Buxton desperately missing their suspended leaders Ravenhill and Young, says McIntosh

The Bucks fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Rushall Olympic on Tuesday night, without their suspended captain and vice captain Ricky Ravenhill and Greg Young.

And both will be sitting in the stands when Buxton host Halesowen this weekend.

McIntosh said their absence would hurt any team.

“We’re still missing Ricky and Greg, and other players have to come in and step up.

“But they’re our captain and vice captain, so when you’ve got two players like that missing it’s going to be difficult for any team.

“They’re two leaders, and we’ve got a very young side at the moment.”

McIntosh had hoped his side could keep their momentum from a two-game unbeaten run, but handing their visitors a 2-0 half-time lead proved insurmountable.

But he was pleased with the second half showing.

“The performance wasn’t too bad,” he said.

“The second goal was an individual error just before half-time, but to be fair the lads responded really well and in the end could have got a result.”

Saturday’s visit of Halesowen will be the second time the sides have met in the space of a week.

Last Saturday the Bucks returned home from the West Midlands with a point, following a 1-1 draw.

McIntosh hopes the return fixture will yield a victory.

“They’re hard working and gritty, but I was disappointed to come away with a draw, so on our home patch hopefully we can get the result.

“Injury wise we seem okay, although Ash Burbeary came off at half-time with a bit of a hamstring strain.

“Niall Doran came on and did well.

“We’ll just keep going and get on with it.”

Sitting 11th, 14 points outside the play-offs and 17 points above the drop zone, the temptation could be to coast to the end of the season.

But McIntosh insists there’s enough at stake to keep his players interested.

“We want to finish as high as possible.

“The last couple of games before Tuesday night were encouraging.

“I felt we were doing reasonably well.

“When we get a few players back it will help, and there’s still a lot of very winnable games left this season.

“Every player has something to play for, for the club, for yourself and your own pride.

“There’s still plenty to play for and we’ll keep going.”

Saturday’s visitors Halesowen are on a five-game winless streak.

Their last victory came on 2nd January at Marine.

On Monday, McIntosh’s men travel to 17th-placed Hyde United.