Leiston
vs
AFC Telford
Match Preview
"Bucks travel to Suffolk to take on the upwardly mobile Blues"
Match Date : November 30th, 2024 3:00 pm
Competition : Southern League Premier Central
Ground : Victory Road
Kick Off : 15:00
This weekend the Bucks head to Suffolk for the final time this season, when Kevin Wilkin’s men will take on Leiston.
Having been protagonists in the 2022-23 title race before eventually finishing 3rd, the Blues will perhaps be a little disappointed with last season’s 13th-place finish. That said, it was a season of rebuilding for the Suffolk club after they were shorn of virtually their entire attack following that impressive 2022-23 campaign.
The Blues transition continued during the summer with a rejig of their management team. Chris Wigger now takes sole charge in the dugout, with former joint first-team boss Darren Eadie moving to be Leiston’s new Head of Football Strategy.
And, after a slow start, the restructure seems to be bearing fruit. Although Wigger’s side picked up only two points from their first four games, they’ve been building momentum ever since. The Blues made it to the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, and following their exit from that competition at the hands of Dagenham and Redbridge, Leiston went seven unbeaten in the league until last weekend’s last gasp 2-1 defeat at Kettering. That run has helped them climb up the table, and they currently sit in 10th, five points behind the Bucks.
Last season’s top scorer Jamar Loza has picked up where he left off and has 10 goals in his last 11 league games, while Ben Fowkes, who bagged 20 goals in 40 appearances during that 2022-23 campaign, has returned to Victory Road after a move to Peterborough Sports failed to work out. The Bucks will also have to keep a close eye on winger George Quantrell, who has six league goals this season. It’s also worth noting that captain Seb Dunbar made his 400th appearance for the Blues in September. Dunbar started 390 of those games but, unusually, he has recently been out through injury.
The Blues only home defeat this season was that FA Cup loss to Dagenham, and they’ve won three and drawn four of their seven league games at Victory Road this term. The Bucks, meanwhile have the division’s third-best away record but haven’t won on either of their visits to Leiston – Gavin Cowan’s Telford side lost an FA Cup Third Qualifying Round on penalties after a goalless draw in October 2020, with Wilkin’s men going down 2-1 at Victory Road at the start of last season.
The Bucks have never beaten the Blues, in fact, with the sides drawing 0-0 at the New Bucks Head in January. Wilkin’s men will be looking to change that record next Saturday, then, as the Bucks aim to continue their solid form on the road this season.
MATCHDAY INFORMATION
Website: www.leistonfc.co.uk
Ground Address: Victory Road, Leiston, Suffolk, IP16 4DQ