Premier Division Preview - Saturday 7th October 2017
Fri 6th October 2017 | Match Reviews | By Gary Langley
A busy week of fixtures all around the Hallmark Security League sees a full set of fixtures for this keynote weekend in the football calendar. This Saturday sees Non-League Day 2017 with a number of our clubs running promotions in honour of the occasion. With no Premier League clashing with games, hopes are high for some good weather and in-turn a good turnout.
So on to the games, starting at The St Lukes Barton Stadium where 1874 Northwich host Runcorn Linnets in one of the higher profile fixtures of the day. On paper this is sixteenth placed 1874 against second placed Linnets but in reality 1874 have only played four games due to their success in cup competitions thus far, that is actually seven games less than their opponents have racked up.
Linnets are second in both league and form table and have been keeping the pressure on their neighbours, Town who’s fortunes have been well documented so far this season. Linnets have only been beaten only once in League competition this campaign, that was a 0-4 defeat away at West Didsbury in late August. Interestingly, Linnets have never been beaten by 1874, in their six meetings Linnets have four wins and the clubs have shared two draws.
I touched there on Runcorn Town and they are in action up in East Lancashire this weekend, they travel to the Anchor Ground to take on AFC Darwen. In midweek, Town travelled to Winsford United and their 4-2 win extended their ‘perfect’ record to eleven wins from eleven matches and they have scored 18 goals in their last four games alone. It is a busy period for the leaders as they travel to City of Liverpool on Tuesday night then they face a cup double-header against Alsager with games against the same side in the Buildbase FA Vase and Macron Cup.
AFC Darwen are in mid-table in both the league and form tables at present, they have the ability to really turn it on in some games as West Didsbury and Glasshoughton Welfare have found out in recent weeks and they will be keen to replicate recent strong performance to try and break the best record in the Hallmark Security League at the moment.
AFC Liverpool face Maine Road at the MTA Arena with The Reds form having dipped since their FA Vase win against Athersley in mid-September. They currently sit in mid-table which they will be disappointed about having been part of the early group that headed the table over the first six weeks. Maine Road are in the same vicinity in both league and form table but such is the current structure of the league table that if either side wins this they could climb a number of places. If you are looking for a historic indicator, last season these won one of these fixtures apiece, overall Maine Road have won 7 Lost 4 and drawn 3 of the twelve games in total between these sides.
Barnoldswick Town and Hanley Town go head to head at The Silentnight with Barlick going into this game without a win in their last seven games in all competitions, their last win was a League win over Squires Gate on 29th August and this is reflected in their current 17th position in the league table. Hanley have been strong in all competitions so far and currently sit in the top seven in the league table and top six in the form table, they have been scoring freely and look like possible contenders this season. Last season these clubs met home and away in April and it was Barlick’ who did the double.
Bootle welcome Abbey Hey to the TDP Solicitors Stadium with both clubs needing the points for differing reasons. Bootle have been inconsistent all season and still haven’t managed to get the same result in consecutive games, however it doesn’t seem to have done them too much harm as they are currently fourth in the table albeit eight points behind Runcorn Linnets who occupy that all important second place at the moment. Last time out they were beaten at home 1-3 by Charnock Richard.
Abbey Hey are currently in 18th place in the table and although only beaten once in their last four in all competitions they will be keen to get some points to get away from the bottom half dozen places. They are unbeaten in their last three on the road so will likely prove a strong test for Bootle, however the Bucks have won the last four meetings between these sides so this could be tight.
Charnock Richard are absolutely flying at the moment and they host Winsford United at Mossie Park on Saturday. Winsford themselves got off to a flying start, although they have dropped back off just a bit into the chasing pack which starts from arguably Bootle in fourth, down to perhaps Irlam in eleventh. They currently sit in sixth in the table but still in with a chance provided they can string some results together.
Charnock Richard have that momentum going at the moment and have flew out of the traps, they currently sit third in the table, although they are not too many points behind second placed Linnets with three games in hand on them. They currently look best poised to try and put pressure on the two Runcorn Clubs at the top.
Congleton Town welcome Ashton Athletic this weekend after a big week for both clubs. Ashton Athletic are looking to make some headway in the league now following their FA Cup exit at the hands of Chorley last Saturday. After a decent cup run that ended in a narrow defeat under the projected eyes of the BBC, Athletic will be looking to rack up the points starting with this trip to Richborough Estates Stadium.
Congleton have picked up recently and will be buoyed by a strong 3-0 victory over Irlam at home. They have a tough run of games on the horizon though, once they have faced Ashton they then travel to 1874 Northwich, City of Liverpool and Northwich Vics in successive league games. They currently sit tenth in the league table and have only lost three of their last ten in all competitions so they are looking pretty decent at the moment.
Irlam will look to recover from that defeat at Congleton in midweek as they host Barnton at Silver Street on Saturday. That defeat on Tuesday was a bit of a shock as Irlam had been riding high in the form table, even now they are fifth in the form rankings and they currently sit on the periphery of the title race in tenth at present. There is also a buzz about the place with a trip to Salford City in the Manchester Premier Cup to follow.
Barnton currently sit 22nd in the table and seem to be lacking some sort of consistency at the moment, although reports from last Saturday’s 2-3 home defeat to Padiham suggest that Steve Lloyd’s squad isn’t too far away from a winning formula.
Northwich Victoria welcome Widnes to Townfield with the two high profile clubs having very different fortunes so far. The new-look Victoria Coaching squad headed by Steve Wilkes and including former Burnley legend Andy Payton have been evolving the squad quite a bit over the last fortnight including the addition of former AFC Liverpool and City of Liverpool man, Allen Weston to the defence in midweek. They currently sit 19th in the table and really need quick points to get themselves away from that end of things, off the field they are certainly making the right moves but they need to convert that into points on the park.
Widnes will be looking to re-ignite their challenge following a difficult couple of weeks. Joey Dunn’s departure last week certainly raised many eyebrows around the league but they have Steve Akrigg and Nick Matthews in interim charge at the moment. They had a tough game in midweek against fellow promotion candidates, City of Liverpool at the Select Security Stadium on Monday night, ultimately it was the visitors who took the points from that game with the solitary goal. Widnes will be looking to secure the points as they visit the stadium twice in a week with a visit to face Vics’ landlords Barnton on the horizon as well as a trip to the same neighbourhood shortly after to face 1874 Northwich.
Padiham face City of Liverpool this weekend at the YESSS Electrical Arena, Managers Liam Smith and Dixon Lambert have eighth placed Padiham in good form at present with the East Lancs side sixth in the form table and with only one defeat in their last seven games in all competitions.
City of Liverpool are currently in a purple patch themselves, Simon Burtons charges are currently fifth in the table, unbeaten in their last five although that does include a couple of draws. Their midweek win over Widnes showed that they can dig in when they need to and grind out a result and the win also makes a statement to their promotion credentials as Widnes are one of the clubs that many tipped to be in the challenging pack at the start of the season.
West Didsbury & Chorlton host Squires Gate and a possible terrace full of terriers as one of the more pro-active clubs are offering concession entry admission and free doggie treats for four legged companions. I shall try and resist the obvious urge for puns in this section of the preview. Their Non-League day promotion has certainly won many admirers on social media with clubs up and down the country expressing their admiration for the initiative. West Didsbury’s tails are up at the moment as they currently sit eighth in the table at the moment and have a run of four wins from their last six in all competitions, scoring 24 goals over that same period.
Squires Gate have struggled to get their paws on some points of late although in their last three league games they have won one, drawn one and lost one which is progress considering the disappointing start that had left them in the doghouse early on.
Plenty of good games scheduled for this weekend and with a number of Non-League day initiatives taking place there is bound to be a lot of interest in the games around the region. If you are out and about at one of the games and one of the clubs are running an initiative, show it some support and most important of all, enjoy your day and tell ten of your friends how good it was.
Premier Division Preview - Saturday 7th October 2017
Fri 6th October 2017 | Match Reviews
By Gary Langley
A busy week of fixtures all around the Hallmark Security League sees a full set of fixtures for this keynote weekend in the football calendar. This Saturday sees Non-League Day 2017 with a number of our clubs running promotions in honour of the occasion. With no Premier League clashing with games, hopes are high for some good weather and in-turn a good turnout.
So on to the games, starting at The St Lukes Barton Stadium where 1874 Northwich host Runcorn Linnets in one of the higher profile fixtures of the day. On paper this is sixteenth placed 1874 against second placed Linnets but in reality 1874 have only played four games due to their success in cup competitions thus far, that is actually seven games less than their opponents have racked up.
Linnets are second in both league and form table and have been keeping the pressure on their neighbours, Town who’s fortunes have been well documented so far this season. Linnets have only been beaten only once in League competition this campaign, that was a 0-4 defeat away at West Didsbury in late August. Interestingly, Linnets have never been beaten by 1874, in their six meetings Linnets have four wins and the clubs have shared two draws.
I touched there on Runcorn Town and they are in action up in East Lancashire this weekend, they travel to the Anchor Ground to take on AFC Darwen. In midweek, Town travelled to Winsford United and their 4-2 win extended their ‘perfect’ record to eleven wins from eleven matches and they have scored 18 goals in their last four games alone. It is a busy period for the leaders as they travel to City of Liverpool on Tuesday night then they face a cup double-header against Alsager with games against the same side in the Buildbase FA Vase and Macron Cup.
AFC Darwen are in mid-table in both the league and form tables at present, they have the ability to really turn it on in some games as West Didsbury and Glasshoughton Welfare have found out in recent weeks and they will be keen to replicate recent strong performance to try and break the best record in the Hallmark Security League at the moment.
AFC Liverpool face Maine Road at the MTA Arena with The Reds form having dipped since their FA Vase win against Athersley in mid-September. They currently sit in mid-table which they will be disappointed about having been part of the early group that headed the table over the first six weeks. Maine Road are in the same vicinity in both league and form table but such is the current structure of the league table that if either side wins this they could climb a number of places. If you are looking for a historic indicator, last season these won one of these fixtures apiece, overall Maine Road have won 7 Lost 4 and drawn 3 of the twelve games in total between these sides.
Barnoldswick Town and Hanley Town go head to head at The Silentnight with Barlick going into this game without a win in their last seven games in all competitions, their last win was a League win over Squires Gate on 29th August and this is reflected in their current 17th position in the league table. Hanley have been strong in all competitions so far and currently sit in the top seven in the league table and top six in the form table, they have been scoring freely and look like possible contenders this season. Last season these clubs met home and away in April and it was Barlick’ who did the double.
Bootle welcome Abbey Hey to the TDP Solicitors Stadium with both clubs needing the points for differing reasons. Bootle have been inconsistent all season and still haven’t managed to get the same result in consecutive games, however it doesn’t seem to have done them too much harm as they are currently fourth in the table albeit eight points behind Runcorn Linnets who occupy that all important second place at the moment. Last time out they were beaten at home 1-3 by Charnock Richard.
Abbey Hey are currently in 18th place in the table and although only beaten once in their last four in all competitions they will be keen to get some points to get away from the bottom half dozen places. They are unbeaten in their last three on the road so will likely prove a strong test for Bootle, however the Bucks have won the last four meetings between these sides so this could be tight.
Charnock Richard are absolutely flying at the moment and they host Winsford United at Mossie Park on Saturday. Winsford themselves got off to a flying start, although they have dropped back off just a bit into the chasing pack which starts from arguably Bootle in fourth, down to perhaps Irlam in eleventh. They currently sit in sixth in the table but still in with a chance provided they can string some results together.
Charnock Richard have that momentum going at the moment and have flew out of the traps, they currently sit third in the table, although they are not too many points behind second placed Linnets with three games in hand on them. They currently look best poised to try and put pressure on the two Runcorn Clubs at the top.
Congleton Town welcome Ashton Athletic this weekend after a big week for both clubs. Ashton Athletic are looking to make some headway in the league now following their FA Cup exit at the hands of Chorley last Saturday. After a decent cup run that ended in a narrow defeat under the projected eyes of the BBC, Athletic will be looking to rack up the points starting with this trip to Richborough Estates Stadium.
Congleton have picked up recently and will be buoyed by a strong 3-0 victory over Irlam at home. They have a tough run of games on the horizon though, once they have faced Ashton they then travel to 1874 Northwich, City of Liverpool and Northwich Vics in successive league games. They currently sit tenth in the league table and have only lost three of their last ten in all competitions so they are looking pretty decent at the moment.
Irlam will look to recover from that defeat at Congleton in midweek as they host Barnton at Silver Street on Saturday. That defeat on Tuesday was a bit of a shock as Irlam had been riding high in the form table, even now they are fifth in the form rankings and they currently sit on the periphery of the title race in tenth at present. There is also a buzz about the place with a trip to Salford City in the Manchester Premier Cup to follow.
Barnton currently sit 22nd in the table and seem to be lacking some sort of consistency at the moment, although reports from last Saturday’s 2-3 home defeat to Padiham suggest that Steve Lloyd’s squad isn’t too far away from a winning formula.
Northwich Victoria welcome Widnes to Townfield with the two high profile clubs having very different fortunes so far. The new-look Victoria Coaching squad headed by Steve Wilkes and including former Burnley legend Andy Payton have been evolving the squad quite a bit over the last fortnight including the addition of former AFC Liverpool and City of Liverpool man, Allen Weston to the defence in midweek. They currently sit 19th in the table and really need quick points to get themselves away from that end of things, off the field they are certainly making the right moves but they need to convert that into points on the park.
Widnes will be looking to re-ignite their challenge following a difficult couple of weeks. Joey Dunn’s departure last week certainly raised many eyebrows around the league but they have Steve Akrigg and Nick Matthews in interim charge at the moment. They had a tough game in midweek against fellow promotion candidates, City of Liverpool at the Select Security Stadium on Monday night, ultimately it was the visitors who took the points from that game with the solitary goal. Widnes will be looking to secure the points as they visit the stadium twice in a week with a visit to face Vics’ landlords Barnton on the horizon as well as a trip to the same neighbourhood shortly after to face 1874 Northwich.
Padiham face City of Liverpool this weekend at the YESSS Electrical Arena, Managers Liam Smith and Dixon Lambert have eighth placed Padiham in good form at present with the East Lancs side sixth in the form table and with only one defeat in their last seven games in all competitions.
City of Liverpool are currently in a purple patch themselves, Simon Burtons charges are currently fifth in the table, unbeaten in their last five although that does include a couple of draws. Their midweek win over Widnes showed that they can dig in when they need to and grind out a result and the win also makes a statement to their promotion credentials as Widnes are one of the clubs that many tipped to be in the challenging pack at the start of the season.
West Didsbury & Chorlton host Squires Gate and a possible terrace full of terriers as one of the more pro-active clubs are offering concession entry admission and free doggie treats for four legged companions. I shall try and resist the obvious urge for puns in this section of the preview. Their Non-League day promotion has certainly won many admirers on social media with clubs up and down the country expressing their admiration for the initiative. West Didsbury’s tails are up at the moment as they currently sit eighth in the table at the moment and have a run of four wins from their last six in all competitions, scoring 24 goals over that same period.
Squires Gate have struggled to get their paws on some points of late although in their last three league games they have won one, drawn one and lost one which is progress considering the disappointing start that had left them in the doghouse early on.
Plenty of good games scheduled for this weekend and with a number of Non-League day initiatives taking place there is bound to be a lot of interest in the games around the region. If you are out and about at one of the games and one of the clubs are running an initiative, show it some support and most important of all, enjoy your day and tell ten of your friends how good it was.
