Match Preview | Bury Town (A)
Halesowen face a 310 mile round trip to Bury Town on Saturday for the first ever meeting between the two clubs
Head to Head
There have been none.
Russ Penn’s Thoughts
“The last three or four games have led us into this game with some confidence. I don’t want to say we have turned a corner because that is the sort of thing that will slap you in the face, but I feel the consistency in the team selection and the quality we are able to bring off the bench have massively contributed to our change of form. They (Bury) deserve a lot of credit. To have 17 points at this stage for a newly promoted side is no mean feat. They got a win last weekend against Banbury at home. They don’t concede many, they score a healthy amount and have a very good and hostile crowd to their advantage. We look forward to the trip and head to Suffolk with a full bit of health in the squad. We head into six games this month with Saturday being the first of the tough fixtures. We have set ourselves a points tally as a group which we want to achieve but I won’t publically share. Our aim is for three points on Saturday, and we will try our best to do it in a game where we have an early start and six hours of travelling.”
Opposition Preview
In goal for Bury, Charlie Beckwith who featured in all but one of their league matches in the promotion campaign last season has featured in all 14 league games so far this campaign.
In the fullback spots, Mikey Davis, who can also play in the midfield has started all 14 league games this season. The 26 year old featured in all but two tof their league games last season. 21 year old left sided defender Joe Carroll has also featured in all 14 of their league games, but started 11. At right back Taylor Parr who featured in 36 league games last season and can play centre half, has started 12 this campaign. In the central defensive spots, Lewis O’Malley has started 10 of his 13 league games this season, while Joe White has started seven, and Josh Curry three. 24 year old O’Malley who joined the club in 2022 missed just two league games last season. 32 year old Curry joined the club in the summer from step 5 Stowmarket Town, while 29 year old White has been a servant at the club for over a decade.
In the midfield, defensive midfielder Ethan Mayhew has started 11 of his 13 league games this season. 23 year old Mayhew missed just three league games in the entirety of last season. The central midfielders list mainly as Tom Hughes and Max Maughn. The former has started all but one of Bury’s games this season in the middle of the park, while the latter has started 10 league games. Maughn in fact missed just one league game in the whole of last season, while new signing Hughes featured 31 times and scored five goals in the National League North for King’s Lynn Town last season. The squad depth has seen Tayos Flowers, Jahjah Straw, and Theo Carter feature mainly off the bench, Flowers in fact has made nine substitute appearances. In the attacking midfield roles, Ryan Jolland, but more importantly Ally Conway have taken up the role. Jolland has only featured three times this season, but Conway signed in the summer from Newmarket Town has featured in every league game too date, starting 10 of them.
In the forward line, first the wide positions. Top scorer this season, George Quantrell, has started all 14 league games, and scored four goals. The right sided midfielder/winger scored 13 goals in 40 league games for Leiston last season, before moving the 50 mile Suffolk switch to the Blues. The other winger, Harley Curtis has started nine of his 12 league games this campaign. The main central striker this season for Bury has been Cemal Ramadan. The 28 year old Irish striker has featured in all 14 league games this season, scoring three times, and was the only player to feature in all 42 of their league games last season. The depth, like in the midfield for the Blues, continues into the forward line. Ollie Canfer, Tom Stagg and Kyle Webb, all signings in the summer have featured sparingly, while the most recent arrival Jamie McGrath from Needham Market has added even more to the promoted sides attacking third.
Statistical Insight
Bury
- Only Stamford (4) have scored fewer first half goals in the Southern Premier Central this season than Bury’s 6.
- Only Stamford (10) have had more games without a first half goal this season in the Southern Premier Central than Bury’s 8.
- Bury are one of two sides in the Southern Premier Central this season alongside Stratford Town who are yet to score in the opening 15 minutes of their matches this season.
- No other side in the Southern Premier Central have made more substitutions this season than Bury’s 53, closely followed by our 52.
Halesowen
- No other side in the Southern Premier Central this season have scored more first half goals away from home than our 7.
- Only Harborough Town (15), Bishop’s Stortford (14), and Quorn (13) have scored more second half goals in the Southern Premier Central this season than our 12.
- Only Harborough Town (2) and Spalding United (3) have had fewer games without a second half goal in the Southern Premier Central this season than our 5.
- Only Banbury United & Harborough Town (21) have used fewer players in the Southern Premier Central this season than our 22.