"Bucks looking to clean up against the Suds"

Match Date : October 21st, 2023 3:00 pm
Competition : Southern League Central
Ground : The MEL Group Stadium, Brundon Lane, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 7HN
Kick Off : 15:00

The Bucks make another long trip to Suffolk this weekend to take on new boys AFC Sudbury.

The Suds finished 2nd behind Hashtag United in the Isthmian League North Division last season, but they gained promotion after wins over Grays Athletic and Heybridge Swifts saw them to playoff success.

But after last season’s success, it was a summer of major upheaval at King’s Marsh. In the dugout, promotion-winning manager Rick Andrews left the club citing a vastly reduced budget. While on the pitch, last season’s 49-goal top scorer, Nnamdi Nwachuku, left for Braintree.

Marc Abbott has taken the reins in Andrews’ stead and combines his role in the Sudbury hot seat with his full-time job as Cambridge United’s elite scholarship manager. It is perhaps no surprise then, that the Yellows’ squad as a youth look to it.

17-year-old Reuben Swann is one to watch in midfield, while Joe Neal, who arrived from St Albans to replace Nwachuku up front, is only 22 and has impressed with seven goals in all competitions.

However, it’s fair to say that Sudbury have struggled to adjust to life at a higher level. The Suds currently find themselves in 19th spot, having picked up eight points from their 12 games so far. They are without a league win since August and have lost six of they’re last eight outings in all competitions. What’s more, the Suffolk club have won just one of those league games and are yet to win on home soil this season. And despite Neal’s attacking efforts, Sudbury have only scored ten league goals, with only fellow new boys Berkhamsted and Long Eaton having netted fewer goals than the Yellows this term. A 4-1 thumping at Halesowen last weekend also means that the Suds now have the league’s 3rd-worst defence.

Despite some patchy form, the Bucks unbeaten in two in the league and have picked up four points from the last six available on the road. And Kevin Wilkin will be hoping to add to that tally next Saturday in what will be the first meeting between the two sides.

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MATCHDAY INFORMATION

Website: www.afcsudbury.co.uk

Ground Address: Brundon Lane, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 7HN