"Bucks looking for festive cheer by beating the Blues"

Match Date : December 26th, 2022 3:00 pm
Competition : National League North
Ground : New Bucks Head
Kick Off : 15:00

Next up for the Bucks is a festive double header against Chester, starting with Monday’s Boxing Day match up at the New Bucks Head.

After an off-colour campaign last year, the Blues are once again in the promotion picture. Propelled by the goals of Kurt Willoughby, Chester head into the holiday season as the division’s form side. The Blues have picked up 24 from the last 30 on offer and are unbeaten in the league since 8 October – a run that has seen them climb to 3rd in the table.

The Blues are now led by Calum McIntyre, who was previously in charge of both Chester’s academy and Runcorn Linnets. Cheshire native McIntyre, who is still in his twenties, replaced Steve Watson in May, and the club’s recent form earned him the manager of the month award for November.

McIntyre brought in plenty of new faces in the summer, as he revamped the squad to give it a more youthful complexion. Arrivals include midfielders Iwan Murray (21) and Joe Lynch (22) from Runcorn and keeper Harry Tryer (20) on loan from Everton, while Ollie Heywood (19) and Reece Daly (17) were promoted from the youth team. What’s more, incoming top scorer Willoughby, who arrived from York City and previously excelled at FC United, is himself only 24 but has bags of experience and goals at this level.

Christmas is of course a time for tradition, and that has been extended to the National League North fixture list, with this being the third season in a row that the two sides have met over the festive period. The Blues won three of those four matches, and they have tended to get the better of the Bucks since the two clubs reformed – Chester winning eight of the 13 games between the side.

AFC Telford, meanwhile, have beaten the Blues just once in that time, and have lost the last three match ups with Chester at the New Bucks Head. Kevin Wilkin’s men beat Banbury United 2-1 last time out on home soil though, so the Bucks will be aiming to make it back-to-back home to round off the year.

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MATCHDAY INFORMATION

Tickets for Monday’s fixture will remain on sale up until kick-off and are available for purchase online here.