Second place in the National League South visit second place in the Southern League Premier South in a third round tie at Meadow Park.

An unexpected change in schedule has provided Adam Hinshelwood’s side a clear week on the training field ahead of their third round tie, with Tuesday night’s league match away to Weston-super-Mare being postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

With a spot in the final 32 of the competition up for contention, the Reds have the perfect incentive to maintain their perfect start to December. The significance of our 2-1 victory away to Ebbsfleet United cannot be understated, with the Reds climbing into second position and registering their 12th win in just 13 matches.

Gloucester City will be determined to knock higher-league opposition out of the competition and take one step closer to reaching the final at Wembley Stadium. They have already eliminated sixth tier in the Trophy this season, edging out Slough Town on penalties in the last round after prevailing in the first round over Havant & Waterlooville.

Tomorrow’s visitors breezed into this stage courtesy of a 4-0 hammering over fellow National League South side Tonbridge Angels last month.

THE OPPOSITION

Gloucester have emerged as the closest challengers to Southern League Premier South leaders Walton & Hersham at the exact midpoint of the season.

They currently sit eight points off top spot and have only fallen to one defeat at Meadow Park this season. Inconsistency has creeped in with only one win in their last three matches, with Farnham Towmn snatching their invincibility at home away from them a fortnight ago.

Prior to the last two seasons, Gloucester were an established National League North outfit, competing in the sixth tier for over a decade.

They were five points clear at the top of the table in the 2020/21 season, before it was curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Just 12 months after finishing inside the play-off places, the Tigers were relegated in 2024 – finishing 17 points off safety.

Gloucester’s best run in the FA Trophy occurred almost 30 years ago, as they were knocked out in a semi-final replay to Dagenham & Redbridge in 1997.

THE GAFFER

33-year-old Daffyd Williams is highly-regarded as one of the most promising Welsh managers,  having quickly impressed through various roles in the football pyramid.

Gloucester is his first managerial gig in senior football, as he agreed terms at the start of the season.

He’s no stranger to the KMM Energy stadium, having held the Assistant Manager post for almost an entire year whilst they were still in the National League North.

Williams departed in 2022 to join Welsh Premier League side Barry Town as a Number Two before joining Newport County.

After initially starting as a Technical Coach at the Welsh outfit, he worked his way through to Assistant Manager, and even had a short spell as Caretaker Manager.

ONE TO WATCH

Sion Spence is Gloucester City’s midfield technician and is the creative force behind their success.

The midfielder was on the books at Crystal Palace and Cardiff City as a youngster and  joined recently-relegated League Two side Bristol Rovers on a season-long loan deal from the former in 2021. He made his professional debut in a 2–0 EFL Cup defeat to Cheltenham Town, before making his league debut for the club when he came on as a 90th minute substitute. He scored to give Rovers a 2–1 victory and their first away win for nine months.

Spence was released by Crystal Palace in the summer of 2022 and went on to have spells at King’s Lynn Town, Havant & Waterlooville and Hednesford Town.

In October 2021, Spence was called up to the Wales squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying matches against Moldova and Netherlands.  He also represented the Red Dragons at U16, U17 & U19 level.

LEAGUE FORM GUIDE

Gloucester City | W13 D4 L3 GD: +19 | Pos: 2nd (Southern League Premier South)

League Form: WDLWW

MD16: Basingstoke 0-2 Gloucester City | Scorers: Kane Simpson x2

MD17: Gloucester City 2-0 Chertsey Town | Scorers: Sion Spence & Kane Simpson

MD18: Gloucester City 1-2 Farnham Town | Scorers: Sion Spence

MD19: Wimborne Town 2-2 Gloucester City | Scorers: Elis Watts & Harry Pinchard

MD20: Gloucester City 1-0 Yate Town | Scorers: King Baidoo

Worthing FC | W12 D3 L5 GD: +23 | Pos: 2nd

League Form: WWLWW

MD16: Worthing 4-0 AFC Totton | Scorers: Brad Dolaghan x3 & Razzaq Coleman De-Graft

MD17: Slough Town 1-2 Worthing | Scorers: Brad Dolaghan x2

MD18: Torquay United 3-2 Worthing | Scorers: Joel Colbran & Joe Cook

MD19: Worthing 5-0 Hornchurch | Scorers: Brad Dolaghan x2, Razzaq Coleman De-Graft, Toby Byron and Nathan Odokonyero

MD20: Ebbsfleet United 1-2 Worthing | Scorers: Brad Dolaghan & Razzaq Coleman De-Graft

VIEW FROM THE CAMP- ADAM HINSHELWOOD

“They’ll be going into this full of confidence and they’ll want to take a scalp off a team in the league above.”

TICKETS

You can purchase your tickets through the FanBase app, which can be accessed via the following link.

Gloucester City vs Worthing tickets

Ticket Prices

Adult (18-65-year-old) : £10.00

Concession (Over 65 and Blue Light Card holders) – £5.00

Student/Youth (12-18-year-old & Students in Education) – £5.00

U12 – Free

HOW TO FOLLOW

If you can’t be at the game, you can follow the game via live updates from the club’s official X account.

You can also listen to live commentary via the club’s official commentary service.