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Wilson recalled as Reds travel to Buxton

FC United go into Saturdays game at Buxton still unbeaten in 2010 following eight games without defeat but the Reds must now continue their run without on-loan striker Kyle Wilson as he has been recalled by Macclesfield Town.

Since Wilson’s return to the club, United have won five and drawn one with the striker scoring four goals. Ben Deegan also seems to have benefitted from playing alongside the League Two forward scoring five goals in his last five games. Obviously, the challenge for Deegan and FC United is to keep the goals and the points coming without Wilson.

Craig Phillips provides this preview"¦

Wednesday’s last minute victory saw FC United are now on an eight game unbeaten run which has seen Margy’s men pick up 18 points and move from 18th position up to eighth which is just three places and eight points, off the play-off places.

But none of that will mean anything if United cannot pick up valuable victories against the teams in and around them. Before the end of the season the Reds have to play five of the seven teams above them and face tricky fixtures against the four teams directly beneath them in the league standings, starting with Saturday’s visit to Buxton.

United hold fond memories of their only previous league trip to Silverlands; picking up their first victory of last season via a Jamie Baguley second half strike before drawing 1-1 when the Bucks came to Gigg Lane later in the season.

But in the previous league meeting this season, it was Buxton who came away with a 1-0 victory at Gigg Lane in November through a second half goal from forward Gavin Knight.

The Bucks were founded in 1877, when members of the town’s cricket team decided to form a football team, and after a seven-a-side game on the cricket club’s ground, Buxton FC were formed.

The club joined the Manchester League in 1899, and won the championship in 1932, before moving to the Cheshire League the following season. The Bucks took more than 40 years to win this league, before moving to the Northern Premier League in 1973.

Although the club has never won the NPL they have enjoyed cup success whilst playing in the league, most notably winning the President’s Cup in 1981, a good season for the club which gained its highest league placing of fourth in the same season.

The Bucks endured successive relegations in 1997 and 1998 and found themselves in the Northern Counties East League. The club struggled for a few seasons at this level; with financial instability off the pitch but in 2006 the Bucks completed a league and cup double which saw them move up to the NPL first division.

The club wasted little time in the first division winning the league and emulating their 1981 triumph in the Presidents Cup, seeing them move back to the Premier division and being voted NPL team of the year for the 2006-07 season.

After successive promotions manager Nicky Law moved onto Alfreton Town, and his role was taken over by John Reed. The club finished a respectable 14th last season, but will be hoping to improve on that with their good form this year.

They currently sit in 12th place in the league, with 36 points from 24 games, and boast one of the tightest defences in the league conceding just 28 goals this season. The Bucks also come into the game in good form themselves, winning three of their last five, with their sole defeat being a 2-0 loss at home to Whitby Town on February 13. But since then have had good wins over both Guiseley (3-1) and Kendal Town (2-0).

A little spot of trivia is that Silverlands is the highest ground in the English football pyramid standing at more than 1,000 feet above sea level and is far higher than the highest Football League ground which is West Brom’s Hawthorns - standing at 551 feet above sea level.

A familiar face in the Bucks squad is Cayne Hanley; who of course had a spell at FC United, the forward has scored once in six appearances for The Bucks since joining in December.

Saturday’s game is the usual 3 pm kick off. With the match being all ticket, but if you don’t have your ticket yet you can still purchase one from The Vault Public House in Buxton from 10am on matchday. So get yourself to that football ground and cheer on the Reds!



First Posted ~ 13:01 Fri 5 Mar 2010
News ID ~ 2756
Last Updated ~ 01:52 Tue 16 Feb 2021