PRESEASON PREVIEW : A6 DERBY CLASH AS BUCKS TRAVEL TO MATLOCK

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Buxton make the trip down the A6 to face Matlock in the Markovitz Cup.

The Bucks

The match follows Buxton’s 1-1 draw with Bury at the weekend at The TSS.

Bury opened the scoring before Tate Campbell for The Bucks equalised just before half time.

Reflecting on the performance, manager John McGrath said:

“Really competitive. I thought they were a very good side. I thought they moved the ball well, found little pockets. It kind of mirrored a league game: two teams wanting to win a game of football, two teams putting in tackles, and that’s as competitive as I’ve seen a preseason game in a while.”

Opposition

Matlock Town play their games at the Proctor Cars Stadium which has a capacity of 2400.

Last season they were relegated from the NPL Premier Division finishing 19th in the league and this season they will therefore play in the NPL East Counties Division.

It’s been a mixed start to pre-season for The Gladiators. They opened with an impressive win over Chesterfield, followed by a  hard fought 1-1 draw against Championship side Derby County, with a late goal denying them victory. Most recently, they were edged out in a 4-3 match against Basford United.

Matlock have a number of former Bucks players with Liam Ravenhill, Diego De Girolamo and Ben Sault all featuring in their squad against Basford. As well as Tommy Elliott and Josh Granite who are currently out injured.

Former chairman at Scunthorpe and Ilkeston, David Hilton is now the chairman at Matlock Town.

They won the FA Trophy in the 1974/75 season beating Scarborough 4-0.

Former Manchester City academy player Adam Clayton holds the role of play manager.

One to watch

Connor Washington signed for The Gladiators last week and scored against Basford on his debut off the bench.

The 33 year old has had a hard time with injuries as of late but was most recently at Derby County where he had been since 2023.

Some of his former clubs also include QPR, Peterborough United, Sheffield United and Charlton Athletic.

With Sheffield United in the 2018/19 season he won promotion to the Premier League.

Last time they faced

The Bucks won the friendly at The TSS last preseason beating Matlock 1-0 with a goal from now Matlock player Ben Sault.