"Bucks face Sutton in FA Cup First Round"

Match Date : November 1st, 2025 3:00 pm
Competition : FA Cup
Ground : Gander Green Lane
Kick Off : 15:00

AFC Telford United head to Gander Green Lane on Saturday to face Sutton United in the FA Cup First Round.

Kevin Wilkin’s men made a statement in the fourth qualifying round with a 6-0 demolition of Darlington, booking their place in the First Round proper for the first time in eight years thanks to a thoroughly dominant performance.

The reward for that fine performance is a trip to Sutton United. Winners of the National League Premier in 2020–21, the U’s spent three seasons in League Two before relegation in 2024. On their return to non-league, Sutton were consistently inconsistent, ending with a record of 15 wins, 15 draws and 16 defeats to finish in 12th, only eight points off the playoffs.

This season has been a very different story, though. A disastrous run of seven defeats from their opening nine games, saw manager Steve Morison leave the club, with former Worthing boss Chris Agutter named as his successor at the start of October. Agutter led the Rebels to 4th place in the highly-competitive National League South last season, missing out on the title by a solitary point to Truro City. And although U’s still remain bottom of the National League Premier, they went five unbeaten before slipping to their first defeat under Agutter at Wealdstone last weekend.

Sutton have still been leaking goals, but they’ve found the net 14 times in six games under Agutter. Two of those matches were against an upwardly mobile Farnham Town outfit in the previous round of the Cup. After an entertaining 3-3 draw at Farnham, Sutton got the job done with a late show at Gander Green Lane – equalising in the 84th minute to send the game to extra time before finding a winner in the 120th minute to seal a 3-2 victory.

Right back Aaron Jones captains the side, having previously performed the same role for Aldershot Town before a summer switch to Gander Green Lane. Meanwhile, Wilkin’s men will have to keep a close eye on dangerman Brandon Njoku, who the Bucks came up against in 2023 when he was on loan at St Ives Town. Njoku scored 13 goals in 19 in his spell with the Ives, while he has bagged three in his last four to help kick start the U’s revival.

The Bucks have, of course, been among the goals themselves recently, especially in the FA Cup. A 3-1 victory over Kidderminster was followed up with a 4-1 win over Evesham United before the Bucks hammered Darlington 6-0 in the last round.

It is the first time in eight years that the Bucks have made it to the First Round, although AFC Telford have now made it this far a fairly respectable six times. However, the Bucks have only once advanced to the Second Round, which came in 2014-15 when Liam Watson’s team were eventually knocked out by Bristol City. The Bucks will be aiming to reprise that run by leaving Gander Green Lane with a famous FA Cup scalp.

MATCHDAY INFORMATION

Website: www.suttonunited.net

Ground Address: The VBS Community Stadium, Gander Green Lane, Sutton, SM1 2EY