Match Details
Bottesford Town v Silsden AFC
NCEL Premier Division
Saturday 30th July 2022
3pm KO
Barrett Steel Stadium
Birch Park, Ontario Road, Scunthorpe, DN17 2TQ
Match Preview
Competitive football finally returns after a long and busy summer. Plenty of action on and off the field in pre-season but the real test starts here as we make the trip down to Scunthorpe to take on Bottesford Town.
New management duo Matt Cavanagh and Luke Lavery will oversee their first league fixture since taking on the role in May. Over the summer 10 new players have been brought to the club and you can expect many to feature in Saturday’s fixture with The Poachers.
Pre-season saw both sides come up against a number of tough sides, our record standing at three wins, two draws and two defeats, including impressive victories over both Bradford (Park Avenue), Ilkley Town and local rivals Steeton. Bottesford picked up two wins against Cleethorpes and Appleby but also suffered defeats to a Scunthorpe United XI, Brigg Town and Beverley.
Last season in the NCEL both sides finished level on points but our superior goal difference meant we finished in 13th, one place above our hosts on Saturday. Both matches between us last year finished were tight affairs, resulting in a 1-0 away win for Silsden early in the season before the return fixture ended in a 4-3 victory for The Cobbydalers; Jos Bradshaw amongst the goalscorers in that one.
Bradshaw was our top scorer in pre-season, finding the net on four occasions with a neat penalty against BPA and a hat-trick when we took on Ilkley. New signing Lamin Janneh also provided three goals, the former Albion man adding some real firepower to our attack this season.
In defence, the signings of Alex Laird, Jacob Smith, George Skocki and Sam Bradley provide plenty of depth at centre half whilst young fullback Jake Hemmingway joins us from Halifax Town. Our midfield also looks to be well stacked with the signings of Talent Ndlovu, Lennon O’Grady and Raeece Ellington. Winger Arale Mohamed also provides pace and end product in the attacking third.
With the season kicking off tomorrow, we know everyone involved with the club including fans, players and staff can’t wait to get started for what will be a new era for Silsden!
Safe journey to everyone making the trip tomorrow!
