"Bucks aiming to make a flying start against the Crows"

Match Date : August 5th, 2023 3:00 pm
Competition : Southern League Premier Central
Ground : New Bucks Head
Kick Off : 15:00

The curtain comes up on the new campaign this weekend, when the Bucks will begin life in the Southern League Premier Central with a home game against Royston Town.

The Crows finished last season in 13th place, earning 55 points from 42 games. However, while Royston were comfortable in mid-table, they ended the campaign with a run of just one win and five defeats in eight. And given Town’s mid-table finish, it was notable that they had the division’s 5th-worst defence, shipping 73 goals during the league campaign.

That said, they did find the net 63 times themselves, with a good chunk of those goals coming from centre forward Matt Bateman. The Crows’ main man up top bagged 17 league goals last term and found the net a further six times in cup competitions. Centre half Adam Murray skippers the side, while former Luton and Forest Green man Ed Asafu-Adjaye provides experience at full back. New arrivals include forward Florian Tsaguim, winger Cain Keller – who played against the Bucks last season for Kings Langley – and young midfielder Alfie Williams, who joins permanently from Stevenage following a loan spell.

The man in charge of the Crows is former Orient, Plymouth and Peterborough midfielder Steve Castle. The Royston boss has been in charge of the Hertfordshire club for nearly a decade, having taken the reins in December 2013. Castle led the Crows to the Southern Football League Division One Central during the 2016/17 season, and, other than last season, his side have finished in the top ten every year since their promotion.

The Bucks have, of course, undergone a summer of change. Following relegation from the National League North, boss Kevin Wilkin has revamped his squad with a blend of youth and experience, including keeper Brandon Hall, centre backs Steffan Jones and Fraser Kerr, midfielders George Forsyth and Remi Walker and forwards Ricardo Dinanga and Tre Mitford. And the new look Bucks will be aiming to kick off the campaign on a positive note, in what will be the first ever meeting between the two sides.

Royston had the joint-4th worst away record in the division last year, winning only three of their 21 games on the road. The Bucks will be hoping to inflict more away day misery on the Crows, then, as Wilkin’s men look to start with a bang.

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MATCHDAY INFORMATION

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