The Buildbase FA Vase - Third Round Preview
Fri 2nd December 2016 | FA Challenge Vase | By Martin Fallon
The Third Round of the Buildbase FA Vase rolls around this weekend with just two of our sides remaining in the competition. Atherton Collieries manager Michael Clegg takes his side up the M6 to face Northern League (NL) side Penrith, whilst Joe Doran and his troops head along the M62 to face Northern Counties East League (NCEL) side Cleethorpes Town.
Atherton Collieries sit second in the Hallmark Security League Premier Division going into the game, and will be confident of a win after a great run of form recently. Their most recent game saw them lose at Nelson in the Macron Cup, but they had were unbeaten in their previous eleven games before that, winning nine of them. More impressive is the 29 goals scored in those eleven games, with Jordan Cover scoring six in his last four games and Mark Battersby looking like he is getting back to his best with nine goals in nine games.
Colls reached the Third Round last season for the first time in their history, losing to Newton Aycliffe in a farcical tie that suffered five postponements before being played over a month later at Durham City’s artificial surface. A top four finish last season saw them exempt to the First Round this season, and they have been mightily impressive in their two games so far, beating Jarrow Roofing RCA 5-0 and 1874 Northwich 3-0.
Penrith will be a new name to many, but they were actually founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982. They spent 15 seasons in the league, finishing runners up in 1983/84, with their only silverware being the Floodlit Trophy which they won on two occasions, the first ironically against Atherton Collieries. Their time in the league though is perhaps better known for their FA Cup runs, and they reached the First Round Proper on two occasions as a member club, losing 2-0 at home to Hull City in 1983/84 and 9-0 at home to Burnley the following season.
They switched to the Northern League Division One in 1997/98, and have suffered two relegations and two Division Two title wins since then. The last eight years have seen them in the NL top flight where they are a consistently mid-table team, finishing in either 13th or 14th in each of the last four seasons. This year they are 16th, winning five of their sixteen games, but this is something of a false position as they have up to nine games in hand on teams around them.
Their last game came two weeks ago with a 2-0 loss at Whitley Bay, but prior to that they were on a decent run of form having won six out of eight games. In the FA Vase, they have won four ties so far against fellow Northern League sides, no mean feat given the member clubs’ priorities towards the competition. A 5-3 win against Durham City and a 4-2 win over Team Northumbria in qualifying have been followed up with a 3-1 win over Easington Colliery and a 1-0 win away at Newcastle Benfield in the last two rounds. This is the fifth time that they have reached the Third Round but they have never yet progressed. They have also faced Atherton Collieries in the competition in the past, Colls winning 2-1 at Alder House in 2006/07 in a Second Qualifying Round game.
Bootle are playing in the Third Round for the third time in nine years, and they have reached the Fourth Round on both previous occasions. Their run to this stage has been pretty comfortable, with just one goal conceded so far in the competition. That came in the First Qualifying Round when Richard Williams scored against them for Maine Road, with Bootle running out 4-1 winners in that match. Since then they have beaten Rossington Main 4-0, AFC Liverpool 6-0 and Padiham 2-0.
It’s this tightness at the back and firepower up front that have made Bootle difficult to beat recently, and they have won eleven out of their last thirteen games since losing to Runcorn Linnets at the start of October. Recent form is particularly impressive, winning their last seven matches in all competitions including a 3-2 win over EvoStik League side Marine in the Liverpool Senior Cup last week. Two postponements in the last week won’t have helped their preparation for the match, but they did bounce back to win 3-0 away at New Mills on Wednesday evening, with their in form front men of Ryan Cox, Steve Jones and Carl Peers all scoring. That's 56 goals for the trio so far this season!
It promises to be a great game on Saturday against a Cleethorpes side who are currently in form themselves. Sitting top of the NCEL Premier Division, they have lost just once in 21 league games so far, that coming a few weeks ago at Pickering Town. Of their last thirteen games they have won the other twelve, and warmed up for this game in style with a 6-1 home win against Armthorpe Welfare last Saturday and a 3-1 home win midweek against Athersley Rec. Goals seem to be shared around at Cleethorpes, with their leading goalscorer Brody Robertson on just 12 goals, with eight different players scoring five or more this season. Marc Cooper and Andrew Taylor are the others who join Robertson in double figures.
The home side have only been in the NCEL since stepping up from the Lincolnshire League in 2011/12, but they are a team with big ambitions. In each of the last five seasons they have scored over 100 goals, and last season saw them finish third in the NCEL Premier Division as well as reaching the last 16 of the FA Vase. This success led to them getting a bye until the Second Round this season, where they won 2-1 away at AFC Emley.
The Buildbase FA Vase - Third Round Preview
Fri 2nd December 2016 | FA Challenge Vase
By Martin Fallon
The Third Round of the Buildbase FA Vase rolls around this weekend with just two of our sides remaining in the competition. Atherton Collieries manager Michael Clegg takes his side up the M6 to face Northern League (NL) side Penrith, whilst Joe Doran and his troops head along the M62 to face Northern Counties East League (NCEL) side Cleethorpes Town.
Atherton Collieries sit second in the Hallmark Security League Premier Division going into the game, and will be confident of a win after a great run of form recently. Their most recent game saw them lose at Nelson in the Macron Cup, but they had were unbeaten in their previous eleven games before that, winning nine of them. More impressive is the 29 goals scored in those eleven games, with Jordan Cover scoring six in his last four games and Mark Battersby looking like he is getting back to his best with nine goals in nine games.
Colls reached the Third Round last season for the first time in their history, losing to Newton Aycliffe in a farcical tie that suffered five postponements before being played over a month later at Durham City’s artificial surface. A top four finish last season saw them exempt to the First Round this season, and they have been mightily impressive in their two games so far, beating Jarrow Roofing RCA 5-0 and 1874 Northwich 3-0.
Penrith will be a new name to many, but they were actually founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982. They spent 15 seasons in the league, finishing runners up in 1983/84, with their only silverware being the Floodlit Trophy which they won on two occasions, the first ironically against Atherton Collieries. Their time in the league though is perhaps better known for their FA Cup runs, and they reached the First Round Proper on two occasions as a member club, losing 2-0 at home to Hull City in 1983/84 and 9-0 at home to Burnley the following season.
They switched to the Northern League Division One in 1997/98, and have suffered two relegations and two Division Two title wins since then. The last eight years have seen them in the NL top flight where they are a consistently mid-table team, finishing in either 13th or 14th in each of the last four seasons. This year they are 16th, winning five of their sixteen games, but this is something of a false position as they have up to nine games in hand on teams around them.
Their last game came two weeks ago with a 2-0 loss at Whitley Bay, but prior to that they were on a decent run of form having won six out of eight games. In the FA Vase, they have won four ties so far against fellow Northern League sides, no mean feat given the member clubs’ priorities towards the competition. A 5-3 win against Durham City and a 4-2 win over Team Northumbria in qualifying have been followed up with a 3-1 win over Easington Colliery and a 1-0 win away at Newcastle Benfield in the last two rounds. This is the fifth time that they have reached the Third Round but they have never yet progressed. They have also faced Atherton Collieries in the competition in the past, Colls winning 2-1 at Alder House in 2006/07 in a Second Qualifying Round game.
Bootle are playing in the Third Round for the third time in nine years, and they have reached the Fourth Round on both previous occasions. Their run to this stage has been pretty comfortable, with just one goal conceded so far in the competition. That came in the First Qualifying Round when Richard Williams scored against them for Maine Road, with Bootle running out 4-1 winners in that match. Since then they have beaten Rossington Main 4-0, AFC Liverpool 6-0 and Padiham 2-0.
It’s this tightness at the back and firepower up front that have made Bootle difficult to beat recently, and they have won eleven out of their last thirteen games since losing to Runcorn Linnets at the start of October. Recent form is particularly impressive, winning their last seven matches in all competitions including a 3-2 win over EvoStik League side Marine in the Liverpool Senior Cup last week. Two postponements in the last week won’t have helped their preparation for the match, but they did bounce back to win 3-0 away at New Mills on Wednesday evening, with their in form front men of Ryan Cox, Steve Jones and Carl Peers all scoring. That's 56 goals for the trio so far this season!
It promises to be a great game on Saturday against a Cleethorpes side who are currently in form themselves. Sitting top of the NCEL Premier Division, they have lost just once in 21 league games so far, that coming a few weeks ago at Pickering Town. Of their last thirteen games they have won the other twelve, and warmed up for this game in style with a 6-1 home win against Armthorpe Welfare last Saturday and a 3-1 home win midweek against Athersley Rec. Goals seem to be shared around at Cleethorpes, with their leading goalscorer Brody Robertson on just 12 goals, with eight different players scoring five or more this season. Marc Cooper and Andrew Taylor are the others who join Robertson in double figures.
The home side have only been in the NCEL since stepping up from the Lincolnshire League in 2011/12, but they are a team with big ambitions. In each of the last five seasons they have scored over 100 goals, and last season saw them finish third in the NCEL Premier Division as well as reaching the last 16 of the FA Vase. This success led to them getting a bye until the Second Round this season, where they won 2-1 away at AFC Emley.
