PREVIEW: Newark & Sherwood United (A)
The champions are back! Making the trip to North Nottinghamshire, the Reds take on Newark and Sherwood United FC in their first pre-season fixture of the build-up to commencing life in step 3.
After gaining promotion to the next step in the English football pyramid, Ryan Beswick will look to prepare the squad ready for the challenge that awaits in the new season. Last season saw Quorn FC finish on a whopping 103pts, 18pts ahead of second place Corby Town.
The Reds went 15 games unbeaten in the league last season. The squad will most definitely want to take that form in to this game to kick pre-season off with a boost heading in to a new, high-quality league.
New Faces:
Head Coach Ryan Beswick has been busy over the summer bolstering his squad with some new exciting faces. The new additions to Quorn include Simeon Cobourne, Deen Master, Joe Lyne, Luke Cox and Cieron Keane.
After scoring 25 goals last season for Sporting Khalsa, the latest summer signing, Cobourne will hope to hit the ground running for Beswick’s side and continue his fine goal scoring form.
In addition, exciting winger Deen Master will see this fixture as a great opportunity to showcase his experience picked up after 3 years in step 3, as preparations get underway for the upcoming season.
Joe Lyne will be one that is unphased as he wears the Quorn FC red for the first time. Adding versatility and leadership to the squad, this upcoming fixture against Newark and Sherwood United will provide Joe a great chance to get to know his fellow teammates.
Ex Sheffield Wednesday U21s Defender Luke Cox will also hope to impress in his first pre-season game for the Reds. After attempting to sign Cox in the past, head coach Ryan Beswick will be keen to see what the new talent has to offer.
Finally, Cieron Keane, the first of the 6 summer signings will provide a huge boost to the squad. Spending 5 years in step 2, Saturdays pre-season game gives us the first look at the midfielders quality and experience.
The Opposition:
Saturday’s opposition Newark and Sherwood United FC, looks to be a good chance for the squad to showcase preparations for the new season and bed in some new faces. The Highwaymen finished last season in 13th place with 46 points in the United Counties League, Premier Division North.
The step 5 side will be looking to give Quorn a good task as new manager Tom Ward looks to implement his ideas into his new squad. Ward led Sleaford to both their highest and second highest finish, proving to have what it takes to give Ryan Beswick’s squad a good challenge to kick off pre-season.
NSUFC’s first pre- season game ended as a 1-1 draw against Leicester Nirvana. After making 9 signings since the end of last season, Ward will no doubt be pleased with the start he’s made with a fresh squad. Amongst the new signings is goalkeeper Liam Flitton. The 20-year-old has managed to keep 50 clean sheets across 3 seasons and will be a real test for Quorn’s forwards on Saturday.
Head-to-head:
The two sides have faced each other just four times, with Quorn coming out on top in three of those fixtures and the other being a 1-1 draw. Last time out was in 2023 where the Reds managed to beat the Highwaymen 2-1 away from home
Within the fixture QFC have scored twelve goals across the four fixtures, whilst also only conceding a very respectable four goals.
Tickets:
£3.00 entry on the day, except for Under 16s who can watch free of charge.
Travel:
The match will be played at Phoenix Park, the home of Winthorpe & Coddington Tigers (Stapleford Lane, Coddington, Newark NG24 2QZ). Head through Barrow-upon-Soar and pick up the A46 north at Six Hills. Remain on the A46 around the outskirts of Newark-on-Trent, and exiting onto the A17 after you cross over the A1. At the third island on the A17, take the first exit onto Stapleford Lane. The ground is, almost immediately, on the left hand side.