Its matchday 21 in the Enterprise National League North for Paul Michael's side and the Martyrs make the 436-mile round trip away to league leaders AFC Fylde who will be looking to extend their advantage at the top of the league. Last time out Merthyr Town travelled away to Buxton FC and came away with a hard-fought 3 points following goals from Cole Jarvis and Lewys Twamley. Hosts, AFC Fylde won 3-1 away from home at Curzon Ashton which took Fylde to top spot after a brace from forward Luca Thomas and an own goal from Curzon Ashton forward Joe Rodwell-Grant.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | KEY STAFF

Head Coach | Craig Mahon

Assistant Head Coach | Alex Kenyon

Craig Mahon was appointed as Head Coach of AFC Fylde in June 2025 after departing fellow National League North side Curzon Ashton. Prior to management Craig Mahon had a successful playing career which started at Wigan Athletic in 2006. Mahon started his time at Wigan in the youth ranks in 2006 before earning himself a one-year professional contract at the club in June 2008. In the 2008/09 season Craig Mahon signed for Accrington Stanley on loan where he made his debut in a League 2 match in November 2008. However, Mahon only went on to play 2 games for Accrington Stanley. In the summer of 2009, he was released by Wigan and went on to sign for Salford City where he made 15 appearances scoring 5 goals for the side. Also, in 2010 Mahon left Salford City to sign for Burscough where he played a further 19 games scoring 9 goals. Craig Mahon made yet another move in 2010, after trials at Football League clubs Bury and Rochdale, Craig Mahon singed for Conference North side Vauxhall Motors in September 2010. Mahon spent 3 years of his career at Vauxhall Motors, and he went on to play 117 times while only scoring 7 goals from the club. Following the conclusion of his 3-year spell at Vauxhall Motors between 2010 and 2013, Mahon made the move to Conference Premier (National League) side Chester FC. Mahon's first season at Chester included time on loan at the Northern Premier League Side AFC Fylde where he went on to make 6 appearances. Craig Mahon stayed at Chester until 2020, and he made 215 appearances while scoring 16 key goals. During his seven-year spell at Chester, he had another loan transfer where he signed for Ashton United in 2019 making just 4 appearances during his loan. In 2020 Mahon finally said goodbye to Chester and made the move to Altrincham. His time at Altrincham was a short one as he played just 8 games and departed the club in 2020 for a switch to Curzon Ashton which was a much more successful spell. Mahon spent 5 years at Curzon Ashton between 2020 and 2025 where he went on to make 170 appearances while also stepping in as interim manager in 2021. He also went on to become a part of the management team of Curzon Ashton permanently in 2023 following his second spell as interim manager as he was offered a deal until June 2025. Then following the conclusion of his contract at Curzon Ashton, Mahon made the move to become Head Coach at AFC Fylde for the 2025/26 season.

Assistant Head Coach Alex Kenyon arrived at Fylde in June 2025 with the task of assisting Craig Mahon. Kenyon arrived with a wealth of Football League experience as he made over 500 appearances during his playing days. Kenyon achieved his UEFA A licence and has gained coaching experience with Macclesfield's international group as well as working with Craig Mahon at Curzon Ashton before reuniting with Mahon at AFC Fylde.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | SEASON SO FAR

Following relegation from the National League last season, Fylde entered the 2025/26 season with hopes of gaining instant promotion back to the National League division. Their opening game of the campaign came at home against Oxford City where a strong second half performance saw Fylde come from 2-0 down to winning 3-2 with thanks to goal scorers Danny Mayor and Jonathan Ustabasi who scored a brace on the day. Their next hurdle was to travel to Scarborough Athletic for their first away game of the season which they ultimately took a narrow 2-1 loss. However, Craig Mahon's side bounced back from this defeat brilliantly as they then went on an 8-game unbeaten run which saw them win 6 games against the likes of Kidderminster Harriers, Bedford Town and a resounding away 5-0 win against Peterborough Sports. With a slight blip in form as they lost 3-2 to Worksop, Fylde continued their red-hot form as they responded by winning their next 4 games, scoring 10 and conceding just 2. With the battle for top spot heating up AFC Fylde hosted then-league leaders South Shields at home midweek and despite scoring 2 goals, unfortunately were defeated 4-2 on the night. On the 4 games since this defeat and prior to hosting Merthyr, AFC Fylde have won 3 games against Alfreton, Macclesfield and most recently Curzon Ashton while their only defeat came at home against Buxton FC where they lost 2-1. A massive influence on AFC Fylde's successful season so far is attacker Luca Thomas who has bagged 13 goals so far this season putting himself top of the goalscoring list for Fylde in the league campaign.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | 2025/26 SEASON SQUAD

Goalkeepers | Zac Jones, Pat Boyes

Defenders | Kieran Coates, Lincoln McFayden, Max Taylor, Alex Healy-Byrne, Liam Brockbank, Corey Whelan, Cullen Meadowcroft, Jesse Hailwood

Midfielders | Ethan Mitchell, Chris Merrie, George Wilson, Danny Mayor, Taelor O'Kane, Tom Whelan, Jack Morris, Faris Mo

Attackers | Luca Thomas, Charlie Jolley, Jonathan Ustabasi, Luke Hunter, Ryan Colclough, Danny Ormerod

Match Details:

Date | Saturday 6th November 2025

Competition | Enterprise National League North

Time | 15:00

Stadium | Mill Farm Stadium