Ahead of tomorrow night’s friendly fixture against Belper Town, we take a closer look at our visitors. Belper Town Football Club is a football club based in Belper, Derbyshire, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands and play at Christchurch Meadow. The club are nicknamed the “Nailers” due to the town’s nail-making industry.
Belper is the birthplace of the world’s ground-breaking ‘skyscraper technology, Belper has a rich industrial history and lies at the heart of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Industrial pioneer Jedediah Strutt built one of the world’s first water-powered cotton spinning mills here in 1776 – and Strutt’s North Mill, now the Derwent Valley Visitor Centre – was rebuilt in 1803 using the world’s first fire proof iron frame, the template for modern high-rise engineering.
On the field Ponte and Belper last played each other in preseason of 20/21. Colls, managed by Andy Monkhouse, defeated Belper by two goals to one as they prepared for the start of the season.
The last competitive match between the two, back in January 2019 also saw Colls also run out winners. Ponte came back from being two goals down at the break to score four second half goals, from Chris Jackson, Mikey Dunn, Spencer Clarke and a late penalty from Eli Hey secured all three points.