Premier Division Preview - 10th and 11th November 2017
Fri 10th November 2017 | General | By Gary Langley
PREMIER DIVISION PREVIEW
There are a number of great fixtures in and around Hallmark Security League sides this weekend and with a number of games taking place in both the FA Vase Second Round as well as both divisions. We take a look at this weekend’s Hallmark Security League Premier Division games with a number of key fixtures scheduled, there are plenty to choose from over two days.
Looking first at the two Friday night Lights games and we start at The Recreation Ground where West Didsbury & Chorlton take on Irlam in a Manchester Derby between two clubs who on their day can really shake trees. West Didsbury & Chorlton are on a poor run by their usually high standards, in their last six games in all competitions they have won one and lost the other five. Their most recent outing was running Evo-Stik League side Lancaster City where they narrowly went out to a 2-1 home defeat to the higher division side.
Despite the disappointing run, West Didsbury and Chorlton currently sit ninth in the league table on 22 points, four points and five places ahead of their opponents. For Irlam, their recent form is similar to the Chorltonian club and that includes recent tough fixtures as well. They go into this game following successive games against the top two Runcorn Clubs, defeating Linnets 1-0 on October 31st and running leaders Runcorn Town very close last Saturday with a narrow 3-2 defeat at Silver Street.
These sides have met four times over the years with West Didsbury & Chorlton winning Two, Irlam one and one draw between them, last seasons two league meetings saw both sides win their respective away games.
Widnes and Squires Gate go head-to-head with Widnes 7th in the table and an upwardly mobile Squires Gate up to 17th and rising at the moment. Up until a few weeks ago Squires Gate looked in real trouble, however they have dug themselves out of their hole and are climbing rapidly, they are currently fourth in the Premier Division Form table. Squires Gate are unbeaten in their last five games, all of which were league fixtures and last Saturday defeated another form side in Ashton Athletic, a 3-1 home win keeping their momentum going.
For Widnes, there are reasons to be cheerful as they have only one defeat in their last eight games in all competitions and last weekend they showed that they are still very much contenders as they defeated Bootle 3-2 at home, goals from Kev Towey, Jack Banister and William Webb securing the three points.
Looking now at the Saturday fixtures, we start at The Abbey Stadium where Abbey Hey host Hanley Town. Abbey Hey currently sit sixteenth in the table and take on Hanley in good form as they go into the match on the back of three straight wins, all of which were away from home. Two of those wins were in the league and were back to back 1-0 victories over Widnes and more notably last weekend against Charnock Richard which will certainly have got high flying Hanley’s attention.
Third placed Hanley Town have a strong Points Per Game average at the moment and are one of the clubs chasing that elusive second spot. They recently sustained only their second defeat of the season the week before last at Runcorn Town but immediately bounced back last Saturday against Burscough taking a 2-0 win at home.
AFC Darwen take on the league leaders Runcorn Town at the WEC Anchor Ground this weekend looking for points that could take them out of the bottom four, however they will face a tough task as they are without a league win since a win over Barnoldswick back on 5th September.
Runcorn Town travel and are back in form with three straight wins, all in the league having previously lost three cup games in succession. Last weekend they kept their unbeaten status with an impressive 3-2 win on the road at Irlam, goals from Shaun Dowling, Craig Cairns and Mark Reed securing the spoils for the leaders.
Burscough host Maine Road at the Victoria Ground with both sides in the bottom four of the table and Maine Road rock bottom of the form table. By way of form, Burscough’s is much better than the visitors of late, they have also done well at home.
Congleton Town host Charnock Richard at the Richborough Estates Stadium with the away side suffering a rare defeat last Saturday as Abbey Hey beat them 1-0 at Mossie Park. Sixth placed Charnock Richard are still well placed to mount a challenge at the top, this despite being 20 points behind Runcorn Town by virtue of having four games in hand on the leaders. Congleton currently sit thirteenth in the table and up until a couple of weeks ago were on the cusp of the top six, however a run of one win and four defeats in their last five has seen them slip off the pace.
Northwich Victoria take on Barnoldswick Town at Townfield with Vics being one of the form sides at the moment. The new Managerial setup there has started to turn things around with one defeat and five wins in their last six in all competitions Steve Wilkes’ charges are climbing steadily and could break into the top ten if results go their way this weekend. For Barnoldswick, they sit in fifteenth place and only two points above the bottom six so they will be keen to rack up some points being without a league win since mid-October.
Premier Division Preview - 10th and 11th November 2017
Fri 10th November 2017 | General
By Gary Langley
PREMIER DIVISION PREVIEW
There are a number of great fixtures in and around Hallmark Security League sides this weekend and with a number of games taking place in both the FA Vase Second Round as well as both divisions. We take a look at this weekend’s Hallmark Security League Premier Division games with a number of key fixtures scheduled, there are plenty to choose from over two days.
Looking first at the two Friday night Lights games and we start at The Recreation Ground where West Didsbury & Chorlton take on Irlam in a Manchester Derby between two clubs who on their day can really shake trees. West Didsbury & Chorlton are on a poor run by their usually high standards, in their last six games in all competitions they have won one and lost the other five. Their most recent outing was running Evo-Stik League side Lancaster City where they narrowly went out to a 2-1 home defeat to the higher division side.
Despite the disappointing run, West Didsbury and Chorlton currently sit ninth in the league table on 22 points, four points and five places ahead of their opponents. For Irlam, their recent form is similar to the Chorltonian club and that includes recent tough fixtures as well. They go into this game following successive games against the top two Runcorn Clubs, defeating Linnets 1-0 on October 31st and running leaders Runcorn Town very close last Saturday with a narrow 3-2 defeat at Silver Street.
These sides have met four times over the years with West Didsbury & Chorlton winning Two, Irlam one and one draw between them, last seasons two league meetings saw both sides win their respective away games.
Widnes and Squires Gate go head-to-head with Widnes 7th in the table and an upwardly mobile Squires Gate up to 17th and rising at the moment. Up until a few weeks ago Squires Gate looked in real trouble, however they have dug themselves out of their hole and are climbing rapidly, they are currently fourth in the Premier Division Form table. Squires Gate are unbeaten in their last five games, all of which were league fixtures and last Saturday defeated another form side in Ashton Athletic, a 3-1 home win keeping their momentum going.
For Widnes, there are reasons to be cheerful as they have only one defeat in their last eight games in all competitions and last weekend they showed that they are still very much contenders as they defeated Bootle 3-2 at home, goals from Kev Towey, Jack Banister and William Webb securing the three points.
Looking now at the Saturday fixtures, we start at The Abbey Stadium where Abbey Hey host Hanley Town. Abbey Hey currently sit sixteenth in the table and take on Hanley in good form as they go into the match on the back of three straight wins, all of which were away from home. Two of those wins were in the league and were back to back 1-0 victories over Widnes and more notably last weekend against Charnock Richard which will certainly have got high flying Hanley’s attention.
Third placed Hanley Town have a strong Points Per Game average at the moment and are one of the clubs chasing that elusive second spot. They recently sustained only their second defeat of the season the week before last at Runcorn Town but immediately bounced back last Saturday against Burscough taking a 2-0 win at home.
AFC Darwen take on the league leaders Runcorn Town at the WEC Anchor Ground this weekend looking for points that could take them out of the bottom four, however they will face a tough task as they are without a league win since a win over Barnoldswick back on 5th September.
Runcorn Town travel and are back in form with three straight wins, all in the league having previously lost three cup games in succession. Last weekend they kept their unbeaten status with an impressive 3-2 win on the road at Irlam, goals from Shaun Dowling, Craig Cairns and Mark Reed securing the spoils for the leaders.
Burscough host Maine Road at the Victoria Ground with both sides in the bottom four of the table and Maine Road rock bottom of the form table. By way of form, Burscough’s is much better than the visitors of late, they have also done well at home.
Congleton Town host Charnock Richard at the Richborough Estates Stadium with the away side suffering a rare defeat last Saturday as Abbey Hey beat them 1-0 at Mossie Park. Sixth placed Charnock Richard are still well placed to mount a challenge at the top, this despite being 20 points behind Runcorn Town by virtue of having four games in hand on the leaders. Congleton currently sit thirteenth in the table and up until a couple of weeks ago were on the cusp of the top six, however a run of one win and four defeats in their last five has seen them slip off the pace.
Northwich Victoria take on Barnoldswick Town at Townfield with Vics being one of the form sides at the moment. The new Managerial setup there has started to turn things around with one defeat and five wins in their last six in all competitions Steve Wilkes’ charges are climbing steadily and could break into the top ten if results go their way this weekend. For Barnoldswick, they sit in fifteenth place and only two points above the bottom six so they will be keen to rack up some points being without a league win since mid-October.
