The Opposition - History
Brighouse Town were formed in 1963 as a works team of the Blakeborough Valve Company. When they were shut down in 1988 the club adopted its current name.
Success was achieved early for Blakeborough, winning the Huddersfield Works League in their first year and then a further four times in the next decade.
2008 saw promotion to Division One of the Northern Counties East League and within a couple of years they had reached the Premier Division.
In 2014 they won the Premier Division to enter the Northern Premier League for the first time.
Like Belper, they have been moved around a bit, starting in the North before switching to the East then the North West. They moved back to the East in 2021 and have remained there since.

Former Nailers manager Grant Black took the reigns as manager in May 2024, assisted by Mick Norbury.

A journey of around 72 miles awaits the Nailers today.

The Opposition - This Season
Town struggled early doors, having to wait until their seventh game in all competitions for a win.
However most of those matches were draws and it wasn't until mid-September that they went on a run of defeats, five in total and during that period they scored only one goal which left them in the relegation places.
Their mini-slump ended with victory at the Raygar Stadium on the 15th of October and they followed this up with another win against Ashington.
October finished with a draw in the league but an exit from the West Riding Cup at the hands of Garforth Town.
They lost their first two matches of November but bounced back to defeat Carlton Town 4-1 in an impressive performance last time out.
They come into this match 18th in the table: P 17 W 5 D 4 L 8 F 14 A 25 Pts. 19.

The Nailers
Belper started the season in excellent form, losing just once in their opening seven competitive fixtures.
They bounced back from an FA Cup replay defeat at Bromsgrove Sporting to win six of their next seven but two home defeats inside four days, to Brighouse Town and Newton Aycliffe proved a setback.
They were soon back to winning ways, with five successive league victories but exited the FA Trophy on penalties at Chasetown.
Recent weeks have seen a couple of matches called off, but a good win at Grimsby Borough was soon forgotten with a poor performance in a heavy defeat at Stocksbridge.
After defeating Glossop North End on penalties in the Derbyshire Senior Cup, it was a trip to Garforth on Tuesday night and an even match finished 1-1, a first league draw of the season for Belper after 19 games.
Harry Draper remains well clear as leading goalscorer with 18 while Luke Rawson, Nat Crofts and Curtis Burrows have five each.

Head to Head
Just five previous competitive meetings between the sides.
Brighouse won both encounters in the 2018/19 season. In early November, it was 2-0 to the home side in Yorkshire, a goal in each half enough.
Back at Belper at the turn of the year, it was 3-1 to the visitors with an own goal for the home side meaning still no Belper player had scored against Brighouse yet in a competitive fixture.
That run was ended last season when Belper clawed one back in the head to head record, with a 2-0 victory at the Heffernan Utilities Stadium, Kev Bastos with a brace of first half penalties.
However the Yorkshire side gained revenge at the Raygar Stadium in January, winning 3-1 with two late goals from Darius Smith.
Earlier this season Brighouse won 2-0 at the Raygar Stadium.
Record for Belper: P 5 W 1 D 0 L 4 F 4 A 10 (all league fixtures).

Form Guide (all comps)
Brighouse Town: WDLLLW
Belper Town: WWWLDD

Team News
There are no major injury concerns or suspensions.

Permutations
The situation for Belper won't become crystal clear until the final whistle in Cleethorpes on Friday night.
However whatever the result Belper will have the chance to climb a place, though with the goal difference situation it will require a victory.
With Dunston five points behind, at least 3rd place is secure for the weekend.
For Brighouse, a win could lift them as high as 15th if Liversedge lose but a goal difference swing would also be required.
They could drop into the bottom four if they don't pick up a win. Three of the bottom four are at home on Saturday.

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

Saturday, 14th December 2024 - 3:00pm kick off

Heffernan Utilities Stadium
St Giles Road
Brighouse
HD6 2PL

Admission prices: Adults £10, Concessions £7, 12-16yrs £2, U12s Free.

Follow the match
Full coverage of the match:

• Audio commentary with Chris 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
Game of the weekend isn't in question, it takes place on Friday night in Lincolnshire where the top two meet.
Saturday sees North Ferriby have a chance to leapfrog Dunston and enter the playoff places while Sheffield have a crucial home match with Heaton Stannington who sit just outside the relegation spots.