The Opposition - History
When Liversedge Rugby Club ceased to exist in 1910, Liversedge FC were formed.
Within a decade they were Bradford League champions and then went on to dominate the West Riding County Amateur League, with three titles in the 1920s. A further two were added in the 1960s.
They moved to the Yorkshire League in 1972 and they won Division Three immediately. They reached Division One before the League merged with the Midland League.
Like Belper and many other opponents this season, Sedge joined the Northern Counties East League, created by this merger in 1982.
A runners-up spot in Division One didn't bring promotion because of a lack of floodlights at the ground. They made up for this the following season.
At this point the club had still never been relegated and after narrowly missing out on the NCEL Premier Division they won the West Riding County Cup in 1990.
Fast forward to 2005 and the Clayborn slope was removed, giving a new look to the ground and the playing surface was levelled with the assistance of funds from the FA Cup run the previous season (they reached the Fourth Qualifying Round before losing to Coalville).
The NCEL League Cup was secured in 2006 but this time the changing rooms not being up to standard was the reason for missing out on promotion.
In 2020 they were well on course for promotion to the NPL before Covid hit and history looked like repeating itself the following season before a points-per-game system was introduced which took them to the NPL for the first time.
They won the league in their first season, reaching the Premier Division - Step 3.
Sedge suffered their first relegation the season before last, resulting in a drop back to the NPL East.
(Source: Liversedge FC website)

Manager Ryan Toulson was in interim charge when the sides met in October and was appointed on a permanent basis shortly afterwards.

A journey of around 75 miles awaits the Nailers today.

The Opposition - This Season
Sedge had a difficult start to the season, exiting the FA Cup at the first hurdle with a home defeat to Silsden and having to wait until matchday five for an NPL win, this being a fine 4-1 victory at Bradford PA.
They lost the next three but recorded handsome victories over Brighouse Town and Newton Aycliffe.
They failed to win any of their six matches in October, eventually picking up three points at home to North Ferriby on the 9th of November.
December saw one win at home to Garforth Town and in January they were only able to play two games, a 2-1 defeat at home to Bradford PA and a 1-1 draw at Grimsby Borough where their hosts equalised three minutes into injury time.
At home this season they have won 3 from 11, this being the joint lowest number of home games any team in the league has played.
Despite sitting 13 places lower, they have conceded two fewer goals than Belper.

League (15th): P 25 W 6 D 9 L 10 F 30 A 35 Pts. 27
Cups: P 2 W 0 D 0 L 2 F 1 A 4

Top goalscorers: Jack Dyche (6), Desmond Amponsah, Jack Crook, Alfie Raw and Joe Walton (4 each)
Most appearances: Jack Crook (27), Joe Walton (26)
Biggest victory: 4-0 vs. Newton Aycliffe (28th September) and Ashington (30th November)
Heaviest defeat: 0-3 vs. Garforth Town (10th August) and 1-4 vs. Sherwood Colliery (30th October)
Highest home attendance: 393 vs. Bradford PA (1st January)
Average home attendance: 228 (16th/22)
Most consecutive wins: 2
Most games without a win: 7
Most consecutive defeats: 3
Most games without a defeat: 3

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 were one of the form teams in the league over the festive period, enjoying comfortable wins over Heaton Stannington, Sheffield FC and Sherwood Colliery and they were on the right end of a nailbiter at Bradford (Park Avenue) in the first game of 2025.
However recently the Nailers have gone four without a win as both North Ferriby and Ossett won at the Raygar Stadium in the NPL before heavy defeats at Buxton in the Derbyshire Senior Cup and at home to Dunston back in the league.
Harry Draper is well clear as leading goalscorer with 22 while Luke Rawson has nine and Curtis Burrows sits on seven.

Head to Head
The two teams first met in the 1991/92 season and they were both thrilling encounters.
In Yorkshire, the hosts ran out 3-2 winners before Belper got revenge back at Christchurch Meadows with a 4-3 victory. Neil Cawthorne and Mick Goddard scored for the Nailers in both matches.
Belper won both matches played in 1993, with Clive Woolley hitting two penalties to help secure a 4-0 victory just before Christmas.
Liversedge bounced back to win at home in March 1994 before Belper went on a six match unbeaten run in the fixture, conceding only two goals in the process.
From February 1997, the two clubs didn't meet for another 25 years when they both landed in the NPL Premier Division during the 22/23 season.
The game at Belper finished 0-1 but the Nailers won at the Clayborn Ground 3-1 with the goals coming from Greaves, Wilson and a Harry Middleton penalty.
Last season, with both teams back in Division One East a Phil Watt goal was enough to earn Belper three points at the Raygar Stadium while the Nailers won 2-0 at Clayborn late in the season.
Earlier in this campaign, the sides met at the Raygar Stadium with Belper in fantastic form, they would go on to record their fourth win in a row, 2-0 the score with the goals coming from Luke Rawson and Kelan Swales, making just his second Nailers appearance.
Overall from a Belper perspective, the record in the fixture is: P17 W 12 D 1 L 4 F 34 A 15.
12 of the encounters came in the NCEL Premier Division, with the last five in the NPL.

Form Guide (all comps)
Liversedge: DLWDLD
Belper Town: WWLLLL

Team News
There are no major injury concerns or suspensions.

Permutations
The Nailers can only reclaim top spot with a win coupled with defeat for Cleethorpes.
They also need a victory to ensure Emley cannot catch us on the day; they are two points back but have a better goal difference.
Dunston can also leapfrog Belper if they pick up three points and Belper are defeated.
For Liversedge, they can potentially climb two places to 13th with victory while due to the compacted nature of the table there is a scenario which could see them end the day in the relegation zone, though this is unlikely.

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

Saturday, 1st February 2025 - 3:00pm kick off

Leading-Edge Clayborn Stadium
Quaker Lane
Liversedge
WF15 8DF

Admission prices: £10 / £5 / U16s £3 / U5s Free.
Cash and card accepted on the turnstiles.

Parking is available at the ground however please take care on the narrow lane leading down from Hightown Road.

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
Game of the day is a difficult one with the top six all facing sides in the bottom half of the table.
Former Nailers manager Grant Black takes Brighouse to another of his old clubs Ossett in a crucial relegation battle.

(14th) Ashington AFC vs. Consett AFC (13th)
(9th) Bradford (Park Avenue) vs. Stocksbridge Park Steels (8th)
(10th) Carlton Town vs. Grimsby Borough (11th)
(1st) Cleethorpes Town vs. Pontefract Collieries (16th)
(4th) Dunston vs. Bishop Auckland (12th)
(7th) Garforth Town vs. Heaton Stannington (21st)
(15th) Liversedge vs. Belper Town (2nd)
(6th) Newton Aycliffe vs. Bridlington Town (17th)
(5th) North Ferriby vs. Sheffield (22nd)
(19th) Ossett United vs. Brighouse Town (20th)
(18th) Sherwood Colliery vs. Emley AFC (3rd)