Horncastle Town are enjoying current feelgood factor at the club
Horncastle Town are enjoying the current feelgood factor at the club after a weekend off for the first team and a fifth win in a row for the club’s reserves.
The Wongers return to Lincolnshire League Premier Division action this week with a midweek home clash with Lincoln United Development followed by a trip to Spilsby Town on Saturday.
Joint boss Lewis Burchnall said: “There’s a good feel around the club at the moment with so many of our teams doing well.
“The first team are currently fifth in the league but only three points off second.
“Obviously there’s a long way to go, but after consecutive 10th-place finishes we think we’re capable of ending the season in a much higher position, which would be show the progress we’re making.
“Our reserve team have just had five wins in a row and, like us, they’re in the third round of the County Cup.
“We have a veterans team in the over 35s league – they’re sitting second and at the end of October made it through to the next round of the over 35s League Cup after a thrilling penalty shootout in Brigg.
“Alongside a few new faces, the team is made up of players who’ve represented the club at various levels in years gone by. So it’s great to see those lads pulling a red and white shirt on again and winning.”
He added: “Similarly to the vets team, our U18s are second in their league and only two points off top spot.
“It’s so important that we have an U18 team because it smooths the pathway from junior to senior football.
“Some players won’t be ready to make that jump at 16 years old, so they get an extra couple of years to develop.
“We’ve got a few young lads who have already made an impression in our senior sides, but they’re also unlikely to play 90 minutes every Saturday.
“So having an U18s team ensures they’re getting plenty of minutes across a weekend.”
Over the past week the club has started training on the new artificial pitch at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School.
“We’ve been served well by the Astroturf for many years, and our junior sides will continue to use it, but a 3G pitch in a town the size of Horncastle has been long overdue and should ensure we can keep training throughout the winter,” said Burcnall.
“For our first team it will certainly help as we play a few away games on 3G and sometimes that familiarity with the surface gives the home side an advantage. There’s still plenty of work to do but as a club we’re optimistic about what the future holds.”