MATCH PREVIEW: Bilston Town (A), Wed 6th November, 19:45

Date: Wednesday 6th November 2024
Time: 7:45pm
Opponent: Bilston Town FC
Venue: Queen Street, Bilston, West Midlands, WV14 7EX
Admission Prices: £7 Adults, £5 Concessions, Under 16s free

Nuneaton Town make the trip to Bilston Town on Wednesday night in a crucial top of the table clash, as they look to bounce back from their surprise defeat at Ingles at the weekend.

November sees the blue and whites play the current top 2 on 3 occasions in just four matches, with trips to Coton Green and the return fixture against Bilston to come.

Known as the Steelmen, Bilston are one of the oldest clubs in Nuneaton's division having been formed in 1894, as a merger between Bilston Rovers and Bilston Wanderers, initially being known as Bilston United. They have been at their Queen Street ground since 1919, with the exception of 2007-2009 as vandalism made the ground unsafe.

Bilston met Nuneaton Borough a few times in the 1980s and 1990s in the Southern League Midland Division, so some fans will remember trips to Bilston fondly. Bilston Town and Nuneaton Borough last met on Saturday 13th January 2001, in a 3-2 FA Trophy defeat at Queen Street, and in the league on 24th February 1996, also at Queen Street, Rob Straw with both goals in a 2-0 win in front of 489, as Boro ended up winning the division at the end of the season.

Bilston Town sit top of the Midland League with 14 wins, 2 draws and 2 wins from 18 games, with Nuneaton Town sitting 3rd with 12 wins, 5 draws and 2 defeats from 19 games, so a win would be very useful to Nuneaton in closing the gap should they achieve it.

Directions from Nuneaton town centre:

Take the A444 south and then the M6 north to Junction 10. Turn left on to the A454 and follow for around 3 miles. At the third roundabout take the first exit onto Hare Street (the orange fencing of the ground will be visible at the roundabout). Turn left at the next roundabout onto Vulcan Road, and then the first left onto Lunt Road. The ground will be on the left as the road joins Queen Street.

Public transport:

Take the 17:45 train to Birmingham New Street arriving at 18:15. Outside New Street there is a tram leaving at 18:23 going in the direction of Wolverhampton that stops at Bilston Central at 18:57. The ground is a 10 minute walk from the station following the direction of the dual carriageway.

Returning however is a bit more difficult as you'll need to catch the 21:41 tram from Bilston to make the final train to Nuneaton from Birmingham New Street at 22:22, arriving at 22:50.