AFC Telford
vs
Scarborough Athletic
Match Preview
"Bucks aiming to scuttle promotion-chasing Seadogs"
Match Date : October 18th, 2025 3:00 pm
Competition : National League North
Ground : New Bucks Head
Kick Off : 15:00
The Bucks are back in league action this weekend, when Scarborough Athletic will be the visitors to the SEAH Stadium.
After an opening day defeat at Kidderminster, the Seadogs haven’t looked back as they’ve charged to the top of the table. Unbeaten in ten league games since that loss at Aggborough, Scarborough have racked up 26 points in that time to sit joint-top of the league, albeit having played one game more than table toppers South Shields.
The man at the helm is former Manchester United man Jonathan Greening. Born in Scarborough, Greening returned to manage his home town club in May 2021, guiding the Seadogs to promotion to the National League North in his first season in charge. Boro then missed out on the playoffs on goal difference alone in their first year back at Step 2, before back-to-back 13th place finishes in the last two campaigns.
Greening’s squad remains largely unchanged, with centre back Jake Hull (Rotherham) and winger Rio Allen (who scored 39 goals for Hallam last season) being the main new additions. Many of Greening’s squad have been with Boro for multiple seasons, in fact, including defenders Kieran Weledji and captain Will Thorton, in form midfielder Luca Colville and last season’s top scorer Dom Tear. Up front, Stephen Walker is quickly establishing himself as one of the best strikers at Step 2. The 24-year-old netted 22 times in 50 appearances for Whitby Town before joining the Seadogs in February 2025. Walker is currently the division’s joint-top goalscorer with nine goals to his name.
With Walker’s goals firing them on and continuity providing stability at the back, it’s perhaps of little surprise that Boro currently have the league’s fourth-best attack (21 for) and the second best defence (10 against). If the Seadogs do have a weakest though, it is on the road. While Boro have won all six of their home games this season (home being Bridlington for the season after serious structural issues rendered Scarborough’s Sports Village unusable), they have won two, drawn two and lost one of their five away fixtures – although eight points on the road is obviously not to be sniffed at.
The Bucks, on the other hand, have picked up more of their points on home soil, and recorded a first away win of the season by hammering Darlington 6-0 in the FA Cup last weekend. But in the wake of that success, Kevin Wilkin acknowledged that the Bucks need to start turning their good league performances into a few more points. Indeed, Telford’s cup run has punctuated a run of three league defeats in a row, which has seen the Bucks slide to 20th.
The sides have only met each other twice in their respective current guises. Both of those games came during the 2022/23 season, with the Seadogs winning 1-0 in Scarborough before the sides played out a 1-1 draw at the New Bucks Head at the business end of the season.
MATCHDAY INFORMATION
Tickets are available online in advance, or from the ticket office on matchday. Please note that a £1 admin charge applies for adults and concessions when buying on matchday.
