Saturday saw no game for the Puritans due to Spennymoor Town's pitch losing the battle against sub-zero temperatures that the UK has endured over the past week. Attentions now turn to Gloucester City who currently sit 22nd in the table, eight points behind 20th place Banbury.
With the extra weekend rest, Banbury can look forward to seeing captain Lawson D’ath return to the side alongside loanee Aidan Elliott-Wheeler. Both Joe Wilson and Ethan Fitzhugh are in line to make their home debuts after impressing on their league debuts in the 2-2 draw against Blyth, with the latter scoring only 40 seconds into the game, making it the quickest Banbury goal of the season.

Gloucester City

Our visitors come into this game with no wins in six. Their last victory came against playoff-chasing Curzon Ashton 5 days prior to Christmas.

On Saturday, Gloucester narrowly lost out to Blyth in freezing temperatures. Former Tiger player JJ Hooper scored the only goal of the game to clinch all three points for the most northern side in the league.

Since the start of the season, Gloucester have seen a managerial change as the club parted company with Tim Flowers. One win from their opening nine games left them 23rd in the table. Mike Cook took charge in September; Cook is a former player, assistant, and manager at City and guided the club to safety in a memorable spell, where he attained the highest points per game tally of any Gloucester manager in the last 25 years. In his current tenure, Cook has seen only four league wins in 18 games but has continuously strengthened the squad and in the past week has signed former EFL Striker Theo Robinson.

Match Sponsor – Norbar

We welcome Norbar to the Plant Hire Community Stadium for Tuesday's game.

Norbar are world leaders in torque equipment. Their state-of-the-art facilities ensure they “provide the latest design, manufacturing and quality control technology to achieve the highest level of innovation and precision”. Norbar is a member of the Snap-on Incorporated family.

Previous Meetings

In the two games last term, Banbury and Gloucester played out 1-1 draws on both occasions. In the first encounter, an own goal by Ben Morgan initiated the scoring at the Plant Hire, before Matt McLure's equalised 15 minutes later. The subsequent away fixture in April witnessed a competitive battle for points, with Gloucester striving for survival and Banbury aiming to distance themselves from the relegation zone. Gloucester took an early lead before Banbury's Tom Costello, on loan from Coventry, equalised for spoils to be shared.

This season's encounter centred around Ken Charles, who spearheaded Mark Jones's Puritans to their first league win with a clinical brace. His goals, both poacher's finishes, secured the three points back in August.

Past Puritan

Banbury United's 22/23 Manager’s Player of the Season went to Josh Smile, despite only making 26 league appearances. This showed Smile’s impact on Andy Whing's side, as the club saw a 42% win percentage when Smile anchored the midfield, in contrast to the 10% win percentage across 20 league matches when Smile was sidelined. Smile's season ended on January 28th in a 3-2 win over Hereford as he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Smile signed for Gloucester in November and has since returned to action, playing four games so far for City and quickly became a fan favourite with the Tramway Army, who 'adore' him.

Ticket Information

Supporters can buy their tickets for Tuesday’s game here. They are priced at:
• Adults - £15
• Concessions (65+) - £11
• Student (with ID) - £8
• Under-18 - £5
• Accompanied Under-11 – £2