the npl

THE PREVIEW | Buxton FC Vs MTFC - PSF - 8.7.22

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THE PREVIEW | Buxton FC Vs MTFC - PSF - 8.7.22

Matlock Town start their busy pre-season schedule on Friday evening with a short trip to local North Derbyshire rivals Buxton.

This will be Matlock's first game of any kind since the 2-1 defeat at Scarborough Athletic in the Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off semi-final 73 days ago.

The winner of tonight's game will lift the newly created Markovitz A6 Trophy; this trophy will be contested every time that Matlock Town and Buxton play each other in future.

The Opposition

Buxton are now a National League North side and play one tier above Matlock Town after winning the NPL Premier Division league title last season under the helm of Steve Cunningham. In a shock decision within a week of clinching the league title, Cunningham resigned from his managerial role.

Buxton's new manager is Jamie Vermiglio and this match will be his first game of any kind in charge at Buxton. Vermiglio previously managed Chorley for four years and won a number of plaudits for his work there.

Buxton were founded all the way back in 1877 and are affectionately known as the Bucks. They play their home games at The Tarmac Silverlands Stadium in the town of Buxton in Derbyshire. The ground can hold up to 4,000 spectators and has a seated capacity of 490. The Tarmac Silverlands Stadium is the highest football ground in England.

One to Watch

Striker Diego De Girolamo had a superb 2021/22 season and played a huge part in Buxton's league title triumph. Considering he was out injured for around three months, his NPL Premier Division goal tally of 20 for last season was extremely impressive and only Jacob Hazel for Whitby Town scored more goals.

The forward recently signed a new deal to remain with the Bucks.

The 26 year-old forward was born in Chesterfield and started his playing career at Sheffield United. Diego's father is Italian and the striker has made international appearances for Italy's U18, U19 and U20 sides.

Team News

Summer signings Aaron Opoku, Jake Day, Jim Pollard and Simon Lenighan are all likely to make their debuts for the Gladiators.

As is custom with pre-season friendlies, there are also likely to be a few trialists in action too.

With Matlock Town playing away at Northwich Victoria less than 24 hours after this match, it's unlikely that any players will be on the pitch for the full 90 minutes.

Previous Meeting

We certainly don't have to go back far for the last time these two sides met. On April 18, the Bucks defeated the Gladiators 1-0 at home to all but clinch the NPL Premier Division league title.

Dan Cowan scored the only goal of the game in the 17th minute in an electric atmosphere watched by a crowd of 2,456.