Division One Preview - Saturday 7th October 2017
Fri 6th October 2017 | Match Reviews | By Kieran Ford
Non-League Day 2017 has fallen at the perfect time with all 22 Hallmark Security League 1st Division teams in action on Saturday, and some tantalising fixtures in store.
AFC Blackpool vs Abbey Hulton United
AFC Blackpool host Abbey Hulton at the Mechanics Ground with both sides sitting relatively close to the play off positions. The hosts notched 2 impressive victories against Cammell Laird 1907 and Sandbach in recent games before losing narrowly to the league leaders Silsden on Tuesday night.
Abbey Hulton visit the coast only one place below their opponents, despite being on a run of 1 win in 8, with draws helping them secure such a high league position. A win for either team on Saturday will surely propel them towards the play off places.
Alsager Town vs Prestwich Heys
A strong contender for “Game of the Weekend” must come at the Woodpark Stadium as 3rd and 4th in the division square off.
Alsager will be looking to gain promotion to the Premier Division at the 2nd attempt whilst Prestwich are on course to build on their 8th place debut campaign in 2016/17. “The Bullets” come into this game in the best possible form after winning their previous 8 matches in all competitions, scoring 25 goals in the process.
This game promises goals as they face Prestwich who have the best attack in the division, netting 35 times so far. The visitors themselves are in decent form as they are unbeaten in their last 4.
Atherton LR vs Sandbach United
Atherton LR will be looking to avoid a repeat of their 20th place finish last season, however their recent form suggests that this may be difficult. LR are in a run of 5 defeats in their previous 6 although an impressive 4-1 victory over New Mills was sandwiched in between.
Their visitors Sandbach occupy the final playoff place, yet have been on a mixed run of form as of late. A good run of 3 wins in a row including a 7-1 hammering of Bacup was halted by 2 defeats to AFC Emley in the Vase and AFC Blackpool last Saturday. However, a 3-1 win at Abbey Hulton on Tuesday may have put them back on track for a top 6 push.
Bacup Borough vs Whitchurch Alport
The league’s 2nd worst attack hosts the 2nd best defence as Bacup take on Whitchurch. The home side have slipped down the table after an impressive start to the season, although they have as many as 4 games in hand over teams around them. Even though it’s been 3 weeks since their previous 1st division fixture, Bacup have lost their previous 4 matches and will look to turn this around on Saturday.
Whitchurch will be looking to build on last Saturday’s 5-0 victory over New Mills and consolidate a playoff place, spearheaded by the league’s top goal scorer Ben Mills. Alport will fancy themselves to go further than their playoff semi-final defeat last season.
Carlisle City vs FC Oswestry Town
FC Oswestry make the longest trip of the campaign to Carlisle this weekend looking to escape the relegation zone. After notching their long awaited 1st victory of the season at Cheadle Town 2 weeks ago, they were defeated 4-1 by high flyers Litherland REMYCA last Saturday.
Their opponents sit comfortably in midtable, recovering from an uneasy run of 3 defeats on the spin to defeat basement boys Nelson 5-0 on Tuesday night.
Cheadle Town vs Nelson
Bottom club Nelson head to Cheadle still without a victory this season. After picking up their 1st point of the season at home to Eccleshall, they were thrashed by Carlisle City on Tuesday to continue their poor form. However, they may take some encouragement by the fact
Cheadle themselves are on a run of no wins in 4, losing to Nelson’s fellow relegation rivals FC Oswestry Town last week.
Eccleshall vs Holker Old Boys
Two teams towards the bottom of the division face off at Pershall Park as 19th place Eccleshall host 16th place Holker Old Boys. Eccleshall’s only win of the campaign came against St Helens Town in late August and have since lost 4 and drew 3 of their last 7, with their previous match handing Nelson a 1st point of the season.
Holker may have the joint worst defence in the division but have had a resurgence of form in previous weeks, winning 3 of their previous 4 matches. Both teams will be looking for victory to move them away from the wrong end of the table.
Litherland REMYCA vs New Mills
As one of the 2 unbeaten sides left in the division, Litherland will be fairly confident of another victory when hosting recently relegated New Mills at Litherland Sports Park. Remy have won their last 8 in all competitions, keeping 5 clean sheets in the process.
They face New Mills who may be disappointed with their league position in midtable after dropping from the Premier Division last season. However, after demolishing AFC Killburn 10-1 in the Derbyshire Senior Cup 1st round on Tuesday their attackers will be in good spirits coming into Saturday’s game.
Silsden vs Cammell Laird 1907
Silsden continued their 100% start to the season with a hard-fought victory over AFC Blackpool on Tuesday, but face a Cammell Laird side that have produced plenty of goals so far with 42 scored in their 10 league matches.
The hosts have the joint 2nd best defence in the competition so getting amongst the goals may be a challenge for Lairds, who look to make amends for their defeat against Alsager Town on Tuesday.
St Helens Town vs Chadderton
After a disappointing start to the season, St Helens Town have moved out of the relegation zone with 2 victories in their previous 4 matches. Having scored 4 against Daisy Hill last Saturday, they will be looking to add more goals in a fixture that produced 19 goals in the sides' 3 meetings last season.
Following a victory over Atherton LR in mid-September, “Chaddy” have drawn 3 matches in a row which has helped them maintain a mid-table place. Will St Helens grab their 1st victory at their new home on Saturday?
Stockport Town vs Daisy Hill
Stockport Town host Daisy Hill looking to brush off a defeat at league leaders Silsden last week. This followed a spell of 4 matches in which they scored 17 goals, which sees them sit a place outside the play-offs.
Daisy Hill sit just outside the relegation zone on the back of a run of 5 successive defeats, conceding 24 goals. However, since the change of manager in late September, they have looked more encouraging, losing by the odd goal against Holker and St Helens respectively.
Division One Preview - Saturday 7th October 2017
Fri 6th October 2017 | Match Reviews
By Kieran Ford
Non-League Day 2017 has fallen at the perfect time with all 22 Hallmark Security League 1st Division teams in action on Saturday, and some tantalising fixtures in store.
AFC Blackpool vs Abbey Hulton United
AFC Blackpool host Abbey Hulton at the Mechanics Ground with both sides sitting relatively close to the play off positions. The hosts notched 2 impressive victories against Cammell Laird 1907 and Sandbach in recent games before losing narrowly to the league leaders Silsden on Tuesday night.
Abbey Hulton visit the coast only one place below their opponents, despite being on a run of 1 win in 8, with draws helping them secure such a high league position. A win for either team on Saturday will surely propel them towards the play off places.
Alsager Town vs Prestwich Heys
A strong contender for “Game of the Weekend” must come at the Woodpark Stadium as 3rd and 4th in the division square off.
Alsager will be looking to gain promotion to the Premier Division at the 2nd attempt whilst Prestwich are on course to build on their 8th place debut campaign in 2016/17. “The Bullets” come into this game in the best possible form after winning their previous 8 matches in all competitions, scoring 25 goals in the process.
This game promises goals as they face Prestwich who have the best attack in the division, netting 35 times so far. The visitors themselves are in decent form as they are unbeaten in their last 4.
Atherton LR vs Sandbach United
Atherton LR will be looking to avoid a repeat of their 20th place finish last season, however their recent form suggests that this may be difficult. LR are in a run of 5 defeats in their previous 6 although an impressive 4-1 victory over New Mills was sandwiched in between.
Their visitors Sandbach occupy the final playoff place, yet have been on a mixed run of form as of late. A good run of 3 wins in a row including a 7-1 hammering of Bacup was halted by 2 defeats to AFC Emley in the Vase and AFC Blackpool last Saturday. However, a 3-1 win at Abbey Hulton on Tuesday may have put them back on track for a top 6 push.
Bacup Borough vs Whitchurch Alport
The league’s 2nd worst attack hosts the 2nd best defence as Bacup take on Whitchurch. The home side have slipped down the table after an impressive start to the season, although they have as many as 4 games in hand over teams around them. Even though it’s been 3 weeks since their previous 1st division fixture, Bacup have lost their previous 4 matches and will look to turn this around on Saturday.
Whitchurch will be looking to build on last Saturday’s 5-0 victory over New Mills and consolidate a playoff place, spearheaded by the league’s top goal scorer Ben Mills. Alport will fancy themselves to go further than their playoff semi-final defeat last season.
Carlisle City vs FC Oswestry Town
FC Oswestry make the longest trip of the campaign to Carlisle this weekend looking to escape the relegation zone. After notching their long awaited 1st victory of the season at Cheadle Town 2 weeks ago, they were defeated 4-1 by high flyers Litherland REMYCA last Saturday.
Their opponents sit comfortably in midtable, recovering from an uneasy run of 3 defeats on the spin to defeat basement boys Nelson 5-0 on Tuesday night.
Cheadle Town vs Nelson
Bottom club Nelson head to Cheadle still without a victory this season. After picking up their 1st point of the season at home to Eccleshall, they were thrashed by Carlisle City on Tuesday to continue their poor form. However, they may take some encouragement by the fact
Cheadle themselves are on a run of no wins in 4, losing to Nelson’s fellow relegation rivals FC Oswestry Town last week.
Eccleshall vs Holker Old Boys
Two teams towards the bottom of the division face off at Pershall Park as 19th place Eccleshall host 16th place Holker Old Boys. Eccleshall’s only win of the campaign came against St Helens Town in late August and have since lost 4 and drew 3 of their last 7, with their previous match handing Nelson a 1st point of the season.
Holker may have the joint worst defence in the division but have had a resurgence of form in previous weeks, winning 3 of their previous 4 matches. Both teams will be looking for victory to move them away from the wrong end of the table.
Litherland REMYCA vs New Mills
As one of the 2 unbeaten sides left in the division, Litherland will be fairly confident of another victory when hosting recently relegated New Mills at Litherland Sports Park. Remy have won their last 8 in all competitions, keeping 5 clean sheets in the process.
They face New Mills who may be disappointed with their league position in midtable after dropping from the Premier Division last season. However, after demolishing AFC Killburn 10-1 in the Derbyshire Senior Cup 1st round on Tuesday their attackers will be in good spirits coming into Saturday’s game.
Silsden vs Cammell Laird 1907
Silsden continued their 100% start to the season with a hard-fought victory over AFC Blackpool on Tuesday, but face a Cammell Laird side that have produced plenty of goals so far with 42 scored in their 10 league matches.
The hosts have the joint 2nd best defence in the competition so getting amongst the goals may be a challenge for Lairds, who look to make amends for their defeat against Alsager Town on Tuesday.
St Helens Town vs Chadderton
After a disappointing start to the season, St Helens Town have moved out of the relegation zone with 2 victories in their previous 4 matches. Having scored 4 against Daisy Hill last Saturday, they will be looking to add more goals in a fixture that produced 19 goals in the sides' 3 meetings last season.
Following a victory over Atherton LR in mid-September, “Chaddy” have drawn 3 matches in a row which has helped them maintain a mid-table place. Will St Helens grab their 1st victory at their new home on Saturday?
Stockport Town vs Daisy Hill
Stockport Town host Daisy Hill looking to brush off a defeat at league leaders Silsden last week. This followed a spell of 4 matches in which they scored 17 goals, which sees them sit a place outside the play-offs.
Daisy Hill sit just outside the relegation zone on the back of a run of 5 successive defeats, conceding 24 goals. However, since the change of manager in late September, they have looked more encouraging, losing by the odd goal against Holker and St Helens respectively.
