Reusch First Division Cup Preview - Bonfire Night 2016
Fri 4th November 2016 | The Edward Case Cup | By Martin Fallon
The Second Round of the Reusch First Division Cup kicks off this weekend with 16 of our sides looking to take one step closer to next April’s Final.
Barnton beat Hanley Town in last season’s Final, and with both of those sides promoted to the Premier Division, we will have new finalists. However, as strange as it seems, none of the 16 left in it has ever won the competition, meaning that we are guaranteed a new name on the trophy even at this early stage, and only one team has ever reaching a previous Final!
To cut down on travelling, the competition is split between North and South at this stage, so we will look at the Northern Section first.
Northern Section
Carlisle City’s Gillford Park Stadium will host its first ever Reusch First Division Cup match when Atherton LR are the visitors. The Cumbrian side reached this stage with a 3-2 win away at AFC Blackpool in the last round with James Tose hitting a late winner after the Mechanics had come from 2-0 down.
Carlisle have had a decent run since the start of October, winning five of their eight games, and they bounced back to winning ways on Monday night with a 3-1 victory over AFC Blackpool. Those eight games have also seen them score 19 goals, and more pleasing is the fact that 11 different players have scored them, indicating that they are not reliant on one individual. They will feel confident though against an LR side that have lost seven of their last nine games, conceding 19 in this period. This form has seen them bow out of both the FA Vase and Macron Cup, and they will not want to make this a hat-trick on Saturday.
Like Carlisle, Chadderton were also in First Round action, and they needed extra time to overcome Bacup Borough 2-1 with Sam Gibson hitting both goals. Since that match, at the start of October, they have gone out of both the FA Vase and Manchester Premier Cup, but they showed what they can do last Saturday with a 6-3 win at Holker Old Boys, with James Curley grabbing a hat-trick. They travel to high flying Charnock Richard on Saturday, hoping for a better return than their last visit in September when the home side won 3-0.
Carl Grimshaw scored twice that day, with Charnock’s leading scorer on 19 for the season now, that tally coming in just 20 games. Charnock’s good form this season has seen them up to second place in the First Division, and they have also just picked up the First Division Club of the Month award. They have taken Premier Division opposition to extra time in their last two times, resulting in a win over Barnoldswick Town and a loss at Hanley Town, and will be confident of progressing in this tie.
Holker Old Boys are the third Northern Section team who also played in the last round at the start of October and they overcame Ashton Town 4-1. They are a much changed team since then though, with player manager Craig Redhead, scorer of two goals that day, leaving the club since that game. Since his departure they have lost both of their games, to Stockton Town in the FA Vase and that 6-3 loss to Chadderton.
They face a home tie on Saturday against a Silsden side that surprisingly replaced manager James Gill last weekend despite an 8-2 win at New Mills. That win though did come out of the blue, with Silsden losing their previous five games and scoring just once in the process. They have overhauled the team since relegation last season, but they do have goals in them when they click, with that New Mills win the fifth time this season that they have scored five or more goals in a match.
The final Northern Section tie sees St Helens Town host Daisy Hill in a game to be played at Prescot Cables FC. Its safe to say that Saints have been consistently inconsistent this season, but they are entertaining to watch! Their last six games have seen 30 goals, with 15 both scored and conceded, and last time out they won 5-3 at Eccleshall in the Macron Cup. Andrew Gillespie is once again leading scorer for Saints, but its Dale Korie-Butler who is the man in form with four goals in three games.
Speaking of in-form, it’s Daisy Hill who are riding high in the form table with three wins and two draws in their last five games. Last time out was a 1-0 win at AFC Blackpool, that being their second consecutive clean sheet, and they are just three places outside the play-off positions. It’s also pleasing to see that their last seven goals have come from six different players, highlighting that they are confident of scoring in every game, and they have only failed to score once this season.
Southern Section
Cheadle Town are the only one of the clubs left in this competition that have reached a previous final. In fact they did so three times, in 2009/10, 1995/96 and 1990/91, losing every one of them. They will be looking to progress to the Quarter Finals but won’t relish a trip to City of Liverpool FC, the Purples already beating them 5-1 in their previous meeting this season. Cheadle are another inconsistent side, picking up seven points from three games in mid-October but these games bookended by big losses to Charnock Richard and Widnes.
City of Liverpool had a mini-slump at the start of October, dropping out of the top two that they have featured in for much of the season, but they have bounced back with two wins in their last two games at Prestwich Heys and at home to Alsager Town. They are always a threat though having scored 54 goals in their 21 games this season, with Daley Woods their leading scorer with 13.
Sandbach United host Stockport Town, with the visitors coming into the game on the back of the biggest win in the last round when they won 7-1 at Eccleshall. Since that win at the start of October, they won their nest two league games but they have failed to win in their last four. They come into the game on the back of a 6-0 loss to a strong Crewe Alexandra side in the Cheshire Senior Cup.
The home side have already registered a 4-2 win over Stockport this season in the Macron Cup, with Daniel Bartle scoring twice in that game. He is Sandbach’s leading scorer this season with 14 goals coming in just 16 games, and he has found the net in each of Sandbach’s last four. Sandbach lost narrowly to Premier Division side Atherton Collieries in last weekend’s Macron Cup, but they had won five of their previous six games so will go into the game full of confidence.
One of those wins was against Widnes, which is the only loss that they have had since Joey Dunn took over at the start of October. They have racked up some impressive wins in their last six games, a 4-1 win at Oswestry in the last round and a 2-1 win at City of Liverpool in the league, plus a 2-1 win at EvoStik League side Skelmersdale United in the Liverpool Senior Cup on Tuesday. George Lomax and Kevin Towey have struck up an impressive partnership, and the partnership has scored all of Widnes’ last nine goals.
Widnes’ opponents are Prestwich Heys in a game that kicks off at 2.00pm on Saturday. Prestwich lost 3-2 in a cracking game on Wednesday evening, which is their third straight defeat. They showed what they can do though earlier in October with four straight wins including a 4-3 win at Premier Division side Congleton Town in the Macron Cup and a 5-0 demolition of Bacup Borough. This is Prestwich’s second game in the competition so far having beaten Litherland REMYCA 2-1 in the last round. The two sides have met already this season on the opening day of the season when Widnes ran out 3-1 winners.
The final game of the day sees Whitchurch Alport take on Alsager Town at Yockings Park. Whitchurch’s turnaround this season has been phenomenal and they come into the game as First Division leaders after finishing bottom last season. A run of five straight victories was ended by Premier Division side Maine Road in the Macron Cup last week, but their form has been great all season. Michael Blundell tops the scoring charts with 13 with Simon Everall one behind him, but they will be up against the meanest defence in the league in Alsager.
The Staffordshire side are difficult to beat having lost just twice in the league this season and conceding just 19 goals. They have already won at Yockings Park this season in a 2-1 win in August. They sit seven points behind Whitchurch in fourth place but do have three games in hand at present. Alsager won 3-1 at Atherton LR last Saturday, and although their only two losses this season came in their last four games, they will be confident of getting the win in what is my game of the day in the Reusch Cup.
Reusch First Division Cup Preview - Bonfire Night 2016
Fri 4th November 2016 | The Edward Case Cup
By Martin Fallon
The Second Round of the Reusch First Division Cup kicks off this weekend with 16 of our sides looking to take one step closer to next April’s Final.
Barnton beat Hanley Town in last season’s Final, and with both of those sides promoted to the Premier Division, we will have new finalists. However, as strange as it seems, none of the 16 left in it has ever won the competition, meaning that we are guaranteed a new name on the trophy even at this early stage, and only one team has ever reaching a previous Final!
To cut down on travelling, the competition is split between North and South at this stage, so we will look at the Northern Section first.
Northern Section
Carlisle City’s Gillford Park Stadium will host its first ever Reusch First Division Cup match when Atherton LR are the visitors. The Cumbrian side reached this stage with a 3-2 win away at AFC Blackpool in the last round with James Tose hitting a late winner after the Mechanics had come from 2-0 down.
Carlisle have had a decent run since the start of October, winning five of their eight games, and they bounced back to winning ways on Monday night with a 3-1 victory over AFC Blackpool. Those eight games have also seen them score 19 goals, and more pleasing is the fact that 11 different players have scored them, indicating that they are not reliant on one individual. They will feel confident though against an LR side that have lost seven of their last nine games, conceding 19 in this period. This form has seen them bow out of both the FA Vase and Macron Cup, and they will not want to make this a hat-trick on Saturday.
Like Carlisle, Chadderton were also in First Round action, and they needed extra time to overcome Bacup Borough 2-1 with Sam Gibson hitting both goals. Since that match, at the start of October, they have gone out of both the FA Vase and Manchester Premier Cup, but they showed what they can do last Saturday with a 6-3 win at Holker Old Boys, with James Curley grabbing a hat-trick. They travel to high flying Charnock Richard on Saturday, hoping for a better return than their last visit in September when the home side won 3-0.
Carl Grimshaw scored twice that day, with Charnock’s leading scorer on 19 for the season now, that tally coming in just 20 games. Charnock’s good form this season has seen them up to second place in the First Division, and they have also just picked up the First Division Club of the Month award. They have taken Premier Division opposition to extra time in their last two times, resulting in a win over Barnoldswick Town and a loss at Hanley Town, and will be confident of progressing in this tie.
Holker Old Boys are the third Northern Section team who also played in the last round at the start of October and they overcame Ashton Town 4-1. They are a much changed team since then though, with player manager Craig Redhead, scorer of two goals that day, leaving the club since that game. Since his departure they have lost both of their games, to Stockton Town in the FA Vase and that 6-3 loss to Chadderton.
They face a home tie on Saturday against a Silsden side that surprisingly replaced manager James Gill last weekend despite an 8-2 win at New Mills. That win though did come out of the blue, with Silsden losing their previous five games and scoring just once in the process. They have overhauled the team since relegation last season, but they do have goals in them when they click, with that New Mills win the fifth time this season that they have scored five or more goals in a match.
The final Northern Section tie sees St Helens Town host Daisy Hill in a game to be played at Prescot Cables FC. Its safe to say that Saints have been consistently inconsistent this season, but they are entertaining to watch! Their last six games have seen 30 goals, with 15 both scored and conceded, and last time out they won 5-3 at Eccleshall in the Macron Cup. Andrew Gillespie is once again leading scorer for Saints, but its Dale Korie-Butler who is the man in form with four goals in three games.
Speaking of in-form, it’s Daisy Hill who are riding high in the form table with three wins and two draws in their last five games. Last time out was a 1-0 win at AFC Blackpool, that being their second consecutive clean sheet, and they are just three places outside the play-off positions. It’s also pleasing to see that their last seven goals have come from six different players, highlighting that they are confident of scoring in every game, and they have only failed to score once this season.
Southern Section
Cheadle Town are the only one of the clubs left in this competition that have reached a previous final. In fact they did so three times, in 2009/10, 1995/96 and 1990/91, losing every one of them. They will be looking to progress to the Quarter Finals but won’t relish a trip to City of Liverpool FC, the Purples already beating them 5-1 in their previous meeting this season. Cheadle are another inconsistent side, picking up seven points from three games in mid-October but these games bookended by big losses to Charnock Richard and Widnes.
City of Liverpool had a mini-slump at the start of October, dropping out of the top two that they have featured in for much of the season, but they have bounced back with two wins in their last two games at Prestwich Heys and at home to Alsager Town. They are always a threat though having scored 54 goals in their 21 games this season, with Daley Woods their leading scorer with 13.
Sandbach United host Stockport Town, with the visitors coming into the game on the back of the biggest win in the last round when they won 7-1 at Eccleshall. Since that win at the start of October, they won their nest two league games but they have failed to win in their last four. They come into the game on the back of a 6-0 loss to a strong Crewe Alexandra side in the Cheshire Senior Cup.
The home side have already registered a 4-2 win over Stockport this season in the Macron Cup, with Daniel Bartle scoring twice in that game. He is Sandbach’s leading scorer this season with 14 goals coming in just 16 games, and he has found the net in each of Sandbach’s last four. Sandbach lost narrowly to Premier Division side Atherton Collieries in last weekend’s Macron Cup, but they had won five of their previous six games so will go into the game full of confidence.
One of those wins was against Widnes, which is the only loss that they have had since Joey Dunn took over at the start of October. They have racked up some impressive wins in their last six games, a 4-1 win at Oswestry in the last round and a 2-1 win at City of Liverpool in the league, plus a 2-1 win at EvoStik League side Skelmersdale United in the Liverpool Senior Cup on Tuesday. George Lomax and Kevin Towey have struck up an impressive partnership, and the partnership has scored all of Widnes’ last nine goals.
Widnes’ opponents are Prestwich Heys in a game that kicks off at 2.00pm on Saturday. Prestwich lost 3-2 in a cracking game on Wednesday evening, which is their third straight defeat. They showed what they can do though earlier in October with four straight wins including a 4-3 win at Premier Division side Congleton Town in the Macron Cup and a 5-0 demolition of Bacup Borough. This is Prestwich’s second game in the competition so far having beaten Litherland REMYCA 2-1 in the last round. The two sides have met already this season on the opening day of the season when Widnes ran out 3-1 winners.
The final game of the day sees Whitchurch Alport take on Alsager Town at Yockings Park. Whitchurch’s turnaround this season has been phenomenal and they come into the game as First Division leaders after finishing bottom last season. A run of five straight victories was ended by Premier Division side Maine Road in the Macron Cup last week, but their form has been great all season. Michael Blundell tops the scoring charts with 13 with Simon Everall one behind him, but they will be up against the meanest defence in the league in Alsager.
The Staffordshire side are difficult to beat having lost just twice in the league this season and conceding just 19 goals. They have already won at Yockings Park this season in a 2-1 win in August. They sit seven points behind Whitchurch in fourth place but do have three games in hand at present. Alsager won 3-1 at Atherton LR last Saturday, and although their only two losses this season came in their last four games, they will be confident of getting the win in what is my game of the day in the Reusch Cup.
