Worksop Town (H) Preview

It's matchday 8 of the Enterprise National League North and Merthyr Town host Worksop Town in what is set to be an intriguing clash at Penydarren Park.

The Martyrs come into the game off the back of a wonderful away victory against Macclesfield where Tom Handley was the hattrick hero from the bench with a well taken finish inside the penalty box alongside converting two excellent free kicks to seal the deal for the Paul Micheal's men and push Merthyr up into the playoff places.

The visitors find themselves sitting in 8th place prior to the clash with The Martyrs. The Tigers hosted Spennymoor Town in their last game, where an entertaining game saw Peter Whitehead's side draw 3-3 in front of over 700 supporters at Sandy Lane.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT-KEY STAFF

Chairman-Peter Whitehead

Manager-Craig Parry

Assistant Manager-Luke Jeffs

Peter Whitehead took over Worksop in 2020 when the club found themselves in financial trouble and needed someone to save the club from liquidation. Since his arrival to the club, they have changed massively with improvements to the pitch, clubhouse, changing rooms and stands which has aided Worksop to rise back to the seventh tier of English football. However, Whitehead confirmed that he will be standing down from his roles as chairman and director of the club at some point before the end of the 2025-2026 season.

Manger, Craig Parry was a goalkeeper for multiple clubs including the likes of Barnsley and Halifax Town. His first managerial role was as the first team manager at Pontefract Colliries where he guided them to back-to-back promotions to the NPL South East (step 4) and was agonizingly close to a third promotion but lost in a playoff final to Brighouse Town. Parry took the helm at the Tigers in May 2020. He guided them to a record-breaking season by winning the NPL East for the Tigers. A season later in the NPL Premier Division, Craig Parry's side achieved a playoff finish but lost to Macclesfield in the semi-final. In the following season Parry completed the double with Worksop by gaining promotion to the National League North through the playoffs and winning the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup.

Luke Jeffs was a defender during his playing career playing for Frickley Athletic, Goole, AFC Mansfield and Pontefract Collieries under Craig Parry. Jeffs later became a player coach for Pontefract Collieries. Jeffs started as head coach but now is Craig Parry's assistant at Worksop Town following the departure of Craig Rouse.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT-SEASON SO FAR

Worksop initially had a disappointing start to the season, picking up only one point in the opening 3 games with defeats against Macclesfield, Radcliffe and a 1-1 draw against Kidderminster Harriers. The Tigers have bounced back from this by finding themselves on a 4-game unbeaten run after claiming three victorys in a row against Southport, Peterborough Sports and Chester while drawing 3-3 with Spennymoor Town in their last fixture. This promising run of form now sees them sit just outside the playoff places in 8th position. The top goal scorer for the Tigers is striker Aaron Martin who has bagged himself five goals so far this season including two in his last game, and he will be looking to continue his scoring form into the clash with the Martyrs.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT-2025/2026 SQUAD

GK-Tommy Taylor

Defender- Bailey Gooda, Deegan Atherton, Dylan Cogill, Hamza Bencherif, Josh Wilde, Luke Waterfall, Mason O'Malley, Regan Hutchinson

Midfielders- Aleksandrs Starcenko, Joe Leesley, Martin Woods, Oluwatobi Joseph, Vaughan Redford

Attackers- Aaron Martin, Ben Tomlinson, Jordan Burrow, Liam Hughes, Chae Whitman-Brown, Dan Bramall, Jay Rollins, Lewis Whitham, Tobi Joseph

Match Details

Date | Saturday 6th September 2025

Competition | Enterprise National League North

Kick Off | 15:00

Stadium | Penydarren Park

Written by Bailey Lewis.