprising, 1-0 win away to Bradford Park Avenue.
Dino Maamria's first two victories as Nuneaton Manager came against North Ferriby as the Boro' hosted them in the FA Trophy, before travelling to East Yorkshire the following week. The Cup victory saw a brace from Ashley Chambers, and one goal apiece from Daniel Nti and Jordan Nicholson fire Maamria's side in to a 4-0 half time lead. Nicholson added a second in stoppage time after Callum Rzonca pulled one back for the visitors. Rzonca has since signed for Sosnowiec in Poland.
Chambers was again on the scoresheet the follwing week as Nuneaton struck twice in three second half minutes for a 2-0 victory at Grange Lane, their first away win of the season. In all, the Boro' have won four of five meetings with North Ferriby, including both games in Nuneaton. During the 2015/16 season, a year that saw the Villagers promoted to the National League, the Boro' were victorious in both league meetings, including a 3-1 win at home. Adam Bolder scored for the Villagers that day, and has since resigned for the club, just days prior to his younger Brother Chris being appointed Manager.
Bolder's first game in charge was the 2-0 loss at the hands of Nuneaton, and he needed to wait until his thirteenth match to taste victory, that 1-0 win in Bradford two weeks ago. Debutant Lewis Collins scored the winner that day after recently signing on loan from Mansfield Town. Collins has since been joined on loan by Stags teammate and Antigua & Barbuda international AJ George, who signs in time to make his debut against the Boro',
Other new faces for North Ferriby include former Charlton Athletic defender Paul Robson and strikers James Nicholls and Brett Agnew, the latter of whom signed before the previous match with Nuneaton, but was unavailable as he was serving a suspension. Despite the recent victory, the Villagers remain rooted to the foot of the table, 25 points from safety with 30 to play for. With a goal difference of -65 North Ferriby have scored the fewest goals in the division, whilst also conceding the most.
Rotherham forward Kuda Muskwe is the visitors top scorer in the league this season with three goals. The loanee has returned to the Millers but also had a spell with the Boro', making one appearance from the bench, ironically, against North Ferriby. Agnew is the only man currently on the books with more than one goal for the season, having scored in back-to-back draws with Chorley and Leamington last month.
Maamria's side go in to the match on an eight game unbeaten streak, winning six and drawing two, a run that has seen them rise from 21st to 11th in the league. Chambers has scored four times during that streak and has 18 overall for the season. With no new injury concerns Maamria has virtually a full squad at his disposal as the Boro' look to continue to pull well clear of the bottom three and up towards the play-off places.
The match kicks of at 3pm, so why not join us and get behind the team. Ticket prices are as follows: Adults £14, Concessions (aged 60 and over) £12, Young people (age 16 and under) £3, Children (age 10 and under) FREE with accompanying adult. Transfer to the Main Stand seats, if required, is an additional £2 which is paid within the ground. Parking on site is £2 for Cars, £5 for Minibuses and £10 for Coaches.