After late heartbreak against rivals Hereford FC in the last game of 2025, the Martyrs enter the new year with a home fixture against King's Lynn Town as Paul Michael's side begin to learn what life will be like without talisman Ricardo Rees following his departure to National League side Forest Green Rovers. King's Lynn finds themselves sitting in a disappointing 16th place and their last fixture saw 'The Linnets' lose 4-2 against Bedford FC away from home.

Previous Encounters:

Merthyr Town and King's Lynn Town are regular opponents with the sides facing off 15 times since 2004. The Martyrs have won just 4 of these clashes, losing 5 and drawing 6. The last time Merthyr locked horns with King's Lynn was during the first month of this season but unfortunately the Martyrs were defeated on the day 4-0 following goals from Gyasi, Hall-Johnson and Crane. The last time the two sides faced at Penydarren Park was in 2017 as King's Lynn defeated the Martyrs 1-0 in a tight encounter.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | KEY STAFF

Head Coach | Ian Culverhouse

Ian Culverhouse was appointed as Head Coach of King's Lynn Town in October 2025 for his third spell as Head Coach of 'The Linnets'. Prior to management, Ian Culverhouse had a successful playing career which started at Tottenham Hotspur. Culverhouse found first team opportunities limited which resulted in him making just 2 league appearances for the club. In October 1985 Ian Culverhouse made the switch to join Norwich City where he spent almost a decade of his playing career. Culverhouse made 369 appearances for the club, and his time there included promotions, European campaigns and successful Premier League campaigns. Then in December 1994 Culverhouse departed Carrow Road and made the move to Swindon Town for a transfer fee of £150,000. Ian Culverhouse played 97 times for Swindon prior to his release from the club in 1998. After his time at Swindon was cut short, he had brief spells at Kingstonian and Brighton & Hove Albion where he made a further 37 first team appearances. During his time at Brighton, Culverhouse began his coaching career as he coached the youth team. After a spell coaching the Brighton youth team, he also spent time coaching the youth teams at Barnet, Leyton Orient and Wycombe Wanderers. Culverhouse took the step into first team coaching as he was named Colchester United's assistant manager under Paul Lambert. Then in August 2009, Culverhouse and Paul Lambert resigned from their roles at Colchester as they took up coaching positions at Norwich City. After a spell at Norwich, Culverhouse once again partnered up with Paul Lambert as the duo joined Aston Villa in 2012. Just two years later Ian Culverhouse was dismissed in May 2014 following an internal investigation into off-field allegations. Culverhouse was then offered another management role just 3 years later as he was appointed manager of Southern League Premier Division club King's Lynn Town. He led the club to a second-place finish but after a play-off final loss Ian Culverhouse left and joined Grantham Town in May 2018. However, Culverhouse resigned from his role at Grantham, and he returned to King's Lynn. Culverhouse helped guide 'The Linnets' from the bottom half of the table to promotion as they won the playoffs to earn themselves a National League North spot for the 2019/20 season. Despite being favourites for relegation in the 2019/20 season, Culverhouse and his side defied the odds and found themselves involved in a promotion battle with York City. In March, the season was cut short due to COVID-19 outbreak and King's Lynn were sat in 2nd place just two points off top. The FA and the National League came to the decision to settle the league on a points-per-game calculation which was enough for King's Lynn to be crowned champions with Culverhouse leading 'The Linnets' to a second successive promotion. Come January 2022 Culverhouse had left King's Lynn, and he made the move to become manager of Kettering Town in the National League North, but he left the club in May 2022. His next move was in September 2022 as he was appointed manager of Boston United but despite leading the club through the playoffs Culverhouse was sacked in October 2024. Just one month later he was appointed as manager of National League South side St Albans City which ended in disappointment as they were relegated to the Isthmian Premier Division. Then in October 2025, Culverhouse returned for a third spell at King's Lynn as he was appointed as manager.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | SEASON SO FAR

Since the reverse fixture King's Lynn have had a relatively disappointing season which sees them sit in 16th place. After defeating the Martyrs, 'The Linnets' went on a 9-game winless run which saw results like a 3-2 loss at home to Scarborough Athletic and a 3-0 away loss against Curzon Ashton. Ian Culverhouse managed to rally the players to get their first victory in 9 games as they defeated relegation-battling Leamington 2-0 following goals from Gold Omotayo and Morgan Williams. 'The Linnets' then used the positive momentum of the result to put themselves on a 4 undefeated run which saw them pick up 3 important victories and 1 draw. Despite this, 'The Linnets' went the whole of December without picking up a single victory leaving them low on confidence ahead of the fixture at Penydarren Park. The last fixture prior to the Merthyr clash saw King's Lynn Town lose 4-2 away from home at Bedford Town. The top goal scorer for King's Lynn Town so far this season is Ross Crane who has bagged himself 6 goals from midfield.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | 2025/26 SQUAD

Goalkeepers | Paul Jones, Tyler Key, Louis Chadwick

Defenders | Reece Hall-Johnson, Bailey Clements, Tom Wilson, Archie Crowther, Tom Dickens, Rhys Doherty, Tai Fleming

Midfielders | Michael Clunan, Sam Collins, Jack Lambert, Cameron Forde-Brown, Emmanuel Maja, Morgan Williams

Attackers | Gold Omotayo, Joseph Nyahwema, Adam Marriott, Fletcher Toll, Ross Crane, Theo Willaims

Match Details:

Date | Saturday 3rd January 2026

Competition | Enterprise National League North

Time | 15:00

Stadium | Penydarren Park