Its matchday 20 for Merthyr in the Enterprise National League North and the in-form Martyrs travel away to 12th placed Buxton FC. Last time out, Merthyr Town beat Leamington FC 4-1 following a brace from both Noah Smerdon and Ricardo Rees who continued his red-hot goal scoring form, taking his tally for the league season up to 23. The hosts Buxton FC will be looking to turn their poor form around after picking up just 1 victory in their last 5 league games which has saw them slip down the table into 12th place. In their last fixture 'The Bucks' were narrowly defeated 3-2 away at King's Lynn despite taking a 2-0 lead early in the second half.

Previous encounters:

In recent history, the Martyrs have taken on Buxton FC just once which took place at The Silverlands in the FA Cup First Round Proper. The FA Cup tie away at Buxton FC resulted in a 2-0 defeat for Merthyr with 'The Bucks' progressing into the 2nd round proper to take on Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | KEY STAFF

Manager | John McGrath

Manager John McGrath joined Buxton FC in May 2024 following a 14th place finish in the 2023/24 season. In McGrath's first season in charge at Buxton he guided them to a playoff place and a 7th place finish. However, 'The Bucks' fell short in the playoffs at the first hurdle after an extra time 2-1 defeat away at Chester. McGrath started his playing career at Belvedere in 1996 until he signed for Aston Villa in 1999 after a successful two-week trial. In his 4-year spell at Aston Villa McGrath only made 2 senior appearances which saw him sign for Dagenham & Redbridge on loan in 2002 where he made 22 appearances, scoring 2 goals from midfield. Following the conclusion of his loan spell at Dagenham & Redbridge, McGrath made a permanent move to Football League side Doncaster Rovers. He went on to make 14 appearances for Doncaster as they won the Third Division Title. Then in 2004, he spent 2 months on loan at Shrewsbury Town while making 8 appearances before signing for Kidderminster Harriers in January 2005 but was released in May 2005. After trials with York City, Darlington, Limerick and Scunthorpe United, John McGrath joined hometown club Limerick who played in the League of Ireland First Division for the remainder of the 04/05 season. He left Limerick to make a return to England with Conference South (National League South) side Weymouth in January 2006. He made 13 appearances and scored 3 goals as Weymouth lifted the Conference South Division. Despite only joining Weymouth in January 2006, McGrath joined Conference National (National League) side Tamworth in July 2006. In the 2006/07 season McGrath made 42 appearances alongside scoring 3 goals. Following Tamworth's relegation in the 2006/07 season, John McGrath joined local rivals Burton Albion and in his first season he made the playoffs after playing 60 games and scoring 9 goals. John McGrath stayed at Burton from 2007 until 2013 which saw him make 215 games in total while scoring 14 goals. In 2013 McGrath made the loan move to York City but he only made 9 appearances for the club without scoring a goal. After the end of his loan move at York City, McGrath made the permanent switch to Alfreton Town where he spent one year, making 23 appearances before making one final move in his playing career in 2015 which saw him sign for Mickleover. McGrath's coaching career started at Mickleover as he became player-coach in 2016, and he stayed in this role at Mickleover until 2022 before being appointed as the First Team Manager at the club where he stayed until making the move to Buxton FC in 2024.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | SEASON SO FAR

Following playoff heartbreak in the 2024/25 season, 'The Bucks' were hoping to fight for promotion again and their season started at home against Radcliffe FC. It was a positive start for Buxton as they defeated Radcliffe 2-1 on the opening day of the season with goals from Luke Brennan and Connor Kirby. However, despite their positive opening day of the season 'The Bucks' then went on a poor run of form that saw them win just 1 game out of their next 6 league games with the singular win coming away from home at Telford United. On the 6th of September, Buxton FC finally found another victory after beating Oxford City 2-1 at home with Tai Sodje scoring the winning goal. John McGrath's side used the momentum of their victory to help point up some important points in the next 7 games which saw them secure 6 wins including 2 FA Cup wins which saw 'The Bucks' progress into the second-round proper. Despite this positive run of form, the previous 5 results prior to hosting Merthyr Town haven't been promising as they have lost 4 out of 5 which includes a 3-0 away defeat in the hands of Bedford Town. In the last game before taking on The Martyrs, Buxton took a 2-0 lead in the 52nd minute through a Cian Coleman goal but King's Lynn Town managed to turn around the 2-goal deficit and ended up defeating Buxton FC 3-2. The top scorers for ‘The Bucks’ so far this Enterprise National League Season are attackers Tai Sodje and Luke Brennan who both have scored 8 goals each.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | 2025/26 SQUAD

Goalkeepers | Joe Young, Paul Cooper, Logan Melville

Defenders | Harry Balfe, George Ward, Kieran Burton, Zaine Francis-Angol, Deniche Hill, Max Bardell, Sam Robinson, Louis Stephenson

Midfielders | Tate Campbell, Cian Coleman, Archie Bingham, Saul Cullen, Callum Leigh, Connor Kirby, Xander McBurnie, Will Trueman, Keziah Martin, Ethan Wenayeto, Oliver Greaves, Luke Hall

Attackers | Luke Brennan, Ryan McLean, Callum Ebanks, Johnny Johnston, Samuel Tomlinson, Tai Sodje

Match Details:

Date | Saturday 29th November 2025

Competition | Enterprise National League North

Time | 15:00

Stadium | TARMAC Silverlands Stadium