Gladiators seek more home joy as former Tranmere Rovers, Blackpool and Mansfield Town defender signs

Matlock Town will aim to continue their fine home form as they welcome Heaton Stannington to the Proctor Cars Stadium this weekend.

The Gladiators have won their last six league games at home and will be keen to maintain that run as they seek to keep up with league leaders Redcar Athletic who are six points clear at the top of the table.

Calum Macdonald has joined Matlock Town after his release from Mansfield. Photo by Chris & Jeanette Holloway / The Bigger Picture.media.

placeholder image — Calum Macdonald has joined Matlock Town after his release from Mansfield. Photo by Chris & Jeanette Holloway / The Bigger Picture.media.

Heaton Stannington lay tenth after last weekend’s games, 12 points behind Matlock with a game in hand, but have only lost once on the road all season.

The Gladiators will go into the game off the back of a 1-1 draw at Dunston UTS last weekend, Harlain Mbayo’s header earning them a point after they’d gone behind early on.

But injury problems continue to hamper Adam Clayton’s side. Skipper Liam Ravenhill faces a spell on the sidelines after coming off injured in Saturday’s draw, whilst midfielder Tommy Elliott is also not expected to return to action imminently.

There were expected to be incomings and outgoings amongst the squad ahead of the weekend’s game, as manager Adam Clayton fine tunes his playing options in order to ensure a sustained title challenge despite the injuries and suspensions that have plagued the team since the start of the campaign.

The first of the new signings was confirmed on Tuesday as being left-sided player Calum Macdonald, who was released by Mansfield Town in the summer.

The 27-year-old Nottingham-born Macdonald started his career at Derby County and has featured extensively in the EFL for clubs including Barrow, Blackpool, Stockport and Tranmere Rovers, for whom he was a regular in League Two for two seasons.

He featured 16 times for Mansfield last season.

*The Trident Leagues (Isthmian League, Northern Premier League and Southern League) are supporting the National League’s 3UP Day of Action and will change all fixtures on Saturday, November 15 to kick off at the later time of 3:03pm.

That means 104 games and 208 teams across 12 divisions who stand in solidarity with the National League’s 3UP campaign – which already has the backing of its 72 clubs and 93 per cent of supporters across the pyramid in aiming to gain a third promotion place.