Match Preview | AFC Sudbury (A)

5 days ago5 min read

Halesowen make the three hour trip to The MEL Group Stadium as they look to extend their unbeaten streak to four against their opponents

Written by Ben Ditchfield

The Yeltz will take the high of just a second clean sheet in two months and a first win since Christmas into this weekends match, against a Sudbury side who are currently six without a win, scoring just four times in that period.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two since AFC Sudbury were formed back in 1999, following on from the amalgamation of Sudbury Town and Sudbury Wanderers. Halesowen are unbeaten in the three previous meetings, a 4-1 win in October 2023, a 2-2 draw in February last year, and the most recent meeting in this season's reverse fixture, where the Yeltz came out 3-1 winners last November.

That game at The Grove, saw the Yeltz go a goal behind after just 10 minutes, after a goal from the Suds' top scorer this campaign Joe Neal. A one-two from Liam Pearce and Ollie Peters, saw the latter dart a ball into Neal, who finished into the bottom left. A 26 minute reply followed, as former Yeltz frontman Jordan Ponticelli bundled the ball in from two yards out. He was again involved for the goal that put the Yeltz ahead in the 82nd minute, as he held off defender Charlie Lewis, which allowed Kieren Donnelly to stab home from close range, before a 94th minute goal from Ponticelli put the gloss on the victory.

The Yeltz come into the game, after two successive defeats on the road, but crucially just four days after a first win since the 21st of December against Stamford on Tuesday night, thanks to goals from Josh Smile and Conor Tee. The Yeltz have only had three different goalscorers over the last 5 matches. Amongst the sides recent struggles, Kieren Donnelly, despite a high quality performance on Tuesday, is currently five games without a goal, as well as the wait for Alex Cameron's first goal for the club and the start of a potential dynamite partnership between him and the Yeltz top scorer.

Sudbury's most recent outing came on Tuesday, as fell on the wrong side of the scoreline, in Harborough Town's current six match unbeaten streak. After an even first 45 in Leicestershire, The Suds started the first part of the second half on the back foot, and went behind just after the hour mark, through Jutorre Burgess. In what proved to be the only goal of a physical battle between two sides at the opposite end of the table and form book.

Sudbury are on their longest winless run for almost a year, and since their defeat against the Yeltz in November, they have plummeted from 10th to 20th and have won just twice in eight matches. Despite their league position, they have the ninth best home record this season in the league, with 74% of the 27 points they have collected over the campaign, coming in games at The MEL Group Stadium. This is just their third season at step 3, in their 25 year history, after first reaching promotion to this level in 2016. The club were instantly sent back to step 4, in what was the clubs first relegation since they were re-formed.

Current Suds boss Marc Abbott was appointed in June 2023, after spell as manager off Haverhill Rovers and most notably St Neots Town, where he spent a few months at step 3 in the 2018/19 season, but was unable to steer them clear of relegation, in the same season and league where the Yeltz suffered relegation. Abbott was in charge of a 1-1 draw in that campaign against Halesowen on the final day of the season. The 38 year old was appointed as the Sudbury manager, after the resignation of promotion winning boss Rick Andrews. In his season and a half at the Suffolk side, he has been in charge of 71 matches. He only has a 28% win ratio but he has led his side to scoring an impressive 102 goals, considering their struggles since his time at the club.

Sudbury have only used 21 players this league season, the fewest out of all 22 sides in the division and 23 players less than Bedford Town, who have used the most. Due to this, 14 players have featured at least 15 times for them in the league, and three players that have featured in all 27 games they have played this campaign in all competitions, the three being: Ollie Peters, Tom Dickens and Joe Neal. Neal is the clubs top scorer this season, scoring nine times in those 27 matches, with Peters, Myles Cowling and Callum Page close behind with a collective 16 goals between the trio.

Our hosts on Saturday are well known to score inside the first 15 minutes of league matches this campaign. The side have scored eight times in that time period, a statistic that is only bettered by Bedford Town. They are very susceptible to losing leads, only Biggleswade Town with 20, have lost more points from winning positions in the league this campaign than Sudbury, who have dropped 17 points. The Suds also have a terrible record on the opposite end of the scoreline. They are 25 without a win when losing at half-time, dating back to April 2023, and they have also won just once in the last 33 occasions when they have conceded the first goal in a game.

Key Seasonal Stats

Sudbury

League Position - 20th

Season Record - PL27 8W 7D 12L 43GS 38GC

Form (Last 5 Games) - DLLLL

Top Scorer - Joe Neal (9 Goals)

Most Appearances - Ollie Peters, Tom Dickens & Joe Neal (27)

Most Starts - Ollie Peters & Tom Dickens (27)

Biggest League Win - 6-1 vs Lowestoft Town (Home - 26th August)

Biggest League Defeat - 3-0 vs Royston Town (Away - 28th December)

Longest Unbeaten Run - 3 Games (3 Times)

Longest Winless Run - 6 Games (30th November - present)