Eccleshill United travel to the East of Yorkshire to face Goole AFC. The Eagles go into the game after a narrow defeat to Hebburn Town in the FA Vase cup, on the other hand, Goole defeated Bridlington Town in NCEL League Cup winning 3-1 away from home.
The Vikings currently sit 17th in the NCEL Premier Division, outside the relegation zone only on goal differences, a contrast to Eccleshill United who sit 13th. A win will be huge for either side as both teams will be hoping to get points on the board and rocket up into the top half of the table.
Goole AFC has some key assets in their team including Oliver Smith who has rocked up 3 goals in all competitions this season, going even better is Derry Robson with 4 goals in all competitions. Also, Josh Schofield has a connection to League One club Gillingham FC. Furthermore, defender Adam Lund has also scored a couple of goals this season, which is impressive for a defender.
Goole is a team who can score plenty of goals, although they have conceded a fair few too. This should be an interesting matchup with an Eccleshill United team who don’t concede many but have also found it difficult to score. However, with Antony Brown (Eccleshill United) returning from injury it should prove to be a test for Goole and benefit Eccleshill United.
The Eagles also have Matt Mathers back at their disposal if they were to change it up at the back. Ben McCready is also raring to be back. The only absentees for Eccleshill United remain Jonny Irving who should be back in the near future, also, Liam Hudson is getting his fitness regained for a return after the new year. Scott Manning remains a long-term absentee, whilst Steve Hollingworth will be returning from holiday.
Eccleshill United will be going into the game with the strongest team possible, however, Goole beating Bridlington in the week will give them a needed confidence boost, Bridlington Town is one of the promotion hopefuls.
Goole Afc is a relatively new team, with only being established in 1997, with Eagles midfielder Jake Thompson being the only player in the Eccleshill squad younger than Goole AFC itself. Since then they have gone from strength to strength and proven to be one of the strongest teams in the Yorkshire area.
Goole AFC got relegated last season from the EVO-STIK North last season, whereas Eccleshill United got promoted from the NCEL Division One. This, therefore, is a game for the history books as this will be the first time these two teams have played each other.
Eccleshill United will travel to the Victoria Pleasure Park in what is only the Eagles 2nd away league game this season. They will be hoping to replicate their last away game which was a 2-1 win at Athersley Recreation.
This will be a key game for both teams, a win for Goole will set them off in the right direction to avoid a back to back relegation. Whereas a win for Eccleshill United would push them into the top half of the table and boost their ultimate hope of making it back to back promotions.