The Opposition - Key Facts
Full name: Anstey Nomads Football Club
Nickname: The Nomads
Founded: 1946
Ground: Cropston Road
Capacity: 1,000
Chairman: Tony Blanchard
Manager: Tony Blanchard
Last season: 3rd/21 (NPL Midlands)
Journey distance: 36 miles

The Opposition - History

The club was established in March 1946 by a merger of Anstey Methodists and St Mary's under the name Anstey Meths and Mary's. They joined the Central Division of the Leicestershire Senior League, Anstey Methodists having been members of the league prior to World War II. The new club were Central Division runners-up in their first season. In January 1947 the club was renamed Anstey Nomads,[2] and when the league was reorganised in 1948, they were placed in Division One.

In 1951–52 Anstey won Division One, a feat they repeated in 1953–54. In 1955 the club also started playing in Division One of the Central Alliance, and left the Leicestershire Senior League at the end of the 1955–56 season. For 1956–57 the club were placed in Division One South of the Central Alliance, where they remained until being transferred to Division One North in 1958. A year later they were moved back to Division One South. The club finished bottom of the division in 1960–61, but with several clubs leaving the league, they were placed in the new Premier Division. In 1967 the club switched to the Premier Division of the East Midlands Regional League.

In 1973 Anstey rejoined the Leicestershire Senior League and were placed in Division Two. They won the division at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One. After finishing as runners-up for three successive seasons from 1979 to 1981, the club won back-to-back titles in 1981–82 and 1982–83. They were runners-up again in the renamed Premier Division in 1985–86 and 1990–91, with their next title coming in 2008–09, resulting in promotion to the East Midlands Counties League. At the end of the 2017–18 season, the club were transferred to Division One of the United Counties League.

Anstey's first season in the United Counties League saw them finish as runners-up in Division One, earning promotion to the Premier Division. When the league's top division was split in two in 2021, the club were placed in the Premier Division North. In 2022–23 they were Premier Division North champions, resulting in promotion to Division One Midlands of the Northern Premier League, as well as winning the League Cup with a 3–0 win over Deeping Rangers in the final. The following season saw them finish as runners-up in Division One Midlands, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Quorn 3–1 in the semi-finals, they lost the final 2–0 to Harborough Town. A third-place finish in the division in 2024–25 was followed by a play-off semi-final loss to Worcester City.

The Opposition - This Season
The Nomads won their season opener at Lichfield City but lost their next three including elimination from the FA Cup.
After this came a great run of form - a run of eight unbeaten, ended last Tuesday by Mickleover.
They come in to the match today off the back of a 1-0 win over Shepshed Dynamo at the weekend.
Anstey are top of the 'home matches' table with 13 points from six matches played at Cropston Road.

League (9th/22): P 10 W 5 D 2 L 3 F 13 A 8 Pts. 17
Cups: P 4 W 3 D 0 L 1 F 11 A 5

Top goalscorers: Data unavailable
Biggest victory: 4-0 vs. Shepshed Dynamo (6th September)
Heaviest defeat: 1-4 vs. Sherwood Colliery (16th August)
Highest home attendance: 628 vs. Corby Town (27th September)
Average home attendance: 397 (4th/22)
Most consecutive wins: 3
Most games without a win: 3
Most consecutive defeats: 3
Most games without a defeat: 8

The Nailers
After an indifferent pre-season, Belper started well in the NPL with three victories in their first four matches but this early spell also saw an exit from the FA Cup at the first hurdle.
A good point was secured on Bank Holiday Monday at Basford and it was another draw against Rugby Town back at the Raygar.
The Nailers battled past Newcastle Town in the FA Trophy before defeating Bedworth United.
Rugby Town ended the FA Trophy run at the Second Qualifying Round stage but it was back to winning ways against Wellingborough Town and Coventry Sphinx.
Last Tuesday saw a first league defeat of the season as Carlton Town won at Belper and on Saturday it became back to back defeats as Coleshill won 2-0.
Six players have appeared in every match so far.
Kevin Bastos leads the goalscoring charts with six, while Jacob Fenton and Ben Rhodes have three each. Jonathan Wafula has two to his name and a further six players have one goal apiece.

Head to Head
The two sides have met on four occasions, all Central Alliance League fixtures in the 1950s and Belper are unbeaten in the fixture.
The first was a 1-1 draw in Anstey before Belper won the return fixture 4-1.
Three seasons later the spoils were once again shared in Leicestershire however the Nailers recorded an incredible 9-0 win at Christchurch Meadow, Albert Litchfield with a hat trick.

Overall, from a Belper perspective the record reads: P 4 W 2 D 2 L 0 F 17 A 5.

The return fixture from today is scheduled for Saturday, 14th February 2026.

Form Guide (all competitive matches)
Anstey Nomads: DWWLW
Belper Town: LWWLL

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

Permutations
With Coventry Sphinx not in action, a win for Belper would return them to the summit.
Anything less than victory would open the door for Carlton Town to move above us while Basford United could also go level on points.
Anstey could move as high as 3rd with a win and as with Belper there are teams waiting to pounce if they drop points.

Match details
Anstey Nomads vs. Belper Town
Pitching In Northern Premier League Midlands Division

Tuesday, 14th October 2025 - 7:45pm kick off

Marks Electrical Arena
Cropston Road
Anstey
LE7 7BP

Admission prices: Adults £10, Concessions £6, Under 18 £3

Follow the match
Full coverage of the match:

• Audio commentary with Tom on Radio Belper Town
• Full text coverage on X and Facebook
• Match reports on the website (all matches) and in the Non-League Paper (Saturday matches only)

NPL Midlands fixtures
(17th) AFC Rushden & Diamonds vs. Bourne Town (21st)
(9th) Anstey Nomads vs. Belper Town (2nd)
(7th) Basford United vs. Mickleover FC (14th)
(4th) Carlton Town vs. Shepshed Dynamo (10th)
(16th) Long Eaton United vs. Boldmere St. Michaels (18th)
(20th) Sutton Coldfield Town vs. Rugby Town (19th)