The Saturday after Christmas, and only halfway through the season, but the Euro Soccer Nottinghamshire Senior League Premier Division sees a big clash at the top of the table, as leaders FCV Grace Dieu, welcome unbeaten second place side, Cotgrave Seniors.
Runners-up last season, and promoted from Division One (two points behind champions FC Cavaliers), and twelve ahead of third place Stapleford Town Reserves, Leicestershire outfit, Grace Dieu, finished the season with an eleven-game unbeaten run in the league, Harrison Holland and Hassan Farouq finishing in double figures, scoring-wise.
Now, speaking to Head Coach Shane Clarke, and assistant George Zuerner, have overseen the transition in the Premier Division, to table-toppers and began the campaign with a five-match unbeaten run, ahead of the big game.
“We started in the league last season, in Division One, playing at the University ground,” began Clarke, who’s footballing experience includes spells at the like of Lincoln City, Boston, Gainsborough, and briefly in the north-east for Gateshead, then under Ian Bogie.
“Last time around we finished runners-up to FC Cavaliers, whom we had some good battles with, but we’re a young team that has a mix of college and degree-level individuals playing, in a set-up that looks to bridge the gap between amateur, and professional football.”
As a full-time coach at FCV, Clarke put in place a programme, a pathway, for individuals aged between 19-and-23-years-old, for a longer, and educational journey.
It’s a pathway that, as well as being a two-way street, provides development for young athletes to progress in the game, whilst also continuing their education, although it also throws up challenges throughout the season as well.
“The turnover can be high, as students are only here a couple of years really,” continued Clarke, who recently had his fiftieth game in charge of Grace Dieu.
“It can be a struggle during the holiday periods as players go back home to their families during this time.”
Now though, and having battled to promotion last season, Clarke’s charges are flying high in the NSL Premier Division this campaign, winning fifteen and drawing one of their seventeen matches to date.
However, they have played two more than their next opponents, Cotgrave, and the upcoming, top-of-the-table clash.
“We’re probably above expectations this season, especially considering the squad rotations as well,” admitted Clarke, ahead of the big game.
“But I’m also proud that we’re challenging as I didn’t know what to expect this season.
“We’ll continue taking each game as they come though, especially as we’ve only faced couple of sides we did last season.
“So, I guess we’ll know what the challenges are, once we’ve faced everyone once.”
With a recent exit from the Leicestershire & Rutland CFA County Cup still hurting, and an upcoming, Notts Senior League Senior Cup quarter-final at home to Borrowash Victoria in the New Year, they are a side that has some sixteen players having netted thus far, Jerrell Sellars top-scoring with half-a-dozen.
“I’m disappointed in the manner we exited the County Cup (3-2 at Birstall United),” continued Clarke.
“But the lads here, they know that we’d like to come away from this season with some kind of silverware, as I’m sure Cotgrave will also.
“However, we also don’t know what kind of team they’ll put out and, looking back at the earlier game this season (the pair drew 1-1 back in August), we know there’ll have been changes.
“I do suspect though that they’ll want to win this game more than us, but the season, it won’t be defined by the outcome either, so we’ll just hope for a good game, a good spectacle, in front of what we hope will be a really good crowd.”
Keep up-to-date with all the goings-on at FCV Grace Dieu via their X here and online via the International Football Academy website here.
*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).
*Main image @FCVGraceDieu there’s been plenty of celebrations for FCV in recent seasons.
