Match Preview

Match Preview: Bury Town vs Heybridge Swifts
Date: Saturday 27th April 2019
Kick Off:3:00pm
Admission Prices: Adults £9, Concessions £5, Under 16's £2, Under 10's Free

Background:Bury Town take to the field for the final time on Saturday as they welcome Heybridge Swifts to the Denny Bros Stadium having already decided their league position this season, finishing as the top Suffolk club in 6th place of the Bostik North Division.
The Blues have secured their highest place finish since relegation in 2015 thanks to a run of 5 straight wins, the latest of which was a pulsating local derby at Sudbury at which the Blues hit back with a 92nd minute winner against their local rivals.
Ben Chenery will be looking for his side to record a six straight victory and end the season on a high when Heybridge visit the Blues home ground, but they will face a tough test against a side already confirmed in the play off positions. Julian Dicks' side look likely they will face an away game in the play off's, with the final positions still to be decided during the final 90 minutes of the season.

Injury News: Cemal Ramadan and Joe Carden are the only players out through injury and Ryley Scott's loan spell from Ipswich has ended with his call back to the Portman Road club.

Last time out: Heybridge Swifts 2 Bury Town 0 - Saturday 13th October 2019 - Attendance 323

Previous Meetings between the sides: Our first meeting with Heybridge Swifts was on Saturday 14th September 1996. It was an FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round tie. At the time, Heybridge were members of the ICIS Premier Division, now the Ryman Premier Division, and Bury were in the Jewson Eastern Counties League, so the Swifts were effectively two divisions above the Blues at the time.
Heybridge were managed by Garry Hill, who was starting out his managerial career, and has since gone on to manage St Albans, Dagenham & Redbridge, Hornchurch, Weymouth, Rushden & Diamonds and now Woking, where he has been manager since 2011.
Heybridge arrived at Ram Meadow in 2nd place in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League with Bury 6th in the Eastern Counties League. A decent crowd of 297 witness what was described as a poor game, in which neither side created any worthy goalscoring chances. This may have been harsh on the Blues who it could be said did well in containing their higher level opponents for 90 minutes. The first half was a drab affair, and the game badly needed a goal, and it was thought that the half time team talks from both Godden and Hill would do the trick, but the second half was equally lacking in goalmouth action as the ball spent most of the time in the sky.
The draw saw everyone gather for a replay at Heybridge’s Scraley Road ground on Tuesday 17th September. The winners of the tie knew their fate after the draw the previous day, and a home tie with Chelmsford City awaited in the 2nd Qualifying Round.
A crowd of 302 gathered in Essex for the tie, but unfortunately on this occasion Bury were no match for their higher level visitors, and Heybridge recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory on home soil to progress to the 2nd Qualifying Round.
We reunited last season for the first time in nearly 20 years, and Heybridge took the honours at Ram Meadow, despite Sam Reed giving us the lead in the 20th minute. Aldaberto Pinto scored for the visitors to level the scores with a stunning strike from distance which flew in to the top far corner giving Neil O’Sullivan no chance to reach it. In the second half, Joshua Fagbohun gave Swifts the lead, beating the Bury back line and scoring on 53 minutes. Ten minutes later Taylor Hastings made it 3-1 with a well hit free kick and that sealed the 3 points for the visitors.
The return match saw the Swifts complete the double over the Blues with a 2-1 win at Scraley Road in March 2016. George Cole gave Heybridge the lead but Connor Hall scored from the penalty spot to level it before the break. Phil Anderson scored in the 68th minute to win it for the Swifts in front of 132.
Our first meeting of this season took place at the end of September. it was Heybridge who opened the scoring against the run of play when a defensive error let in Lewis Godbold out wide and his thumping strike flew past O’Sullivan and in to the far corner of the net. The goal lifted Heybridge and Reece Grant grab a second goal for the Swifts on 71 minutes. With Bury looking to be heading for defeat Sam Reed came off the bench and changed the game. Reed broke through the defence and got to the by line to play a great cross deep in to the box and Jolland came around the back to head home for Bury on 73 minutes. Then more late drama was to come when Reed was tripped in the box and Bury were awarded a hotly disputed penalty on 94 minutes. Reed stepped up and blasted the ball into the roof of the net. The return match at Ram Meadow saw a 2-1 victory for the Swifts. Bury took the lead in the 10th minute through Ollie Hughes, and despite a dominant performance, Swifts won the game with goals from Reece Grant and Nick Brown.
In the 2017-18 season we drew 0-0 in the League Cup with Heybridge winning on penalties and then drew 1-1 at Scraley Road in the League, Cemal Ramadan with our goal after 48 minutes, Kreshnic Kransniqi 
equalising for Swifts in the 60th minute for a point.
The return match at Ram Meadow was played on a Thursday evening due to postponements and also Heybridge’s FA Cup run causing problems with fixture dates. The Blues fell behind in the second half against the play off chasing Swifts, but two late goals from Cemal Ramadan secured a fine 2-1 victory for the Blues.
The first meeting of the 2018-19 season took place at Scraley Road on 13th October and the Blues started well but lost their momentum on 19 minutes with the sending off of captain Ollie Fenn for a questionable straight red card. Heybridge wasted no time in grabbing the lead on 23 minutes, with Bury out of shape a loose ball in the Bury box was collected by Harrison Chatting who made a good strike past Luis Tibble to give the home side the advantage.
Bury played well for the remainder of the first half and the second 45 minutes considering the Swifts had a man advantage. Bury’s never say die attitude continued until the end and almost paid off on 90 minutes with Hughes hitting a shot which was spilled by Haigh and the mad rush to get the ball saw the defence clear the ball just in the nick of time. The sucker punch for Bury came very late in injury time with a stunning strike from distance from Nicholas Brown who saw hit shot fly past Tibbles into the net.

Stadium Directions: Leave the A14 Junction 43, signposted to central Bury St Edmunds. Once clear of the exit roundabout, follow the signs to Town Centre. Take the first exit at the next roundabout (after 300 yards) into Northgate Street. At the second set of traffic lights (T - Junction), turn left into Mustow Street and first left into Cotton Lane, past the Hawkes garage and the Drive Car Showroom. Carry on down to the bottom of Cotton Lane and turn right in the council car park. The Denny Bros Stadium is at the far end of the car park, situated on the left hand.