"Telford aim to tame table-topping Tigers"

Match Date : November 10th, 2020 7:45 pm
Competition : National League North
Ground : New Meadow Park
Kick Off : 19:45

A tricky Tuesday night trip to table-toppers Gloucester is next on the agenda for the Bucks.

 In 2007, Gloucester’s Meadow Park was submerged under eight feet of water, forcing the Tigers into a series of groundshares at Forest Green, Circencester, Cheltenham and Evesham. But, after 13 years in exile, Gloucester finally returned home this summer – and the Tigers have wasted no time in making their newly refurbished home into a fortress. 

City have won all three of their games at the New Meadow Park, racking up 11 goals in the process. The Tigers are unbeaten away from home too and have both the league’s overall best attack (an average three goals a game) and the division’s top scorer, Matt McClure (six goals).

It’s a very different picture from when the Bucks last faced Gloucester last December. Telford’s 1-0 win in Evesham consigned the Tigers to an eighth defeat in 12 games – part of 15 game spell in which City picked up just 9 points from a possible 45. 

The start of that sequence of struggle saw Mike Cook lose his job as manager, with long-term target former Aldershot assistant James Rowe brought in to try to revive the Tigers’ fortunes. But, it’s fair to say, Rowe inititially struggled to turn the City ship around, losing nine of his 14 games in charge last season. In fact, Gloucester were just one point above the drop zone when the season ended, eventually finishing slightly higher in 17th when points per game were calculated. Having made it through last season, though, Rowe has clearly used this year’s extra long offseason to great effect.

New arrivals this summer include experienced midfielder Kevin Dawson, attacking full back Alex Whittle, current top scorer McClure and his strike partner Akwasi Asante, who scored 18 league goals for Chester last season. 

The Bucks showed great character to earn a point against Southport on Saturday, but have won just one of the last five in all competitions. But Gavin Cowan’s men beat the Tigers twice last season and will be looking to repeat that trick again this Tuesday.

 

Live stream

Supporters are not currently allowed to attend National League North fixtures, but you can watch a live stream of the game provided by Gloucester.