All you need to know ahead of tonight's cup replay
Luton Town v Bury
FA Cup second round replay
Tuesday 16th December 2014, kick-off 7.45pm
Live commentary on Hatters Player, DiverseFM, BBC3CR and lutontown.co.uk
• Hatters won eight of last nine at home in all comps
• Shakers lost five of their last six matches in all comps
• Head2Head: Town wins: 18, Bury wins: 13, Draws: 10
WHO? Bury, aka the Shakers, from Gigg Lane, are in town tonight for the FA Cup second round replay. Bury booked their place in round two by beating Hemel Hempstead Town. After an encouraging start to the campaign the bookies’ title favourites lie in ninth place in the table.
RECENT FORM. The Shakers have been a little bit shaky lately. Since that win over Hemel on 8th November, David Flitcroft’s side have lost five of their last six games – the only time they haven’t lost was against the Town in the original cup tie. On Saturday the Shakers went down 2-1 at Oxford – their fourth successive defeat in League 2.
TICKET NEWS. Not doing anything with your Tuesday night? Then why not come to the game. Click here for the admission prices.
UP FOR THE CUP. It will only be the third time that the clubs have met in the FA Cup, the previous cup tie to the original game at Bury 10 days ago, was won by Bury at Gigg Lane back in 1923.
AND THE WINNERS...The game will be settled on the night and if that means extra-time and penalties then so be it. League 2 will have a representative in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Why? Well because the Town or Bury will take on either Cambridge or Mansfield in round three – and the U’s and the Stags go head to head in their replay tonight, too.
HAVEN’T WE MET BEFORE? The Hatters edge the overall head-to-head records between the two clubs with the Town winning 18 to Bury’s 13 in the 41 previous meetings. 10 have ended all square. Interestingly enough, eight of those 10 draws have come in the last 12 fixtures.
In recent times, goals in games between to the clubs have also been very thin on the ground: in the last 13 meetings, only 23 goals have been scored. Four of those 13 matches have finished goalless.
The last time the Hatters beat the Shakers came at Gigg Lane in the minus 30 season of 2008/09. The Town ran out 2-1 winners in October that season thanks to goals from striker Tom Craddock and cult hero defender Ian Roper.
TOWN CONNECTIONS. There have been a number of players who have worn the shirts of both the Town and Bury down the years, none more notable than our very own Mark Tyler, who played 11 games on-loan with the Shakers in 2009.
Another hugely popular goalkeeper, Dean Kiely, has also played for both clubs. It was whilst with the Shakers that the stopper really shot to prominence. He made 137 Football League appearances whilst at Gigg Lane before a £1m move to Charlton in the summer of 1999. Kiely arrived on-loan at Kenilworth Road in November 2006. He made his debut in 2-1 defeat at Southampton and played 11 times for the Town in the Championship.
Current Town striker Mark Cullen will also be familiar to Shakers fans. The forward had two loans spells at Gigg Lane, scoring just once in 16 appearances in 2011 and 2012.
One of the most familiar faces in football in recent history, Efe Sodje, became a cult hero at Gigg Lane having previously been on the Town’s books. Sodje originally signed for the Hatters from Macclesfield in August 1999 but failed to hold down a regular first team place and after just nine league appearances he left for Crewe. He joined Bury in February 2008, initially on-loan before signing permanently. Overall Sodje played 212 times for Shakers and scored 18 goals – not bad for a cente-half.
Those supporters who can cast their minds back to 1984 will remember striker Steve Elliott, a £95,000 signing by David Pleat from Preston North End. Having scoring over 70 times for Preston, Elliott could only manage three league goals in an injury-affected spell at Kenilworth Road. After spells at Walsall and Bolton he joined Bury in 1988 and scored 11 times in 31 Football League appearances.
DO MENTION. The FA Cup. Why? Well because Bury have won it. Twice. The Shakers first lifted the famous old trophy in 1900, beating Southampton 4-0. Three years later the team went one (well two) better, beating Derby 6-0. It remains the largest margin of victory in any cup final. Good, eh?
DON’T MENTION. Manchester. Bury, the club and the town, is not in Manchester. Bury is a town in its own right. A number of settlements in the surrounding area form to make up the Metropolitan Borough of Bury.
REF WATCH. Oliver Langford makes his second visit to Kenilworth Road this season, having already overseen the Town’s 1-0 defeat to AFC Wimbledon back in August. So far this season the whistler has shown 29 yellow cards and two red cards in the 16 matches he has officiated.
TOWN TEAM NEWS. The Town will be without suspension skipper Stephen McNulty following his red card for two bookable offences at Morecambe on Saturday. The Hatters will be able to call upon Charlie Walker and Scott Griffiths are both sat out the weekend defeat with minor knocks. Paul Benson, Alex Lawless, Curtley Williams, Luke Guttridge and Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu are all unavailable, however.
LIVE AND ONLINE.Hatters Player is the only place to listen to online commentary of the Hatters this season and once again the DiverseFM team will be bringing subscribers all the action from Kenilworth Road. What’s more there will be a full report, reaction and photographs post-match and live text updates during the match itself. Click here to read more about the advantages of Player – which you can now use on mobile and tablets!
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