"Bucks aiming to get their season off the ground against the Canaries"

Match Date : August 17th, 2024 3:00 pm
Competition : Southern League Premier Central
Ground : New Bucks Head
Kick Off : 15:00

The Bucks will be be aiming to bounce back from Tuesday night’s defeat to Stourbridge this Saturday, when we take on take on Hitchin Town at the SEAH Stadium.

The Canaries made a strong start to the last campaign and were in the playoff places when they visited us last November. But the Hertfordshire side’s season took a nosedive from there, as they lost 18 of their final 23 games and finished in 19th place. Hitchin were reprieved from relegation, however, after Coalville Town quit the league at the end of May.

With Hitchin unexpectedly tumbling into a relegation battle last season, manager Mark Burke resigned at the start of March having been in charge at Top Field for 11 years. Burke, who first joined the club as a player in 1985, remains with the club as company secretary and head of community activities, while another former stalwart, Brett Donnelly, took the reins in the Hitchin dugout. In fact, Donnelly’s first game in charge of the Canaries was the 1-1 draw with the Bucks at Top Field at the end of March.

Donnelly has had to reshape his squad over the summer after a number of notable departures, including top scorer Finley Wilkinson (Barnet) and keeper and captain Charlie Horlock (Slough). To refresh his squad, Donnelly has largely looked to players who excelled at the top of Step 4. New arrivals include experienced defender Kieron Forbes (Biggleswade Town), midfielders Jack Dreyer (Ware Town) and Fernando Bell-Toxtle (Bedford Town), and full back Rio Deall (AFC Dunstable). Meanwhile, defenders Lewis Franklin and Dan Sears are both reunited with Donnelly having played under him at Stotfold Town.

Last season’s downturn in form seems to have carried over in the current campaign, though, as the new-look Canaries lost 3-1 at home to Bromsgrove Sporting on the opening day defeat going down 2-0 at Stamford on Tuesday. That leaves the Canaries bottom of the table after two games, with the Bucks just three places higher in 19th.

Kevin Wilkin’s men had ended last season in fine form at home, picking up a full 21 points from their final seven home games, but that record was shattered with Tuesday’s 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Stourbridge. Still looking for a first win of the season, and after drawing both games with the Canaries last season, the Bucks will be looking for all three points this Saturday.

MATCHDAY INFORMATION

Tickets for Saturday’s fixture will remain on sale up until kick-off and are available for purchase online in advance. See our ticketing page for further details.