August 4, 2023

MATCH PREVIEW | Brackley Town

Well, here we go again! The 2023/24 Vanarama National League North has finally arrived and with this, so does a new feature for our website.

We are lucky that our newly appointed Digital Co-Ordinator, Martin Ramsbotham, is also the founder of The 1883 Community and for the last few years has been creating a digital archive of all things Chorley FC. Using his research, Martin will preview the visiting teams for each home game so you can enjoy the build-up to kick off from a different perspective.

Stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before, it’s Brackley Town at home for the second time in three seasons. The fixture computer would have been hard-pressed to have picked us a tougher game to open the new campaign as the Saints sit firmly in the upper-reaches of most predictions.

Player and all-round clubman, Gareth Dean, took interim charge at the club in April but there’s a new face at the helm as former AFC Telford United manager Gavin Cowan takes charge. With an already strong squad, Cowan has added no less than seven new faces to the side that will provide the Magpies with a challenging but intriguing contest this afternoon.

Brackley Town’s playing record for 2022/23:

4th. Played: 46. Won: 18. Draw: 15. Lost: 13. Goals For: 57. Goals Against: 47. Points: 69.

Playoffs:

1Q – Brackley Town 2-2 Gloucester City (Won 5-3 on penalties).

SF – Chester Town 0-1 Brackley Town.

F – Brackley Town 0-2 Kidderminster Harriers.

‍Head 2 Head:

Saturday 3rd September 2023 - Chorley 0-0 Brackley Town.

Saturday 11th February 2023 - Brackley Town 1-1 Chorley.

Incoming:

Dan Turner – 25 years old, striker. Scored 13 goals in 36 appearances for relegated Leamington last season and arrives for an undisclosed fee.

Jordan Crawford – 26 years old, attacking midfielder. Switched from Kettering Town to Boston United last season before joining Peterborough Sports on a loan deal for the rest of the season in January. Scored 9 goals in 40 games last season.

Liam Cross – 20 years old, winger. A product of Northampton Town's youth academy. Had spells at St. Ives Town and Tamworth before joining Leamington on loan last winter.

Tommy O'Sullivan – 28 years old, midfielder. 83 appearances for Gloucester City managing two goals. Joins the Saints after the expiration of his contract with City.

Dom McHale – 27 years old, midfielder. Spent last season with Gloucester City. If rumours are true, Brackley held off good competition for his signature.

Alex Gudger – 30 years old, defender. Returns to Brackley after being one of the FA Trophy winners at the club in 2018. Returns from Solihull Moors after making 162 appearances.

Danny Newton – 32 years old, striker. Joins Brackley having spent last season with Boreham Wood.

Zak Lilly – 25 years old, defender. Joins from Stourbridge. Has played under Cowan at Telford and began last season at Hereford.

Outgoing:

Glenn Walker > Spalding United

Club record appearance holder at 438 games.

Callum Stead > Barnet

Scored 14 goals last season.

Jay Williams > Crawley Town

Stats and information compiled by Martin Ramsbotham are correct at time of publish.

Trust Matchday Information:

We are looking forward to welcoming the fans of Brackley Town and hope they have a pleasant trip to Victory Park. As always, we like to meet visiting fans of the opposition and members of fellow Supporters Trusts, so visit us at our matchday headquarters situated just along the touchline from the fan zone.

We have a comprehensive matchday Visitor Guide which can be consulted here.

At our matchday headquarters we sell:

Trust Membership - It's just £10 per year, or you can purchase online.
50/50 tickets - These can also be purchased online here.
Golden Goal – Today’s Golden Goal sponsor is: Eco Pallets.
Pin Badges – Also available online here.

Visit our online store to see what else we can offer.

We’d like to express our gratitude to Eco Pallets for sponsoring today’s Golden Goal draw. If you enjoy your match day experience, tell your friends and bring them next time. If you don’t, tell us and we will do our best to make sure your next visit is what you would have expected the first time.

Part of our role is to ensure the supporters are happy around Chorley Football Club and Victory Park.

Enjoy the game.