Scarborough Athletic Tantang Buxton dalam Laga Play&off 28 April 2026

Scarborough Athletic dijadwalkan bertandang ke markas Buxton pada Selasa, 28 April 2026, dalam pertandingan eliminasi play-off Conference North untuk memperebutkan tiket semifinal melawan South Shields. Klub berjuluk Seadogs ini mengincar kemenangan setelah sebelumnya menelan kekalahan 2-0 dari tim tuan rumah pada 11 April lalu.

Manajer Scarborough Athletic, Jonathan Greening, menekankan bahwa timnya memiliki motivasi tinggi untuk membuktikan kualitas mereka di lapangan. Greening mencatat bahwa Buxton merupakan satu-satunya tim yang berhasil mengalahkan anak asuhnya dalam 12 pertandingan terakhir di musim reguler.

"Self-pride" will fuel Scarborough Athletic in their first game in the Conference North play-offs. ujar Jonathan Greening, Manajer Scarborough Athletic.

Greening mengakui performa buruk timnya pada pertemuan sebelumnya menjadi pelajaran berharga bagi para pemain. Ia berharap skuatnya yang berstatus paruh waktu dapat memberikan perlawanan maksimal melawan tim profesional seperti Buxton.

"We didn't play very well there so we want to go there and rectify that and show them we are a really good team," kata Jonathan Greening, Manajer Scarborough Athletic.

Target utama Greening adalah memastikan seluruh pemain, baik yang menjadi starter maupun dari bangku cadangan, tampil konsisten sepanjang laga. Kemenangan di laga ini akan membawa mereka selangkah lebih dekat menuju National League Premier Division.

"I wouldn't say revenge is the word, we were more upset with the way we performed against Buxton. ungkap Jonathan Greening, Manajer Scarborough Athletic.

Meski menghadapi tim dengan anggaran besar, Greening tetap percaya diri dengan kekuatan fisik dan kualitas teknik para pemainnya. Ia menekankan pentingnya performa puncat di hari pertandingan.

"I think there's a bit of self-pride in there from the players. They want to go there and show they're much better players than they showed last time. jelas Jonathan Greening, Manajer Scarborough Athletic.

Laga ini menjadi pembuktian bagi Scarborough yang sebelumnya sempat diprediksi akan terdegradasi pada awal musim. Status underdog justru memberikan kebebasan bagi para pemain untuk tampil tanpa beban.

"That's the main focus, going there and making sure the XI perform really well, the players who come off the bench perform really well and give them a real good go because we're only three games away from the National League (Premier Division)." tutur Jonathan Greening, Manajer Scarborough Athletic.

Buxton sendiri memiliki keunggulan secara teknis dan finansial sebagai tim full-time. Namun, kondisi ini tidak menyurutkan semangat tim tamu yang baru saja memastikan tempat di play-off setelah bermain imbang 1-1 melawan Bedford Town.

"They're a full-time team with a big budget, they've got some really good technical players you've got to watch," ujar Jonathan Greening, Manajer Scarborough Athletic.

Greening kembali menegaskan bahwa meski mereka adalah tim paruh waktu, kekuatan fisik dan kualitas pemainnya tidak bisa diremehkan. Semua akan ditentukan oleh performa mereka di lapangan.

"We've got the same. I know we're only a part-time team but we're fit, we're strong, we've got good quality players, it's about performing on the day." kata Jonathan Greening, Manajer Scarborough Athletic.

Di sisi lain, gelandang Alex Purver merasa bangga atas pencapaian timnya sejauh ini. Ia mengingatkan bahwa keberhasilan menembus babak play-off merupakan bukti nyata timnya telah mematahkan semua prediksi negatif.

"That's the the main focus, we just had a chat about it in there. We're so close to to getting promoted and it's all about who performs on the night, Tuesday against Buxton, we know it's a tough tie, but listen if you turn up, all 11 players turn up and the lads who come off the bench turn up, we can give it a right go." ujar Alex Purver, Gelandang Scarborough Athletic.

Purver juga menyoroti perbedaan fasilitas dan waktu latihan antara kedua tim. Meski begitu, ia tetap antusias menyambut laga krusial ini untuk menciptakan kenangan baru bagi klub.

"There's absolutely no pressure on us at all and there's not been any pressure on us at all in this in this playoff push from the start of the season. I'd like to remind people bookmakers had us favourites for relegation at the start of the year. Like we've proved every single person wrong all the way through and we're now in an incredible position to go there to Buxton, who will be favourites which is fantastic- credit to them- they're a full-time team who've got a much bigger budget than us. They get the opportunity to work on lots more things than us, I know people there who have coached previously at Leeds United who speak really highly of it. So yeah we go there, we've absolutely no pressure on us at all, off the back of an unbelievable season but really excited yeah to make make more memories and have an incredible evening there." tutur Alex Purver, Gelandang Scarborough Athletic.

Sementara itu, di luar lapangan hijau, komunitas Buxton baru saja menyelesaikan aksi bersih-bersih tahunan bertajuk "Big Spring Clean". Kegiatan ini melibatkan puluhan sukarelawan, termasuk wisatawan mancanegara dari Korea Selatan yang ikut serta membersihkan area Pavilion Gardens.

"Thanks to everyone who took part in Buxton's Big Spring Clean. ujar Juru Bicara Tim Kota Buxton.

Relawan melakukan berbagai aksi mulai dari membersihkan rambu jalan hingga mengecat pagar di kawasan Harpur Hill. Kegiatan ini bertujuan mempercantik kota menjelang acara Spring Fair tahunan.

"Around 30 Buxton Town Team volunteers and members of the public blitzed the town centre from the Pavilion Gardens to the far end of Spring Gardens. kata Juru Bicara Tim Kota Buxton.

Kegiatan ini juga mendapat apresiasi dari warga dan pengunjung karena suasananya yang hangat dan ramah. Salah satu relawan cilik dari kelompok Squirrels juga turut berpartisipasi untuk mendapatkan lencana pahlawan komunitas.

"We enjoy the challenge – and the friendship – and the town looks so much better when we've finished." tambah Juru Bicara Tim Kota Buxton.

Di tengah keramaian aksi sosial tersebut, Dewan High Peak Borough mengumumkan penjualan Gedung Balai Kota Buxton (Town Hall). Bangunan bersejarah kelas II ini dinilai sudah tidak lagi sesuai dengan kebutuhan operasional modern pemerintah daerah.

"The council is very mindful this is an important historic building in the town and so has been engaging with community-led proposals for the future of the building for several months now. jelas Dewan High Peak Borough.

Pemerintah setempat berencana memindahkan basis kerja staf mereka ke pusat kota sebagai bagian dari proyek Revitalising Buxton. Calon pembeli diwajibkan menjamin pelestarian fitur warisan budaya bangunan tersebut.

"Any new owner will be required to show that they will be a responsible custodian of the property who can preserve the building's protected heritage features in a sustainable way, while enhancing its overall appearance. tegas Dewan High Peak Borough.

Hingga saat ini, belum ada harga pasti yang dicantumkan dalam daftar penjualan gedung akhir abad ke-19 tersebut. Dewan menegaskan prioritas utama adalah memastikan masa depan gedung tetap terjaga secara finansial, baik melalui transfer aset komunitas maupun solusi sektor swasta.

"As a council, our main priority is to ensure that the future of the building is secured in a sustainable, financially resilient way, with no preference as to whether that is as a community asset transfer or private sector solution." pungkas Dewan High Peak Borough.