The Opposition - History
North Ferriby FC were formed in 2019 after the demise of North Ferriby United, who themselves were formed in 1934 and reached as high as the National League before facing Liquidation following which the phoenix club started up.
The new team started out in the Northern Counties East League and gained promotion to the Premier Division in their first completed season, the first two having been abandoned because of Covid.
The 2022/23 season saw them finish top of the Premier Division to get back to the Northern Premier League, where the former team had been at the stage of its demise and last season they finished 8th.

Manager Chris Bolder took over in May 2019 having previously been in charge two years earlier.

A journey of around 80 miles awaits them this evening.

The Opposition - This Season
The Villagers had a mixed start to the season, losing their opening game but bouncing back to comfortably defeat Sherwood Colliery.
They exited the FA Cup in a replay against Newcastle Blue Star but then picked up five successive away wins in the league.
October saw back to back defeats but then three wins in a row before a loss at Liversedge.
Recent weeks have seen a home win over Garforth Town, a draw with Pontefract Collieries and their last match before this fixture was supposed to take place saw a thriller at home to Newton Aycliffe which they lost 3-2 despite a late flourish.
They are without a win in two having lost on Boxing Day to Cleethorpes Town and the 4th of January at Sherwood Colliery.
This match is the third in a run of five successive away matches. Following this run they will have six out of seven back at HQ.

League (7th): P 23 W 12 D 3 L 8 F 35 A 28 Pts. 39
Cups: P 3 W 0 D 1 L 2 F 3 A 6

Top goalscorers: Josh Whiteley (12), Mason Johnson (5), Lewis Dennison (4)
Most appearances: Jack Walters (26), Ben Bottomley & Niall Tilsley (25 each), Lewis Dennison & Dom Roma (24 each)
Biggest victory: 3-0 vs. Bridlington Town (26th August)
Heaviest defeat: 0-4 vs. Stocksbridge Park Steels (19th October)
Highest home attendance: 617 vs. Pontefract Collieries (16th November)
Average home attendance: 414 (5th/22)
Most consecutive wins: 3
Most games without a win: 2
Most consecutive defeats: 2
Most games without a defeat: 5

The Nailers
Belper started the season well, winning their first three matches before coming unstuck at Emley.
They bounced back with another couple of wins before Bromsgrove Sporting ended the FA Cup run in a replay.
An excellent performance and win at North Ferriby was followed by a home defeat to leaders Cleethorpes Town but a run of five successive wins followed.
Successive home defeats to Brighouse Town and Newton Aycliffe in the space of five days provided a setback but this once again propelled the Nailers who won five out of their next six before a poor performance at Stocksbridge.
A penalty shootout win over Glossop North End in the Derbyshire Senior Cup followed and then after no draws in the league in their first 18 games, matches with Garforth and Brighouse both finished all square.
Belper are one of the form teams in the league in recent weeks, having enjoyed comfortable wins over Heaton Stannington, Sheffield FC and Sherwood Colliery over the festive period and they were on the right end of a nailbiter at Bradford (Park Avenue) two Saturdays ago.
Harry Draper is well clear as leading goalscorer with 22 while Curtis Burrows and Luke Rawson have seven each. Nat Crofts is on five.

Head to Head
Last season's meetings were the first between Belper and the current North Ferriby FC. The Nailers won both, 4-0 at Ferriby at the start of the season before securing a 2-1 win back at the Raygar Stadium in January.
Earlier this season, the Nailers were impressive in a 2-0 away win.
There were 33 meetings with North Ferriby United, with Belper coming out on top on just five occasions.
They failed to win any of the first 16 encounters before going on an unbeaten run of ten. They were however without a victory in the last nine, with the last match between the sides in January 2005.

Form Guide (all comps)
Belper Town: DDWWWW
North Ferriby: DLWWLL

Team News
Harry Draper serves the second and final match of his suspension.

Permutations
None of the teams around Belper are in action this evening so top spot is secure until at least the weekend. The Nailers have a two point advantage but Cleethorpes have a game in hand.
North Ferriby need a win to climb the table though it will require a seven goal swing to enter the playoff places.

Match details
Belper Town vs. North Ferriby
Northern Premier League Division One East

Tuesday, 14th January 2025 - 7:45pm kick off

Raygar Stadium
Bridge Street
Belper
Derbyshire
DE56 1BA

Admission prices: Adults £11, Concessions (under 16 and 60+) £7, Under 11 (with paying adult) £0
Cash and card accepted on the turnstiles.

Follow the match
Full coverage of the match:

Audio commentary with Tom on Radio Belper Town
Full text coverage on X, Facebook and Bluesky
Match reports on the website (all matches) and in the Non-League Paper (Saturday matches only)

NPL East fixtures
The only other fixture in the division this evening sees Bridlington Town entertain Bishop Auckland.