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Whilst the Bulls eased through, the Bucks crashed out, losing at home to City of Liverpool FC. It should be noted that the victors in that game aren’t the best players drawn from Liverpool and Everton (which I suppose would in effect simply be Liverpool) moonlighting in their spare time, but less excusably for Buxton a fan-owned club currently plying their trade in Division 1 West of the Northern Premier League.
That loss follows a run that has seen Buxton on fire, and not in the way that phrase is taken to mean these days as in being something to aspire to. They’re on fire in the old-fashioned way, as in going up in smoke form-wise, having lost their last three league games.
This poor form seems to be at least partially due to a crippling injury list, with ten first-choice players missing against Liverpool for reasons of crockedness rather than squad rotation.
Striker Jake Wright, signed in the summer and always good for a goal or two at this level, will miss out here because of injury. Diego de Girolamo is the Bucks’ top scorer with seven goals but may be suspended after getting a red card recently against Farsley (I can never work out suspension rules and regs, sorry readers). Ex-Boston striker Jordan Burrow should come in to replace the Italian if indeed he’s suspended, which he may or may not be, and like fellow ex-Pilgrim Jake Wright he’s a solid performer in this division.
Defender Max Hunt has experience higher up with our old friends Aldershot and Yeovil, and has weighed in with a couple of goals this season. Ex-Coventry youngster Will Bopaga should start here having signed for the club recently. He’s only 21 but has a decent pedigree and a tiny bit of League 1 experience. The main danger however is influential midfielder Sam Osborne - he’ll be the key player for them.
Ex-Boston manager Craig Elliott adapted well to having a smaller piggybank at his disposal when taking over at Buxton from Jamie Vermaglio last December, with the club finishing a point short of the playoffs in their first NLN season, and 12 points above Hereford. Recent form suggests that they may find it tougher this time, but given the nature of the division they could quite conceivably start winning again at any given point and for no real reason.
With Edgar Street finally starting to take on the look of a fortress this season after years of being more of, um, whatever the opposite of a fortress is (a ruin?), where bang-average NLN clubs could score when they wanted, this looks like a good opportunity to improve a record away from home that isn’t quite ‘travelling fortress’ standard yet, whatever a ‘travelling fortress’ is. It's also a good opportunity to improve the club’s record on plastic.
To assist in turning that opportunity into reality, huge dollops of self-belief and optimism are currently churning around the Bullosphere. Something I was daydreaming about the other day when I was supposed to be working was that over the last few seasons I’d reached the conclusion that you’ll get nowhere in the National League North by attempting to out-play the opposition, and that strength, belligerence and cheating are the key ‘qualities’ to have. Well, Paul Caddis is using a squad entirely made up of proper footballers, with even Curtis Pond being better with the ball at his feet than a few outfield players in other teams, and those players are getting results by playing football. My faith in that approach being one that can succeed in the NLN has been fully restored.
Changes will presumably be made here to the starting XI. There are some tricky decisions for Caddis to make though, with Koby Arthur superb against Banbury and on the scoresheet on Saturday, but Jack Tolley also doing everything possible against Redbridge to force his way into the reckoning as a starter. Consideration may also be made about whether it’s worth risking some of the achier joints in the squad on a plastic pitch.
According to Caddis Jason Cowley may be a doubt for this one with ‘a bug’ which may be the ‘lack of sleep’ bug that afflicts new parents, but if his name appears in the starting XI on Tuesday it’ll give supporters a pre-match boost.
Something of a collector’s item last season was a rare Hereford double completed over Buxton. Another win here could result in a lofty sixth position for the Bulls, nosebleed territory that would be fittingly achieved at The Tarmac Silverlands Stadium, the highest football ground in England.
Whilst being sympathetic in terms of their injury list, it looks like a good time to play the Bucks. Talking of which, fingers will be crossed that the dreaded plastic doesn’t inflict a fresh batch of injuries on the Hereford squad just as players have started coming back.
It’s a strange feeling given the last few years, but I’m finding myself really looking forward to football matches at the moment, including this one.
COYW