Nov 223 min read

Match Preview | Biggleswade Town (H)

Updated: 6 days ago

Halesowen welcome bottom of the league Biggleswade Town to The Grove following on from the defeat to Kidderminster Harriers

Written by Ben Ditchfield

Russ Penn's 30th game in charge will see his side host bottom of the table Biggleswade Town on Saturday, as they look to dodge the icy conditions and continue a run of six wins in their last seven when falling to a defeat in each game prior.

"We need to try and replicate last weekends performance and do everything we can to beat this Biggleswade team", said the Yeltz boss.

"Their league position means nothing, because the last time we played a side bottom of the league we lost 4-0 at home. I have a lot of respect for them, they will try everything they can to beat us, but if we continue to show our levels we should be fine."

The two sides have met just four times in half a century, with the Yeltz coming away with just the one win, a 4-1 victory at home in the FA Trophy 12 years ago. The last meeting came in April 2019, with Dan Platt the only remaining player at the club who featured in that 1-0 defeat at Langford Road.

The returns of Kieren Donnelly and McKauley Manning who both served a match ban last Saturday, as well as Nick Clayton-Phillips who also missed out due to being cup tied, will give the Yeltz a huge boost, as they look to build on the fourth best home record in the league.

Our opponents come into the game with just one win in their 14 league games this season and the worst away record in the divison. They are though currently unbeaten in their last four matches in all competitions, having picked up a draw and their first and only clean sheet of the season against another side from the black country, in Stourbridge at the start of the month.

Biggleswade boss Jimmy Martin, took over the reigns as manager at the start of the season, having led the club to promotion to the third tier of the non league pyramid as a joint manager last season.

He failed to win in his first six games in charge but despite their recent woes in the league, he has recently just led them to the last 64 of the FA Trophy for just the second time in the last 15 years.

Cyrus Babaie is The Waders biggest threat, the forward has scored 11 times this season, following on from his move to the club in the summer after spending last season at Welwyn Garden City.

He has started all 21 of their games in all competitions and has scored seven goals in the league for the side bottom of the pile, with just four players having scored more.

The side from Bedfordshire are still coming off the huge blow of losing Theo Ofori, who left too rejoin Ware last week, having featured 18 times this season for the club and scored six goals, prior to his departure.

Russ Penn's side will need to be aware of the away sides strong record in the first half. The last four goals the side have scored have come in the first 45 minutes of matches, having been behind at half time just twice in their last eight games.

Despite that strong recent record, Biggleswade do tend to struggle when conceding the first goal in a game, having failed to win in their last eight when doing so. That combined with Halesowen's record of just two defeats in their last 30 when scoring first, should create a recipe for success, if Russ Penn's side can get over the recent record of having failed to score first in their last two league games at home.

Key Seasonal Stats

Halesowen

League Position - 2nd

Season Record - 11W 2D 6L

Form (Last 5 Games) - WWWWL

Top Scorer - Kieren Donnelly (14 Goals)

Most Appearances - Ryan Wynter, Ryan Wollacott, Conor Tee, Todd Parker (19)

Most Starts - Ryan Wynter, Ryan Wollacott (19)

Biggest League Win - 5-0 vs Lowestoft Town (Away - 5th November)

Biggest League Defeat - 4-0 vs Hitchin Town (Home - 21st September)

Longest Unbeaten Run - 6 Games (5th October - 16th November)

Longest Winless Run - 2 Games (Three Times)