The Opposition - History
Stocksbridge Park Steels are a relatively new club in comparison to others in the League, having been formed as recently as 1986 following a merger between Stocksbridge Works and Oxley Park Sports.
The new club was granted entry to the NCEL Division Two but this was disbanded five years later and re-organised, with the Steels moving to Division One.
New manager Mick Horne led them to the title at the first time of asking in 1992 and after a tough season first time out in the Premier Division they won the title the following season.
Unfortunately Bracken Moor did not meet the requirements for promotion to the NPL and so they had to remain in the NCEL.
A couple of seasons later in 1996 they finished second on goal difference and were at this time admitted to the NPL - they have remained there since.
After a few seasons of consolidation they reached the Premier Division in 2009, defeating the Nailers in the Playoff Final.
They spent five seasons at Step 3 before being relegated in 2014, ironically being replaced by Belper who won the Division One South Playoffs that season.
They have played at Step 4 for the last decade, finishing in the top six on three occasions including in 5th the season before last which earned them a Playoff place. They were defeated by Stockton Town in the semi-finals.

Manager Ian Richards took over in September 2021. A former Nailer as well as player at Stocksbridge, he previously managed Penistone Church.

A journey of around 50 miles awaits the Nailers today.

The Opposition - This Season
Steels had a great start to the season, winning through two FA Cup ties and losing only one of their first eight NPL matches.
September was an undefeated month and October saw only two defeats in eight.
The good form continued until late January when four successive defeats curtailed their progress and they failed to score during this run.
They soon bounced back with a fantastic run of seven wins in a row before losing at home to Carlton and they then exited the Sheffield & Hallam Cup to Hallam in front of over 1,200 fans at Sandygate.
Since their defeat at the Raygar Stadium on 5th April they have won their last four and have kept three successive clean sheets.

League (3rd): P 42 W 23 D 9 L 10 F 64 A 37 Pts. 78
Cups: P 11 W 7 D 2 L 2 F 33 A 14

Top goalscorers: Alexander Hardwick (10), Tommy Marshall (10), James Morris (9)
Most appearances: Elliot Owen (53), Alex O'Connor (51), Kurtis Turner (50)
Biggest victory: 6-0 vs. Kiveton Miners Welfare (24th September) and Denaby Main (16th October)
Heaviest defeat: 0-3 vs. Bradford (Park Avenue) (9th October and again 1st February), Emley (4th February) and Belper Town (5th April)
Highest home attendance: 423 vs. Emley (21st April)
Average home attendance: 214 (20th/22)
Most consecutive wins: 7
Most games without a win: 6
Most consecutive defeats: 4
Most games without a defeat: 9

The Nailers
Belper started the season well, with three successive victories before defeat at Emley. They bounced back from this with another good mini run before bowing out of the FA Cup at Bromsgrove Sporting.
Late September in to October saw five wins in a row but this run came to a halt with back to back home reversals against Brighouse Town and Newton Aycliffe.
After this it was six unbeaten but the poorest performance of the season at that stage saw Stocksbridge run out easy winners at Bracken Moor.
This once again sparked some form in the Nailers who went seven without defeat before once again successive home defeats ended things, this time against North Ferriby and Ossett United.
Further setbacks against Dunston and Carlton meant it was four defeats in a row at the Raygar Stadium but recent weeks have seen Belper become difficult to beat, although they had struggled to get wins over the line, drawing seven out of eight before recent home wins (and clean sheets) against Stocksbridge and Emley.
They were defeated at Cleethorpes last weekend before bouncing back with a home win on Bank Holiday Monday.
Victory at Bridlington on Saturday secured a spot in the Playoffs.
Harry Draper remains well clear as leading goalscorer with 24 while Luke Rawson hit 10 before his move back to Stocksbridge and Curtis Burrows has nine.

Head to Head
Stocksbridge are one of our most faced opponents in recent years.
The teams have met 46 times, with Stocksbridge leading things 22-16 (despite Belper winning the first three) and eight draws.
Memorable matches include the Presidents Cup Final in 1990/91, a two-legged tie marking the first meetings and Belper emerged victorious 8-1 on aggregate.
In 2002, Belper were 0-3 down and missed a penalty before coming back to win 4-3 at Christchurch Meadow.
A couple of years later Stocksbridge reversed the scoreline at the same ground, Belper being reduced to ten players and Bullimore scoring a hattrick of penalties for The Steels.
The fixture at Bracken Moor last season finished 1-1. Luke Rawson gave the Steels the lead after 65 minutes despite them having been reduced to ten men a few minutes earlier. Rev James salvaged a point for the Nailers with two minutes remaining.
Back at the Raygar Stadium it was a goalless draw.
This season the fixture is 3-3 on aggregate, with both sides recording 3-0 wins at their own ground.
Belper's record in the fixture reads P 46 W 16 D 8 L 22 F 55 A 58.

Form Guide (all comps)
Stocksbridge Park Steels: WLWWWW
Belper Town: DWWLWW

Team News
Full team news will be announced around 7:00pm.

Permutations
It's a nice simple one - the winner will qualify for the Playoff Final this coming Saturday at 3:00pm.
Their opponents will be the winner of the Dunston vs. Emley tie, with home advantage for who finished higher in the league.

Match details
Stocksbridge Park Steels vs. Belper Town
Northern Premier League Division One East Playoff Semi-Final
Tuesday, 29th April 2025 - 7:45pm kick off

Bracken Moor Lane
Stocksbridge
Sheffield
S36 2AN

Admission prices: Adults £9 / Concessions £6 / Under 18s £3

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
Dunston vs. Emley
Stocksbridge Park Steels vs. Belper Town