"Bucks take on Glassboys in Tuesday's home opener"

Match Date : August 13th, 2024 7:45 pm
Competition : Southern League Premier Central
Ground : New Bucks Head
Kick Off : 19:45

The Bucks begin their home campaign this Tuesday, when Stourbridge will be the visitors.

The Glassboys started last season in fine form before slipping down the table and finding themselves on the fringes of a relegation battle. Management duo Leon Broadhurst and Stuart Pierpoint consequently left the club in March, after which Stourbridge stabilised themselves enough to finish the campaign in 12th.

In May, the Glassboys announced the appointment of Liam McDonald as their new manager. Having previously managed at Redditch, Hednesford and Solihull, McDonald was most recently with Rushall Olympic, who he guided into the National League North two seasons ago with a playoff success over Nuneaton. Perhaps more impressively, McDonald then kept the Pics up last season, with a run of 13 points from their last seven games ensuring that Rushall finished four points above the drop in 19th.

McDonald has brought many of his former charges with him. Defender Jordaan Brown and midfielders Callum Coyle, Jourdain Masidi and Alex Moore all also made the switch to the War Memorial Athletic Ground this summer. Other new arrivals include the permanent signings of last season’s loanee forwards Alex Jones (Tamworth) and Ethan Freemantle (Kidderminster) as well as former Buck Elliott Durrell, who joins from Gloucester.

And it was one of the new boys who scored a last-minute winner as the Glassboys got off to a winning start on Saturday. Alex Moore popped up in the 93rd minute to grab the only goal of the game in a 1-0 home win over St Ives.

Last season Stourbridge performed better at home than on the road. The Glassboys picked up 33 of the 52 points at the War Memorial Athletic Ground and only 19 points on the road. The Bucks on the other hand had the third best home record in the division and will be looking to make the SEAH Stadium a fortress once again this season.

Kevin Wilkin’s men kickstarted their campaign last season after coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Stourbridge last September. That comeback was the trigger for a 17-game unbeaten run that brought the Bucks back into the promotion picture. And the Glassboys’ visit to the New Bucks Head in January also brought about another uptick in the Bucks’ form; the 2-1 over Stourbridge marking the start of an eight-game winning run on home soil.

After starting the season with a point at Biggleswade on Saturday, the Bucks will be hoping that a strong performance against the Glassboys can once again spark a strong run of form.

MATCHDAY INFORMATION

Tickets for Tuesday’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.