The Peacocks go in search of their first win of the Southern League campaign when they make the trip to Hungerford Town tomorrow afternoon (17th August), ko 3.00pm.
A home draw with Gloucester City was followed by a narrow defeat at Poole Town in midweek where a late error cost Town a valuable point on the road. Manager Richard Luffman is philosophical about the season so far, saying: “We’re pleased with lots of the things that we’ve seen in the first week, for the best part of 45 minutes against Gloucester and 80 minutes against Poole where we’ve defended really well, we’ve been compact and we’ve listened, so the messages are getting through. We obviously need to improve in other areas, but we look like a stable defensive unit which is good. It’s disappointing about the mistake and the player that made it was probably our best player on the night so without him we probably wouldn’t have arrived at 0-0 after 83 minutes, but we’ve got to cut out the individual errors.”
Hungerford have experienced mixed emotions so far, bouncing back from a 4-1 defeat at newcomers Chertsey Town in their opening game with a resounding 5-2 home win over fancied Gosport Borough on Tuesday evening. The Crusaders finished 8th last season in the Southern Premier South following their relegation from the National League South.
The Town boss is expecting a stern test, continuing: “We feel that it’s a real tough one. Hungerford are a big physical direct team that are going to be robust and wanting to get two home wins on the bounce. It’s going to be a hard one for us to go into but it’s a game we’re really looking forward to. We keep learning about the players as we go forward and as I’ve said the whole way through, we will be a better team as we keep playing games. It will probably be later in the season that it will start to show in terms of results and improving our control of games but in the meantime, we need to fight for every point and get as many as we can on the board so that we’re not playing catch up to meet our target.”
The Peacocks welcome Tiago Sa back into the squad after the full back missed the first two games but Owen Brain is not fit for selection due to a hamstring injury.
Traveller Info
Ground: Town Ground, Bulpit Lane, Hungerford, Berkshire RG17 0AY
Ground to Ground: 104.2 miles (via M5/M4), 91.4 miles (via A303)
Directions: From M4 Junction 14, take A338 to Hungerford. First Roundabout turn right on to A4, next roundabout first left, 100 yards roundabout first left up High Street, go over three roundabouts, at fourth roundabout turn first left signposted “Football Club’. Take second left into Bulpit Lane, go over crossroads, ground on left.
Admission: Tickets can be purchased online in advance or at the turnstiles priced £14.00 for Adults,£9 for Concessions/Students and £4.50 for 11-17 year olds. Under 11’s Free accompanied by a paying adult.
Match commentary: will be available on Peacocks Radio
Last meeting: the sides last met when both were in the National League South two seasons ago. A Jay Foulston strike had secured a 1-0 win for the Peacocks in the first meeting at Bulpit Lane before the Crusaders redressed the balance with a 3-0 win in April 2023, courtesy of goals from Michael Fernandes, a Jake Evans penalty and Joe Boachie.