Tilbury Football Club are playing away to AFC Sudbury Saturday after getting the season off to a flyer with two wins out of two against play-off favourites Enfield Town and Brentwood Town. The sky bet favourites Sudbury, lie in eighth after despite being two nil up drew 2-2 against Redbridge on the opening day before narrowly beating Ilford 1-0 on Tuesday night. Tilbury, under Paul Vaughan showed great promise after defeating Enfield Town 4-3 on Tuesday night a club they lost to 4-0 and 2-0 respectively last season. Goals from Aaron Matthews, Jack West and two from Gary Henty including a 94th minute screamer to win the game from the skipper.

AFC Sudbury History

AFC (Amalgamated Football Club) Sudbury was formed on Tuesday 1st June 1999 from the amalgamation of Sudbury Town (founded 1885) and Sudbury Wanderers (founded 1958) making it the newest senior club in East Anglia. The first ever game was played at The Priory Stadium (the previous home of Town) on 17th July 1999 against a full Colchester United side in the Harwich Charity Cup Centenary Shield Semi-Final, and saw a 2-4 defeat after extra time in front of 397 spectators.

The club now plays at The MEL Group Stadium, King’s Marsh, Brundon Lane, Sudbury, which Wanderers purchased in 1972 were previously water meadows, from which two pitches and a training area were created. The clubhouse was opened in 1985 and the dressing rooms in 1991. Floodlights were added in 1992 and the following year a 200-seat stand was built in addition to the two areas behind the goals being covered. In 2000 a new stand, ‘The Shed’, was opened and caters for 300 standing fans.

The two clubs left behind proud histories. Sudbury Town were one of the founder members of the Suffolk County Football Association in 1885. They reached the second round proper of the F.A. Cup in 1996-97 having defeated Brighton And Hove Albion in the first round after a replay and an exciting penalty shoot-out. They then were defeated by Brentford with the tie being played at Layer road Colchester in the Second Round. The F.A. Vase provided the club with some memorable achievements. Finalists in 1989, 26,478 watched that final at the old Wembley Stadium which the Borough drew with Tamworth. The replay was sadly lost the next week at Peterborough United. In addition, Sudbury Town reached the semi-finals twice and also one quarter-final.

Sudbury Town played for seven seasons in the Southern League, three of these being in the Premier Division. They won the League Cup and were runners-up on another occasion. They also appeared in 22 finals of the Suffolk Premier Cup, winning it 13 times. Wanderers won the same competition in 1997-98 after a replay.

Wanderers progressed through the Halstead League, the Essex and Suffolk Border League and then the First and Premier Divisions of the Eastern Counties League. On the way they were three times finalists in the Suffolk Senior Cup at Portman Road, winning the trophy in 1991-92. In the F.A. Vase the club twice reached the last eight and once the last sixteen. The Jewson League Cup was won in 1999, defeating Felixstowe Port And Town 7-2 at Woodbridge.

Team News;
Kevin Malthouse look set for a long time on the sidelines however, after the horrific tackle saw Malthouse sent to hospital on Tuesday night, the scans shows he was lucky to come out with only bruising and tissue damage. Kevin trained last night and showed no reaction before Saturdays game, while also Harry Cook trained last night on his road to recovery from injury.

AFC SUDBURY VS TILBURY F.C. SATURDAY 27TH AUGUST 2011 15:00
THE MEL GROUP STADIUM
KINGS MARSH, BRUNDON LANE
SUDBURY, SUFFOLK
CO10 1XR

UP THE DOCKERS!