The Midland League Division One’s best away record visits its best home form in a Non-League Day top-of-the-table clash as Hinckley AFC head to Droitwich Spa.
The game between Hinckley and a Droitwich side who will be second if they win their games in hand provides one of the standout fixtures of Non-League Day, an annual event held on an international break to encourage fans of higher-level teams to watch the grassroots game.
And Hinckley, who have lost just once on the road all season, will hope to extend their lead at the top if they can become just the second team all season to win away to Droitwich.
The opposition
After losing in the play-off final in their debut campaign at step six last season, Droitwich have mounted another challenge towards the top this time around.
17 wins and 56 points from their 27 games puts them firmly in contention. They are fourth, but wins in their games in hand would put them up to second with a run of five wins and a draw in their last six games seeing them keep pace.
That included an 8-1 rout of AFC Bridgnorth last week, their biggest win since promotion to this level. Only Hinckley have scored more goals in Division One this season.
Key to that has been their form in Worcestershire – 10 wins, one draw and one defeat from their 12 matches meaning only Nuneaton Griff and Sutton United have left Briar Mill with anything to show for their efforts. They do, however, still have to play five of the top 10 at home.
Connor Collins is their leading scorer with 19 goals this season while Charlie Tilley has 14. Both of them scored in their defeat at Kirkby Road on the opening day of the season. Perry Moss and fit-again captain James Lemon are also in double figures for the campaign, while Alex Dugmore has nine from centre-back.
Previous meetings
It’s been more than seven months since the sides last met. The reverse fixture came on a soaking wet opening day of the season at Kirkby Road, which Hinckley won 3-2 thanks to goals from Johnny Johnston, Ben Whitehead and Joe Obi.
Droitwich won last season’s corresponding fixture at Kingy’s 2-0, the only meeting between the sides in which either side has failed to score. Four previous matches between the sides have yielded 19 goals.
From the dressing room
“They’re a very good team. I went to watch them a couple of weeks ago, and we’ve done plenty of homework on them. They’re a good team, with good staff at a good club. It’s also Non-League Day, so they’ll be expecting a very big crowd. If they win their games in hand, it would be first against second. They’re well-supported, we’ll take a load of fans over there as well. We were majorly disappointing there last season, it was a bit toothless, but we’re in a good place now and we’ll see what we can do in what will be a tough game.
“These are the games you want to be involved in. I’d rather be in our position and Droitwich’s position than be mid-table and you win some, you lose some. I’m glad we’re top, the onus is on them to come and beat us. They score plenty of goals so it should make for an entertaining game. Bring it on, it’ll be a good occasion and hopefully we can get a positive result.”
Joe Conneely
Key information
Droitwich Spa play at the King George V Ground, Briar Mill, Droitwich, Worcestershire, WR9 0RZ.
Advance tickets are on sale now from Droitwich by clicking here. You can also pay via cash or card on the gate.
Adults: £6
Concessions: £4
Under 12s: Free
