Gary Charles takes his Nuneaton Town side to Ashton-under-Lyne on Monday evening for just their fourth ever visit to the Tameside Stadium for a that match was already been postponed twice in March. Originally scheduled for Saturday the 3rd, the Beast from the East ensured it was called off early, and International call-ups put paid to the rescheduled date on Monday the 26th.
Nuneaton Town will be looking to get back to winning ways after losing 2-0 at home to Salford City on Saturday. Curzon Ashton's most recent result was a goalless draw away to Leamington. The Nash have won just one of their previous five, a 2-0 victory at home to Gainsborough Trinity. Their recent home record is pretty good, winning three out of five and drawing one, the only defeat coming at the hands of Brackley Town.
The Nash are currently in 17th place, above our local rivals Leamington on goal difference and Tamworth by three points. In terms of home points, they're 12th in the league with 30 points from 19 games. We're 12th in away form (22 points from 19 games) having won five of our previous seven away from the LDJ Solicitors Stadium. Our most recent meeting was a 1-1 draw at Liberty Way earlier this season. That match featured both sides scoring penalties, Ashley Chambers in the first half, Niall Cummins in the second.
Chambers, Boro's top-scorer this season, scored in the 2-1 defeat late season as well, handing Nuneaton a second minute lead that they couldn't convert in to points as Matty Warburton and Joe Guest were on target for the hosts in the second half. Both sides have had struggles this season as 'The Nash' went through a stretch that saw them win just once in 13 games and drop in to the bottom three.
That streak ended when Curzon won 3-0 at AFC Telford United in mid-February, a result that they followed-up with an impressive 4-1 home win over play-off chasing York City. Top-scorer Cummins struck a first half hat-trick that day, taking his total to 15 goals in the League this season, just four behind Chambers.
Nuneaton currently sit in 11th place, with 51 points from 38 games, knowing that they are safe from relegation. Curzon Ashton will be desperate to pick up points as dropping out of the division remains a very real concern for them. They have scored the sixth fewest goals and are middle of the pack defensively. Only three teams have scored fewer than Nuneaton, but we do boast the sixth best defensive record in the league.
For the first time since taking over Charles might be forced to make a change after George Green suffered an injury against Salford at the weekend. The Boro' boss has several options including Kairo Mitchell, Billy Daniels, Adil Nabi, Joel Dielna and Andre Wright, should Monday be too soon for Green. Whatever happens, the starting 11 will be vastly different to the one that started the previous match between the two sides, almost half of that matchday squad are unlikely to feature, with one of them out on loan and four of them having left the club altogether.