PREVIEW: Anstey Nomads (A)
Where:
Mark’s Electrical Arena, Cropston Road, Anstey, LE7 7BP
When:
Monday 30th of December 2024 (7:45pm KO)
We’re back on the road again as we make the short trip to Anstey on Monday evening. The Boxing Day victory over Shepshed Dynamo means that we have now played everyone at least once, and the Nomads are one of only three teams that we didn’t beat first time around. The 0-0 draw in August is also the only time we haven’t scored in a league game this season.
Quorn’s Form:
The 4-1 win against Shepshed on Boxing Day marked a third straight win, as we’ve bounced back from our worst stretch of results since August, having drawn two of the previous three matches. It was also our first win at home since November the sixth. The Reds have had no such problems on the road though, winning 11 straight in the league and amassing seven clean sheets in doing so. Our last three away games have seen us score 13 without conceding. However, we haven’t won at Cropston Road since the end of the 2022/23 season when Conrad Logan’s stoppage time blunder sent us into the playoffs.
Anstey Nomads’ Form:
Cup runs and bad luck with the weather have once again meant that Anstey have fallen behind in league fixtures, having played just 19 matches so far. The Nomads currently sit in sixth place but have at least three games in hand on every team above them. They’re also the only team above Quorn in the form table, having won five of the previous six matches. The only recent blot on their copybook was a 1-0 defeat away to Sutton Coldfield Town.
Recent results have seen a 1-0 win away to Hinckley LR in a fogbound Boxing Day derby, 2-1 wins at home to Racing Club Warwick and away to Sporting Khalsa, a 2-0 win at home to Rugby Town and a 5-1 thrashing of Lye Town in the West Midlands. Home games prior to that saw a 0-0 draw with Coventry Sphinx, a 2-2 draw with Bedworth United, a 3-1 win against an improving Loughborough Students and an abandoned match with Shepshed, in which Dynamo had equalised to make it 1-1 before a floodlight failure cut the match short with about 70 minutes played.
One to Watch:
With 11 goals in 22 appearances, the emergence of Jacob Fenton as a dominant goal threat has fuelled the Nomads upturn in form. The former Sleaford Town man has scored six in the previous six matches, filling the void left by the injury to Leo Brown.
Last Time:
The two sides met on the August Bank Holiday, playing out a hard-fought 0-0 draw at The Stotto Stadium in front of a bumper crowd of almost 600. Quorn got off to a quick start, with Cain Noble forcing Conrad Logan into a save in the first minute. Ryan Beswick was next to bring a save from the former Leicester City man, as early as the third minute, with his direct free kick. Zak Goodson won possession for himself and drove on goal, but Logan was out quickly to save at the forward’s feet.
Anstey began to get going and created a couple of half chances, their best effort of the first half saw Tom Allsopp tip a header over the bar as the visitors had a succession of corners before the break. Silvio Bello overlapped Goodson on the right and sent a dangerous ball across goal, Paddy Webb had to reach at full length, but couldn’t get a good enough contact to steer his effort on target.
Jack York hit a shot on the turn, that Logan got down to quickly and Mason Frizelle was denied in the last minute of the first half. Whilst Quorn had the better of the first half, the Nomads shaded the second, but couldn’t create much until the final ten minutes. Allsopp touched a late Oscar Tonge effort onto the bar and James Tague will be disappointed that he couldn’t steer a chance on target right at the death. A draw felt like a fair result in an early season heavyweight clash.
Tickets:
Adults £10.00, Concessions £6.00, Under 18s £6.00, Under 16s £1.00
Travel:
Take the A6 south towards Leicester, joining the A46 in the direction of the M1, north of Leicester, follow directions to Anstey. Follow Leicester Road into the centre of the village. At The Nook (the traffic island in the centre of the village) take the third exit on to Cropston Road. Marks Electrical Arena is approximately a third of a mile along the road on the right-hand side. There is limited parking on site, so fans are encouraged to park in village centre car parks or side streets (please be aware that some of these are pay & display).
SUPPORTER INFORMATION: PLEASE NOTE, THOUGH ANSTEY CAN ACCEPT CASH, THEY WOULD PREFER CASHLESS TRANSACTIONS IN ANY FOOD & DRINK OUTLETS.