Following on from an unfortunate 2-1 defeat against Macclesfield last time out, the Martyrs return to action in a midweek clash away at Marine. Marine, also known as the 'Mariners', currently find themselves sitting in 12th position in the Enterprise National League North table, and their last fixture saw Marine pick up a vital three points in their fight to stay in the playoff race as they defeated Darlington 3-2 away from home.

Previous encounters:

The Martyrs have clashed with the Mariners on one occasion in recent history. That encounter took place on matchday 3 of this Enterprise National League North season at Penydarren Park. It was a disappointing result for Merthyr as Marine claimed the three points in South Wales in a 3-1 win for the away side. Brandon Smalley opened the scoring on the night for Merthyr in the 41st minute, but the Martyrs couldn't hold on to the lead heading into the interval as Josh Wardle equalised in the third minute of injury time in the first half. Marine then took the lead early into the second half as Finlay Sinclair-Smith fired home for the Mariners in the 51st minute before Lewis Bell secured the victory in the 73rd minute, making it 3-1 for the away side.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | KEY STAFF

Manager | Bobby Grant

Bobby Grant was appointed manager of Marine during the summer of 2025, heading into the 25/26 season. Prior to management, Grant had a relatively successful playing career, earning a vast amount of Football League experience playing for the likes of Blackpool, Accrington Stanley, Fleetwood Town and Rochdale. As an attack-minded player, Grant made over 500 appearances during his senior career, where he scored more than a century of goals. Grant had a spell at Marine during his playing career in 2024. However, a knee injury during pre-season kept him out of action for the Mariners until February, but his return to the pitch was enough to help Marine stay in the National League North with a 15th-place finish. Before becoming the Marine manager in 2025, Grant earned some managerial experience between 2021 and 2023 in the role of player-manager for Radcliffe.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | SEASON SO FAR

Since defeating Merthyr at Penydarren Park in the 3rd game of the season, Marine have had a somewhat positive campaign, which sees them still having a slight chance of making the playoffs with the Mariners still having 4 games to play. Since Bobby Grant's side made the journey to South Wales, they have managed to pick up 16 victories, with their most notable wins coming in the form of a 5-0 win against Leamington, a 3-0 win over Radcliffe and a 2-0 win against Kidderminster. Marine's successful season has also seen them come just 90 minutes away from earning themselves a trip to Wembley for the FA Trophy final, but Bobby Grant's side were narrowly defeated 1-0 by National League side Wealdstone in the semi-final. In the five league games before hosting Merthyr, Marine have won just 2 games against Chorley and, most recently, Darlington, with the other 3 games resulting in defeats for the Mariners against Fylde, Southport and Hereford. The top goal scorer for Marine so far this league season is Finlay Sinclair-Smith who has found the back of the net 11 times so far.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | 2025/26 SQUAD

Goalkeepers | Jack McIntyre, Fraser Barnsley

Defenders | Declan Drysdale, James Butler, Adam Anson, Jack Tierney, Josh Wardle, James Brown

Midfielders | Marley Leuluai, Harry Huby, Leigh Whelan, Harvey Gregson, Matthew McDonald, Sam Fielding, Jed Abbey, Jack Hazlehurst

Attackers | Ashley Hunter, Finlay Sinclair-Smith, Adam Thomas, Lewis Bell, George Newell, Offrande Zanzala, Charlie Jolley, James Potter

Match Details:

Date | Tuesday 14th April 2026

Competition | Enterprise National League North

Time | 19:45

Stadium | The Marine Travel Arena