Hucknall Town face potentially their toughest test of the season so far this Saturday as they
head to Walesby Lane to take on Ollerton Town in a top of the table clash.
Like the Yellows, Ollerton have made a perfect start to the new East Midlands Counties
League campaign. They have won their first four league matches in convincing fashion,
having not conceded a single goal. Last weekend they hammered Teversal 6-0, with Ben
Partridge and Gav King each netting a brace.
Ollerton’s faultless defensive record will be put to the test when Hucknall visit, who have
looked deadly in front of goal in recent weeks. Andy Graves’ men followed up their 7-3 win
over Barrow Town with an excellent performance against Ingles last time out, which helped
them secure a comfortable 5-1 victory.

The opposition

The 2020/21 season signals the first time that Ollerton Town have ever participated in the
East Midlands Counties League, after they were moved laterally from the NCEL Division One earlier this summer. The Nottinghamshire club were formed in 1988 and are currently
managed by Dave Winter.
One player to keep an eye out for on Saturday afternoon is striker Gav King, who returned
to Walesby Lane back in July. King is a real Ollerton fans’ favourite after he scored over 60
goals during his first spell at the club between 2017 and 2019. Unsurprisingly, he is Town’s
top scorer so far this term, having netted nine goals in just four games.

Graves’ pre-match thoughts

Saturday’s clash will see the division’s two highest-placed teams go head-to-head, but as
only a handful of games have been played, Yellows boss Andy Graves does not expect the
match to be season-defining.
He said: “It’s going to be a tough game because like us, they’re unbeaten and they’ve scored a lot of goals. It’s not going to be the be all and end all though, and I don’t think it will define either team’s season to be honest.
“As long as we’re competitive and it’s a fair match I won’t have too many complaints. I’m
certainly not going to worry too much if things don’t go our way.”

Key details

This match will kick-off at 3pm on Saturday October 3. If you are making the trip to Ollerton
to support the team, please ensure that you adhere to social distancing guidelines
throughout the afternoon.

Words by George Wilson