Carlton make the relatively short trip to Matlock this week in the hopes of progressing into the 3rd qualifying round of the FA Cup.
Having been relegated from the NPL Premier last season, the Gladiators had a sluggish start to life in the NPL East but form in recent weeks has given more than enough confidence that the Derbyshire side could make a swift return to Step 3. Matlock are on a run of four wins in league and cup competitions and most recently disposed of Grimsby Borough in the FA Trophy with a comfortable 3-0 victory. Their route to this round in the FA Cup notes solid wins of 2-0 in the Preliminary Round against Carlton’s league-mates, Mickelover and an excellent second half performance which eased them past Step 5 Bottesford Town in the 1st Qualifying Round a couple of weeks ago with a 4-1 win. So the home side have found their shooting boots.
Carlton’s excellent win against Step 3 Cleethorpes Town in the last round of the FA Cup was backed up last week with a win in the Trophy against Long Eaton United. However, Carlton needed spot kicks and goalkeeping heroics to hurdle the Blues and were unable to take advantage of the wealth of chances they created within 90 minutes as they found Lewis King in sparkling form between the sticks for the home side. But, resilience and determination to compete to the last has been a trait of the Millers in recent years and its those qualities they must draw on to progress here. Carlton have scored nineteen goals in all competitions this season and boast goals from a number of players so this could be a high scoring affair.