"Bucks after a disciplined display against the Puritans"

Match Date : March 25th, 2023 3:00 pm
Competition : National League North
Ground : Spencer Stadium
Kick Off : 15:00

AFC Telford travel to Oxfordshire this Saturday to take on Banbury United at the Spencer Stadium.

The Puritans swept to the Southern League title last season, winning 32 and losing just two 40 league games as they finished 23 points ahead of 2nd-placed Peterborough Sports. And Banbury initially carried that form into the current campaign too.

The Oxfordshire club began with 13 points from the first 15 on offer and were well placed in 7^th when they came to the New Bucks Head at the start of December. But the Puritans have fallen off dramatic since the turn of the year, losing six amd winning just one of their ten league games since January. And that run has seen them tumble down the table to 18^th, only three points above the drop (albeit with multiple games in hand on the current bottom four).

Former Coventry City and Oxford United full back Andy Whing is the man who led Banbury into the National League North. And despite the Puritans’ recent slump, Whing has still seen his side win an impressive 53% of their league games since he took the reins at Spencer Stadium.

The majority of the Puritan’s promotion-winning squad remains intact, and it’s the youngest squad in the division too. Players to watch include skipper Giorgio Rasulo, who scored Banbury’s goal in their 2-1 defeat at the New Bucks Head, and young forward Jack Stevens. Rasulo and Stevens are the Puritan’s joint-top scorers with nine goals in all competitions. Meanwhile, 17-year-old winger Aidan Elliott-Wheeler joined on loan from Oxford United on Friday morning.

This will be the first meeting between AFC Telford United and Banbury in Oxfordshire. The Bucks’ three-match unbeaten run without conceding came to an end with a 3-2 defeat at home to Curzon Ashton last weekend. But after picking up all three points at home against the Puritans in December, Kevin Wilkin’s men will be hoping to make it two wins from two against Oxfordshire outfit.

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MATCHDAY INFORMATION

Website: www.banburyunitedfc.co.uk

You must purchase tickets in advance via the Banbury website. Ticket sales close at 2pm on Saturday, and there won’t be any cash or card sales at the ground on the day.

Ground Address: Spencer Stadium, Station Approach, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 5AB