"The division's two highest-scoring sides meet in Suffolk this Saturday"

Match Date : September 21st, 2024 3:00 pm
Competition : Southern League Premier Central
Ground : The MEL Group Stadium, Brundon Lane, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 7HN
Kick Off : 15:00

Having not long returned victorious from Lowestoft, the Bucks will make another mammoth trip to Suffolk this weekend to take on Sudbury.

After winning promotion from the Isthmian League North Division the season before last, the Yellows finished the campaign strongly and secured their Step 3 safety thanks to three wins in their last four. The Suds finished in 18th place, one point above the drop zone.

Sudbury’s survival was made all the more impressive given the summer of upheaval that had preceded the campaign, when promotion-winning manager Rick Andrews and most of his squad left the club following significant budget cuts. New boss Marc Abbott, who also works as an academy coach at Arsenal (and was previously Cambridge United’s elite scholarship manager), put his faith in a young squad and was, ultimately, rewarded for trusting in youth.

Abbott signed a new two-year deal in the summer, and he hasn’t made too many changes to his Sudbury squad over the summer. Additions include centre back Ryan Henshaw (31) and midfielder Ollie Peters (24) both arrive from Billericay, and full back Matty Miles (27) joins from Peterborough Sports, all of whom add experience to Abbott’s side.

Young midfield star Reuben Swann left for League One Portsmouth in June, but 23-year-old forward Joe Neal, who impressed last season, has signed for another year. Neal is joined in attack by joint-top scorers Callum Page and Josh Allen, who have each bagged four goals so far this campaign.

Page scored both of the Suds’ goals in the Bucks’ 3-2 win over the Yellows at the New Bucks Head in February. And Wilkin’s men will need to be on their mettle to keep out Page and his teammates, who have impressed on home soil of late. Stretching back into last season, the Suds have picked up 20 points from their last ten home league games, scoring an impressive 25 goals across those goals. That sequence begins with Sudbury’s 1-0 win over the Bucks at Kings Marsh at the start of March, while most recently the Suds overpowered frontrunners Stamford 3-0.

But the Bucks have been in fine form away from home in the league. Since that defeat at Sudbury, Wilkin’s men haven’t lost a league game on the road, picking up 20 points from a possible 24. And the Bucks will no doubt be aiming to extend that run against Sudbury this Saturday.

MATCHDAY INFORMATION

Website: www.afcsudbury.co.uk

Ground Address: The MEL Group Stadium, Brundon Lane, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 7HN