Alfreton Town take a break from the rigours of the National League North to make their bow for the 2023/24 season in the Isuzu FA Trophy on Saturday when Macclesfield FC make a return visit to the Impact Arena in the Second Round Proper.

The two teams have crossed paths before this season in the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round when Alfreton came out on top against the Silkmen by a scoreline of 3-1. An early strike from club top scorer Jordan Thewlis was cancelled out by Macclesfield before a Liam Waldock penalty and a late Jake Day strike sealed the victory to spark joyous scenes at the final whistle.

Since then Macclesfield who compete in the Northern Premier League Premier Division after consecutive promotions since inception in 2020 have changed manager. Former Burton Albion player Mark Duffy was sacked shortly after the FA Cup meeting. He was replaced by Steve Bruce`s son Alex Bruce who is assisted by former Man Utd defender Phil Bardsley after Silkmen co-owner Robbie Savage deemed that a change was required in the dugout after a poor run of form.

Macclesfield lie in 5th place in the league and having been going well under the stewardship of Bruce with three wins out of three they were surprisingly held to a draw at Moss Rose by struggling Basford United on Tuesday night.
The Cheshire based side will be eager however to enact a measure of revenge on the Reds for the defeat earlier in the season.

Billy Heath may look to rotate his small squad with a huge FA Cup Tie at the beginning of next month against Walsall on the horizon. Alfreton head into the fixture on the back of a 1-1 draw against Newly promoted Rushall Olympic on Tuesday night in the league with Liam Waldock`s first half goal being cancelled out by a deflected strike from Rushall captain Moore in the second half. The Reds would have been disappointed to have not taken all three points from a game they created the better chances in but will be keen to bounce back by booking their place in the next round of the competition.

This is only the second time that Alfreton have been drawn against the same opposition in two different FA Competitions in the same season.
The other occasion occured in the 2001/02 season when Alfreton won the Northern Counties East League Premier Division title for the second time.
In the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup Alfreton were beaten by Newcastle Town 2-0 at North Street. Alfreton would go on to meet the Staffordshire based club again in the second round of the Fa Vase before "The Castle would win 2-0 again at North Street to dump Alfreton out once again

The winners of the tie will be awarded £3,750 with the losers taking £1000. If the scores are level at the end of 90 minutes the match will be decided by kicks from the penalty mark.

Tickets are available to be purchased online or on the gate

https://ticketpass.org/event/EJBMCH/fa-trophy-alfreton-town-vs-macclesfield-fc

Parking at the Impact Arena is incredibly limited. We recommend  the pay and display parking on Rogers Lane, DE55 7FF and also at Severn Square, DE55 7BT - both are a five to ten minute walk to and from the Impact Arena.

Please be considerate of residents on the estate next to the arena, particularly Connaught Court, Bentley Close and North Street. We ask supporters to avoid parking in the residential areas around the ground and instead ask that you follow the advice and park in the pay and display car parks.