The two town sides of Hinckley and Nuneaton meet for the first time in nearly 14 years on Tuesday night for the long-awaited return of this A5 derby.
It’s approaching two decades since Hinckley United and Nuneaton Borough were regular divisional rivals in the Conference North, with Boxing Day and New Year’s Day derbies often attracting between 1,500 and 3,000 fans.
Since then, both of the old clubs’ financial issues have meant new clubs, groundshares, and lots of parallels between the footballing journeys of the two neighbouring towns.
Now, having won the Midland League Division One in the last two seasons by almost identical margins (Hinckley ended nine points clear, Nuneaton eight), the two old foes meet again for the first time as Hinckley AFC and Nuneaton Town with three points in the United Counties Premier South up for grabs.
Hinckley could welcome back a pair of former Nuneaton forwards into the squad for the game – Louis Baker is available again while Chandler Pegg is in contention after missing the last fortnight through injury.
The opposition
While not quite runaway leaders just yet, Nuneaton’s unbeaten start to the league season has them top of the pile and eyeing a second consecutive promotion.
Nine wins and three draws from 12 games has them a point clear at the summit but with two games in hand on closest challengers Aylestone Park.
Twice, they have been 2-1 down late in a home game but both times have salvaged that unbeaten run with 2-2 draws, including in their latest game against Godmanchester Rovers on Saturday.
Nuneaton showed their ambition to go up again when they signed back-to-back Division One golden boot winner Kyle Jardine over the summer and, after his 16-goal start to this season, he’s now on a contract until 2028 if the club desires. Former Hinckley quartet Brandon Bache, Dec Somel, Luke Jones and Alex Lock are all part of their squad now too.
If the season so far is anything to go by, goals are guaranteed. The two sides are second and third in the league’s goalscoring charts (Aylestone lead the way on that front), and while Nuneaton have conceded the fewest goals in the league, they have only kept one clean sheet in their last six.
From the dressing room
“We want to see a reaction, especially because it’s a derby, but also because the last two performances haven’t been as consistent as we were previously. We need some nail and bite, and we need everyone in a Hinckley shirt work harder than anyone in a Nuneaton shirt.
“I remember going to some of those Conference North derbies as a fan. They were so atmospheric, and that’s what we’ll look forward to this week. It’s tough not to look forward to, and turn up for, games like this.”
Adam Davies
Key information
Hinckley will be in our purple away kit for this match.
Nuneaton groundshare with Bedworth United at The Oval, Coventry Road, Bedworth, Warwickshire, CV12 8NN.
Adults: £10
Concessions: £8
Students: £5
Under 16s: £1
