"Bucks and Banbury cross paths this Saturday"

Match Date : December 14th, 2024 3:00 pm
Competition : Southern League Premier Central
Ground : New Bucks Head
Kick Off : 15:00

After Storm Darragh put paid to the Bucks’ game at Royston last weekend, Kevin Wilkin’s men are back in action this Saturday when Banbury United come to the SEAH Stadium.

After a two-year stay in the National League North, the Puritans are back at Step 3 after relegation from Step 2 last season. Andy Whing, who masterminded Banbury’s Southern League Premier Central title in 2021-22, left for Solihull Moors in the summer of 2023, with Mark Jones taking the reins. Jones could only make it to the end of January, though, after a string of disappointing results saw Banbury struggling at the wrong end of the table. But Jones’ replacement, Kevin Wilson, couldn’t turn the ship around, with the Puritans managing just two points from their last 17 games of the campaign and ultimately finishing 15 points from safety.

As you would probably expect from a side transitioning back to Step 3, Banbury had a summer of change. In the dugout, the Oxfordshire club brought in former Malmo assistant manager Simon Hollyhead. While on the pitch, the Puritans almost entirely overhauled their squad. New arrivals include Gift Mussa and AJ George (Redditch), Alex Prosser (Stourbridge), Yaw Ofosu, Connor Stanley and Jaanai Gordon (Alvechurch, the latter via a short spell at Liversedge) and former Bucks George Forsyth and Twariq Yusuf. One of the few survivors from last season is keeper Jack Harding who, having made over 350 outings for the Puritans, has made more appearances for the club as a goalkeeper than any other player in the club’s 93 year history.

Hollyhead’s new look side made a promising start to the season, keeping five clean sheets in their opening seven games in league and cup. The Puritans won each of those five games too, as they took a strong position in the early season table. But their form has fallen off since then, winning only three of their last 16 games in all competitions – one of which was against Step 7 side Henley Town in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup.

The two previous fixtures between the sides came during the 2022-23 season. And despite being relegated that year, the Bucks won both games 2-1, which was made more impressive by the fact that the Bucks had a man sent off in both matches.

With frontrunners Kettering and Halesowen both losing in the week, Wilkin’s are only three points off top spot having now played the same number of games as the Poppies. So, the Bucks will be looking for three vital points this weekend to keep the pressure on at the top of the table.

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.