The Opposition - History
Founded in 1886 as Auckland Town, they were a founding member in 1889 of the Northern League - the second oldest football league in the World.

In 1893 they changed their name to Bishop Auckland and three years later won their first silverware, the Amateur Cup. They won their first Northern League title in 1899 and the same season picked up their second Durham County Challenge Cup.

Two more Amateur Cup titles followed and in 1931 they completed another double. In 1939 they extended it to a treble, Bob Paisley playing at right-back as they won the Northern League, Durham Cup and FA Amateur Cup.

They won the Northern League three years in a row at the start of the 1950s and the Amateur Cup in three successive seasons towards the end of the decade, their true glory days.

The 1960s saw one Northern League title whereas 'only' the League Cup was secured in the 1970s, a comparative lean decade.

The League and County Cup double was secured in both 1985 and 1986 and 1997 saw their highest ever league finish - 2nd in the NPL Premier Division.

Recent years have seen them back in the Northern League, which they won last season to secure promotion back to Step 4.

Manager Leon Carling took over in November 2024.

A journey of around 130 miles awaits the Nailers today.

The Opposition - This Season
The Two Blues won two of their first three matches in August but then went eleven without a victory, a run ended by a good win at North Ferriby.
This result and the draw before it kickstarted a sequence of eleven unbeaten!
The festive period was poor although they only played three matches in December and January's only win came on the 29th at Stocksbridge.
February started well with back to back wins but after that they went seven without one, up until last weekend when they defeated Liversedge.

League (13th): P 36 W 12 D 10 L 14 F 55 A 60 Pts. 46
Cups: P 5 W 1 D 2 L 2 F 5 A 5

Top goalscorers: Louis Johnson (16), Joe Bartliff (8)
Most appearances: Joe Bartliff (37), Jordan Fielding (36), Louis Johnson (35)
Biggest victory: 4-0 vs. Heaton Stannington (30th November)
Heaviest defeat: 1-5 vs. Carlton Town (24th August) and 0-4 vs. Emley (28th September)
Highest home attendance: 738 vs. Newton Aycliffe (26th August)
Average home attendance: 373 (6th/22)
Most consecutive wins: 3
Most games without a win: 11
Most consecutive defeats: 3
Most games without a defeat: 11

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, but they have also struggled to get wins over the line, drawing six out of the last seven matches before today.
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 eight.

Head to Head
The meeting earlier this month was the ninth between the sides and the goalless draw means Belper remain undefeated in the fixture.
The most memorable fixture was that played in September 2003 when a Sean Gummer brace helped secure a 4-2 win at Christchurch Meadow.
Having not met before this month since April 2006, this is a second meeting in four weeks.
Record for Belper: P 9 W 5 D 4 L 0 F 19 A 11 (7 x NPL, 2 x Challenge Cup).

Form Guide (all comps)
Bishop Auckland: LDLDLW
Belper Town: DDWDDD

Team News
New signings Tommaso Zerboni and Brad Munns are available for selection.

Permutations
With Emley six points ahead, the best the Nailers can do is maintain 4th which will happen with a victory.
Anything less leaves the door open to four teams, three of which could go above us with draws or wins (due to North Ferriby and Carlton facing each other) - all of this means Belper could end the day as low as 7th.
For the hosts, they are stuck in 11th, being five points behind Bradford PA but four clear of Consett.

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

Saturday, 29th March 2025 - 3:00pm kick off

VEST Construction Stadium
Stadium Way
Bishop Auckland
DL14 9AE

Admission prices: £10 / £9 / £5.

Tickets available HERE

Parking in the small car park is reserved for those who have pre-paid and match officials only.
Visitors can park in the large car park. Please do not park on the roadside as this will likely result in a ticket.

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 day is at North Ferriby where two of the teams breathing down Belper's neck face each other - Carlton the visitors.
There's a huge relegation crunch match at Sheffield, they play Liversedge with the World's Oldest 10 points +GD from safety with just 18 to play for.
Bridlington Town and Consett sit out this matchday having moved the fixture to earlier in the season.

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