Shenley face Towcester Town Tigers for the second week in a row this weekend.

The Phantoms will look to win their first away league game this season after their 4-0 away win against Great Linford was voided.

They will face a Towcester Town Tigers side who have lost back-to-back matches since the restart of grassroots football last week.

New Covid-19 Guidance
Here is a summary of the FA's updated Covid-19 guidelines for step one of the government's roadmap out of lockdown:

Travel
There are no travel restrictions as such but you should minimise any unnecessary journeys and avoid travelling at the busiest times and routes.

Car sharing with people outside your household or support bubble is permitted as long as you follow the Government's guidance on safer travel, e.g. wear face coverings, open windows, etc…

Spectators
No spectators are allowed at grassroots football except for safeguarding purposes, which is limited to one parent or career per player. Any spectators must socially distance themselves from anyone outside of their household or support bubble.

Indoor facilities
Indoor facilities (e.g. changing rooms) must remain shut but toilets can be accessed up to 30 minutes before and after the match.

It is vital that everyone exercises the utmost care and rigour in observing these guidelines.

Further information can be found here.

Team News
Attackers Ben Lynch (hip injury), Freddie Rogers and Mohammed Edris, along with defender Zakir Kassam are all unavailable for the Phantoms. Manager Ian Orr has decided to take all 16 available players.

Ian opts for the usual 4-2-3-1 formation and makes just three changes to the starting XI. Ollie replaces Mitchell at the heart of the defence alongside Rohan. Damon and Kian start as the full-backs.

The midfield trio of Jack, Tyler and Finley start together again. Connor joins Tom and Morgan in the front three.

Myron makes the bench after missing out last weekend. He is joined by Adam, Mitchell, Kyle and Joel.

Towcester have 19 players signed on this season. Oliver Boyle will be the Tigers' danger man with seven goals in fifteen games since the start of last season. Elsewhere, Louis Dickens, Cristiano Primus and Oliver Taylor have all netted this season.

Fighting Talk
Defender Rohan Sawjani: "I'm looking forward to the game this weekend. They are a strong team with some good players so we will have to concentrate throughout the game. However, I feel that we can get a positive result and performance if we play at a high intensity."

Defender Damon Smith: "Hopefully we can re-create our performance from last week and get another win!"

The Opposition
Towcester Town FC, which was founded in 1988, is an FA Chartered Standard Community Club, with 24 teams spanning the ages of U7 through to adults. Supported by its coaches and managers, the club aims to bring excellent footballing opportunities to the town.

In October 2013, Towcester Town Tigers, managed by George Boyle, won the U10 Stanair Cup in front of over 4,000 fans - a half time penalty shootout competition for grassroots football players at Sixfields Stadium, the home ground of Northampton Town.

Their reward was a training session by Northampton Town's coaches on the Sixfields pitch in April 2015.

In June 2015, the Tigers won the U12 cup in the Towcester Town 6-a-side Tournament. They went on to win the MKDDL league plate the following year.

In the 2017/18 season, they finished bottom of U14 Division 3 without winning a match (P16 D2 L12) due to an injury crisis, including a broken arm, sprained fingers and wrists, ankle ligament damage and back/hip injuries. However, they were runners up in a FA Futsal tournament in Buckingham.

The following season they finished second-bottom of U15 Division 2 with four wins from fourteen matches.

Last season, they played 10 games in U16 Division 2 before the season was curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This season, they've retained seven of their players from the previous season but lost their captain and goalkeeper Charlie Woodward along with top goalscorer Jake Hope. They've played four league matches so far, winning their first two but losing their last two. So far, they've scored nine goals but have conceded six.

Last Time Out
On Wednesday night, Towcester Town Tigers lost 2-1 to their local rivals Towcester Town Foxes. The Foxes took the lead via a first-half penalty, before doubling their lead on sixty-two minutes. Oliver Boyle halved the deficit, but the Tigers were unable to find an equaliser in the last twelve minutes.

Head to Head
The Phantoms ran out 3-1 winners when these two sides met last weekend. Tom Beevor gave Shenley the lead before they were pegged back by Oliver Boyle from the penalty spot. Freddie Rogers missed a second-half penalty, before two late goals by Morgan Pugh won the game for Shenley.

Officials
James Gerring will oversee the Phantoms' match this weekend. The 20-year-old, who is pursuing a career in officiating football, is a Level 6 referee (country referee) and is currently working towards promotion to Level 5 (senior county referee).

In 2019, he handed out 19 yellow and 4 red cards in 31 matches, covering an average of 8.5km in each game.

Due to high marks from coaches, James was appointed to officiate the U15 League Cup Final in May 2019, despite qualifying as a referee just four months prior. He described this as a "huge honour and one of my proudest moments".

Last season, he refereed in the British Universities & Colleges Sport league while studying Geography at the University of Birmingham. James officiated in the Premier division where the first teams of universities across the country competed.

He was also officiating men's football in Birmingham. James was an assistant referee for last season's Division One Cup Final just before the national coronavirus lockdown.

As a result of his efforts last season, James won the New Referee of the Year Award by the Milton Keynes Referee Association.

He has never officiated the Phantoms before.

Weather Forecast
Sunny intervals and a gentle breeze are forecasted throughout the game. Temperatures are expected to be around 7°C, although it will feel more like 3°C. There is a low chance of rain (11%) and the visibility will be very good. [Source: BBC Weather]