First Division Preview - Easter Monday 2016
Sun 27th March 2016 | General | By Gary Langley
Easter is traditionally a busy time for non-league football and as the end of the season is starting to appear on the horizon on calendars then so does the onset of excitement and six-pointer games. This Monday sees a plethora of great games and starting at Bacup, where Borough host Daisy Hill with neither of these sides out of the play-off race. Whilst Bacup do hold games in hand on Daisy Hill they do hold that advantage, however they are going to have to motor to break into the top six. Daisy Hill, well they will have to go pretty much unbeaten between now and the end if they are to spring a surprise and given recent form, it’s possible.
It’s a derby night as St Helens Town host Ashton Town at Brocstedes Park, the pitch by all accounts there is again looking the part following great work by Ashton Athletic Groundsman, Ben Kay. The Two Town’s are neck and neck at the moment with both clubs achieving comprehensive wins on Saturday. Ashton Town defeated a strong Chadderton side 4-0 at Edge Green Street with four different goal scorers, admittedly the first was an own goal but you have to take your hat off to them, defeating Chadderton hasn’t been an easy thing to do this season but they did it with some panache. St Helens Town won convincingly too but they did it on the road at Whitchurch Alport, again every goal by a different scorer including debutant Shaun Brady who having progressed through Town’s U18’s and U21’s showed great potential on his bow for their firsts. Both of these teams are mutually fancied by observers to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season so these sides hitting form at the right time makes this a great looking fixture.
Title Favorites Hanley Town host lowly Eccleshall who have had a rotten season given the high expectations of them early on. Hanley will be looking to gain points on Barnton who also host opposition from the bottom three in the form of Whitchurch Alport. On paper both Hanley and Barnton should win fairly straight-forwardly, however, will nerves become a factor and of course let’s not forget both Eccleshall and Whitchurch have put in some good performances this season. Hanley were beaten 1-0 at Stockport Town on Saturday, they had looked set for what would have been a reasonable point on the road against a fellow side in the hunt for promotion, however in the 88th minute Chris Sherrington fired home a late winner to sink the hearts of the travelling Hanley support. Barnton also suffered heartache but in a different competition as Barnton narrowly went down 1-0 to Atherton Colls in the MEN United Cup final, a solitary goal early on from Mark Truffas did the damage but Barnton will – and should – take heart from a solid performance against a side that has blown away all before them over the last 18 months.
Chadderton Town have an early opportunity to put that 0-4 reverse at Ashton Town behind them as they host Atherton LR at Andrew Street. LR were not in action on Saturday so they will be a wee bit fresher than their hosts and will be looking for an up-turn in form for the run-in,
In the last game in this preview, Rochdale Town host Holker OB. Rochdale are currently way ahead of Holker in the Divisions Form table, Town recorded an impressive 2-1 home win over previously high-flying Litherland Remyca on Saturday, a double from Adam Latham sent the Sefton side home with nothing from the match. However, it is the Cumbrian side who are near the upper echelons of the table and a win today could see them right back into the mix, they slipped up at home to a motivated Cheadle Town side who achieved their first win at Holker for a generation. The Old boys currently sit in sixth, level on points with Remyca but they do have a couple of games in hand on all around them so they will be there or thereabouts, however taking all points from a resurgent Rochdale will not be an easy task.
First Division Preview - Easter Monday 2016
Sun 27th March 2016 | General
By Gary Langley
Easter is traditionally a busy time for non-league football and as the end of the season is starting to appear on the horizon on calendars then so does the onset of excitement and six-pointer games. This Monday sees a plethora of great games and starting at Bacup, where Borough host Daisy Hill with neither of these sides out of the play-off race. Whilst Bacup do hold games in hand on Daisy Hill they do hold that advantage, however they are going to have to motor to break into the top six. Daisy Hill, well they will have to go pretty much unbeaten between now and the end if they are to spring a surprise and given recent form, it’s possible.
It’s a derby night as St Helens Town host Ashton Town at Brocstedes Park, the pitch by all accounts there is again looking the part following great work by Ashton Athletic Groundsman, Ben Kay. The Two Town’s are neck and neck at the moment with both clubs achieving comprehensive wins on Saturday. Ashton Town defeated a strong Chadderton side 4-0 at Edge Green Street with four different goal scorers, admittedly the first was an own goal but you have to take your hat off to them, defeating Chadderton hasn’t been an easy thing to do this season but they did it with some panache. St Helens Town won convincingly too but they did it on the road at Whitchurch Alport, again every goal by a different scorer including debutant Shaun Brady who having progressed through Town’s U18’s and U21’s showed great potential on his bow for their firsts. Both of these teams are mutually fancied by observers to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season so these sides hitting form at the right time makes this a great looking fixture.
Title Favorites Hanley Town host lowly Eccleshall who have had a rotten season given the high expectations of them early on. Hanley will be looking to gain points on Barnton who also host opposition from the bottom three in the form of Whitchurch Alport. On paper both Hanley and Barnton should win fairly straight-forwardly, however, will nerves become a factor and of course let’s not forget both Eccleshall and Whitchurch have put in some good performances this season. Hanley were beaten 1-0 at Stockport Town on Saturday, they had looked set for what would have been a reasonable point on the road against a fellow side in the hunt for promotion, however in the 88th minute Chris Sherrington fired home a late winner to sink the hearts of the travelling Hanley support. Barnton also suffered heartache but in a different competition as Barnton narrowly went down 1-0 to Atherton Colls in the MEN United Cup final, a solitary goal early on from Mark Truffas did the damage but Barnton will – and should – take heart from a solid performance against a side that has blown away all before them over the last 18 months.
Chadderton Town have an early opportunity to put that 0-4 reverse at Ashton Town behind them as they host Atherton LR at Andrew Street. LR were not in action on Saturday so they will be a wee bit fresher than their hosts and will be looking for an up-turn in form for the run-in,
In the last game in this preview, Rochdale Town host Holker OB. Rochdale are currently way ahead of Holker in the Divisions Form table, Town recorded an impressive 2-1 home win over previously high-flying Litherland Remyca on Saturday, a double from Adam Latham sent the Sefton side home with nothing from the match. However, it is the Cumbrian side who are near the upper echelons of the table and a win today could see them right back into the mix, they slipped up at home to a motivated Cheadle Town side who achieved their first win at Holker for a generation. The Old boys currently sit in sixth, level on points with Remyca but they do have a couple of games in hand on all around them so they will be there or thereabouts, however taking all points from a resurgent Rochdale will not be an easy task.
