Telford v Stamford: Bucks aim to bounce back in front of bumper crowd

Defeat at Sudbury, the Bucks’ third in three trips to Suffolk this season, was just their second in 24 league outings and may well have put an end to their faint hopes of winning the Southern Central Premier League title.

That leaves the play-offs as the only route back into the National League North, and Kevin Wilkin’s side can strengthen their grip on a top five finish this weekend against a Stamford side who themselves are dreaming of sixth tier football.

It is only a little more than three weeks ago since the two sides met in the league after the game at the Zeeco Stadium was rearranged twice due to adverse weather conditions.

It means that Telford’s last four games have been home and away games against Stamford and Sudbury, a rarity even for the experienced Wilkin in league football. And the Bucks boss will be hoping his side can avoid back-to-back defeats against familiar opposition, instead looking for a reaction in-keeping with their form prior to last Saturday’s blip.

The trip to Sudbury proved frustrating for everyone associated with Telford, not least Remi Walker and Montel Gibson who both saw potential goal of the season contenders come crashing back off the crossbar in the first half.

Ultimately, it was a series of poorly defended corners that cost Wilkin’s side on the day, although he admitted his side were far from their usual fluid best.

“They made life really difficult for us, but we had a couple of misses early on, one from Remi and Montel,” Wilkin said. “Sudbury had one or two corners against us and looked threatening, and we identified at half-time that we needed to be switched on and made sure that we were dealing with them better, and clearly, we didn’t. I just think that overall, the game was a little bit slow; it’s hard to move the ball quickly on the surface but whether it suits us or not, you’ve got to get on with it and deal with it and be better than we did.”

With the club expecting a bumper crowd as part of their ‘Community Day’ initiative, Saturday’s game presents a great opportunity to create bonds that last a lifetime with prospective new Bucks fans.

Children aged 16 and under will be able to watch the game for free at New Bucks Head, while two coaches or supervisors per group will also be free to enter.

And as the days become longer and more pleasant, and every match of the run-in becomes more important, Telford will be looking to attract regular four-figure crowds to their home fixtures.

More than 1,700 turned out to watch the home draw with Halesowen in August, boosted by a strong Yeltz following, and Wilkin, the players, and the re-shuffled Telford boardroom will be hoping to treat a similar number of Bucks supporters to a vital win tomorrow.