How do you follow up a win away from home against the league leaders? It’s a tough question to answer, but one of the few feelings that could come close to equalling the euphoria felt after last Saturday’s win at Nuneaton would be another victory at near neighbours Godmanchester Rovers.
For some, there is a score to be settled with Goddy after they took a win at Bridge Road in our final game of the 2024/25 season. But while that match had little riding on it other than local pride, Tuesday night’s fixture is altogether different. Godmanchester Rovers are now a very different side to the one we defeated 1-5 in the corresponding fixture last season. Some astute signings have transformed them from a side that finished bottom of the table last season into a mid-table outfit that can beat anyone on their day. The Huntingdonshire outfit got to go again in the UCL Premier South thanks to a post-season reprieve last spring but have now added the former March Town United duo of Craig Gillies and Ben Seymour-Shove to their ranks and, more recently, former Histon marksman Matt Hayden. They have also retained the services of former Stute Dan Brown for another season, so there is no doubt that they will offer a considerable threat to our run of two consecutive clean sheets.
But for all that the new-look Rovers have to offer, we could hardly be going into Tuesday’s derby game in a better state of mind. Our run of eight wins in nine league games has lifted us up to third in the current league standings, three points behind the leaders Nuneaton Town who we beat 0-1 on Saturday. We have to go back a long way to find a time when we were on a better run than the one we are currently enjoying, and the boys are in no mood to see it end any time soon.
On Sunday, 17-year-old Theo Goddard was with the England Schools setup as they assess his suitability for inclusion in their plans. But along with other current Under 18s players Deacon Pattison and Luke Kenny who featured in our win at Nuneaton, Theo will be looking to play his part in the Histon team on Tuesday evening, subject to any after-school detentions delaying his arrival.
Luke Crisp is likely to be back in the squad after serving a one-game suspension last Saturday for an accumulation of yellow cards. Tuesday’s game could also be the night when Danny Gould makes his 250th appearance for the Stutes First team. After graduating from the Histon youth setup in 2016 and enduring some serious injuries along the way, Zuko has been a firm favourite of the Histon FC faithful and all will wish to see him continue wearing a Histon shirt for a good while yet.
Goddy can be forgiven for fearing the visit of Histon sides to their Bearscroft Lane venue as we have won on all five of our previous visits, the latest two occasions by the identical scorelines of 5-1. In all, we have met Godmanchester Rovers in league competition on ten previous occasions, winning eight times and losing twice.
The postcode for your SatNav is PE29 2LQ and the travelling distance from Bridge Road is a mere 15 miles. Admission is £7 for adults, O.A.P.s are £5, and under 16s £2. Kick-off is at 7.45pm.
Should a pitch inspection be needed, we will bring you the latest updates from the Peter Hodson Community Ground on this website.
On Saturday, we visit Coventry United for a UCL fixture but please note that this game is being played at the home of Coventry Sphinx rather than the Butts Park Arena. Further details will follow after Tuesday’s game against Godmanchester Rovers.
