Premier Division Preview - Saturday 18th November 2017
Fri 17th November 2017 | General | By Gary Johansen
With league leaders Runcorn Town having a weekend off this week, the chasing teams will be looking to gain some advantage as they attempt to close the gap at the top of the table.
Their quest was further helped on Wednesday evening as Runcorn Town suffered their first league defeat of the season at home to a battling Widnes side, which saw the visitors claim a 2-1 victory.
Second placed side Hanley Town will certainly be looking to take advantage of Runcorn Town’s slip up as they welcome Abbey Hey to Potteries Park.
These two sides played each other as recently as last weekend, with Hanley Town clinching a 3-2 win at the Abbey Stadium courtesy of a last minute winner from Daniel Cope, so the visitors will be looking to avenge that defeat.
Third placed Runcorn Linnets are another team hoping to gain advantage at the top of the table. They take on a resurgent Northwich Victoria side at the Millbank Stadium.
Vics are currently 4th in the form table with 5 wins from their last 6 matches and they will be hoping to improve on their current 9th place position.
Linnets meanwhile scored a very impressive victory away at Sunderland RCA in the FA Vase 2nd round replay on Tuesday night, winning 2-1 despite being down to ten men for the majority of the match.
Last season’s Division One Champions and Runners Up go head to head at the Select Security Stadium as Widnes, fresh from that great win away at Runcorn Town on Wednesday evening, welcome Charnock Richard, who currently sit in 4th place.
The hosts will certainly be buoyed by inflicting the first league defeat on the Premier Division leaders, but Charnock are certainly no pushovers. They have the joint second best defensive record in the division so far, and have 4 games in hand on both Runcorn sides. Both teams will be looking for more consistency going into this game.
Fifth place Bootle travel to Brantingham Road to face a Maine Road side, who are currently bottom of the form table with six straight defeats. The home side have been struggling for goals, especially at home where they've netted only 9 times in 8 league matches.
Bootle on the other hand have the second highest league goals scored tally away from home with 23, and Joe Doran will be looking for his Bootle side to put the disappointment of the extra time defeat away against Stockton Town last week in the FA Vase behind them, as they look to move back into the top 4 in the table.
City of Liverpool entertain 7th place Winsford United at the TDP Solicitors Stadium in a first meeting of the two sides. The Purps currently sit in 11th place, but after a brilliant away win against Ryhope CW in the second round of the FA Vase last week, manager Simon Burton will be expecting his team to take that level of dominance and passion into their league form, which has been inconsistent of late.
Winsford are in a decent run of form, with only one defeat in their last 6 matches, and their away league form, mirrors exactly, the home form of the Purps, so this seems certain to be an exciting match.
Padiham in 8th, travel to Silver Street to face an Irlam side who are 6 places below them in the table, yet only 3 points adrift.
Irlam scored a great 5-3 away win just over a week ago at West Didsbury & Chorlton, then suffered a 2-1 defeat at in form Squires Gate on Tuesday night, the same evening which saw Padiham lose at home to Abbey Hey by the same scoreline.
Again, Irlam’s home record of 4 wins 1 draw and 3 defeats is matched by Padiham’s away record, so this game could go either way.
Barnoldswick Town welcome the Premier Division form team, as Squires Gate visit the Silentnight Stadium. Barlick will be hoping they won't be caught napping as Gate are high in confidence due to 6 wins and a draw in their last 7 league games which has propelled them up the table to 10th place.
This is all the more remarkable when you consider that the visitors only won one of their opening 14 matches! Barlick stopped a run of 3 successive defeats on Wednesday night with an impressive 4-0 win at AFC Darwen, and due to a number of postponements, will be looking forward to their first home league match since 10th October.
1874 Northwich entertain West Didsbury & Chorlton at the St Luke’s Barton Stadium, with the visitors in a real bad run of form. West have lost their last 5 matches in all competitions, conceding 22 goals along the way. Their last match on Tuesday night saw them lose 1-4 at home to bottom club Barnton which gave the away side their first league win of the campaign.
By contrast, 1874’s league position of 18th belies their form, as they have up to 8 matches in hand on some of the teams around them, mainly due to their cup exploits so far this season. The home side sit second in the form table with 5 wins and a draw, and last time out they scored an impressive victory over Tow Law Town, winning 5-1 in the FA Vase 2nd round.
Ashton Athletic, who currently occupy 13th spot in the table, welcome Congleton Town to Brocstedes Park. Again, Ashton’s league position isn't a real reflection of their form as they have only played 11 league matches so far, so have quite a few in hand on their rivals.
Last week saw Ashton triumph in a fantastic 1-0 over a very strong Morpeth Town side to progress to the FA Vase 3rd round. Congleton are in the lower reaches of the form table, with only 1 win in their last 6 games, however, last time out they held high flying Charnock Richard 1-1 at home, so they will be looking to build on that result this weekend.
AFC Liverpool take on AFC Darwen at the Marine Travel Arena with both clubs struggling near the bottom of the league and separated by just 1 point.
The home side are on a dreadful run with no win since 10th September, and their last match, a derby away at City of Liverpool, saw them gain a point from a 1-1 draw, which halted a run of 11 straight defeats.
AFC Darwen on the other hand are the league’s lowest scorers, with only 16 goals in the 17 league games played and only 5 of those have been scored away from home. That said, the visitors have had a good result recently, holding Runcorn Town 2-2 at home, so this will be an interesting match.
And finally, the battle of the bottom two takes place at Townfield, as bottom club Barnton take on Burscough who occupy 22nd spot.
Barnton secured their first league victory of the season on Tuesday night with a terrific 4-1 win away at West Didsbury & Chorlton. They certainly don't appear to have a problem scoring goals, but defensively they have struggled and have surrendered leads in a number of matches so far this season to lose valuable points.
With Barnton having played more league matches than anyone else in the division, they really need to start tightening up at the back if they are to try and haul themselves out of the relegation places.
Burscough have also struggled since their relegation last year. With only 2 league wins all season and being the joint 4th lowest scorers, the Linnets have had a very inconsistent start to life in the Premier Division. 3 of their last 4 league defeats have come against sides from the top 4 in the table, namely, Charnock Richard, Hanley Town & Runcorn Linnets, with the other at home against City of Liverpool, so they'll be hoping for a change of fortune in this battle of the basement clubs.
Premier Division Preview - Saturday 18th November 2017
Fri 17th November 2017 | General
By Gary Johansen
With league leaders Runcorn Town having a weekend off this week, the chasing teams will be looking to gain some advantage as they attempt to close the gap at the top of the table.
Their quest was further helped on Wednesday evening as Runcorn Town suffered their first league defeat of the season at home to a battling Widnes side, which saw the visitors claim a 2-1 victory.
Second placed side Hanley Town will certainly be looking to take advantage of Runcorn Town’s slip up as they welcome Abbey Hey to Potteries Park.
These two sides played each other as recently as last weekend, with Hanley Town clinching a 3-2 win at the Abbey Stadium courtesy of a last minute winner from Daniel Cope, so the visitors will be looking to avenge that defeat.
Third placed Runcorn Linnets are another team hoping to gain advantage at the top of the table. They take on a resurgent Northwich Victoria side at the Millbank Stadium.
Vics are currently 4th in the form table with 5 wins from their last 6 matches and they will be hoping to improve on their current 9th place position.
Linnets meanwhile scored a very impressive victory away at Sunderland RCA in the FA Vase 2nd round replay on Tuesday night, winning 2-1 despite being down to ten men for the majority of the match.
Last season’s Division One Champions and Runners Up go head to head at the Select Security Stadium as Widnes, fresh from that great win away at Runcorn Town on Wednesday evening, welcome Charnock Richard, who currently sit in 4th place.
The hosts will certainly be buoyed by inflicting the first league defeat on the Premier Division leaders, but Charnock are certainly no pushovers. They have the joint second best defensive record in the division so far, and have 4 games in hand on both Runcorn sides. Both teams will be looking for more consistency going into this game.
Fifth place Bootle travel to Brantingham Road to face a Maine Road side, who are currently bottom of the form table with six straight defeats. The home side have been struggling for goals, especially at home where they've netted only 9 times in 8 league matches.
Bootle on the other hand have the second highest league goals scored tally away from home with 23, and Joe Doran will be looking for his Bootle side to put the disappointment of the extra time defeat away against Stockton Town last week in the FA Vase behind them, as they look to move back into the top 4 in the table.
City of Liverpool entertain 7th place Winsford United at the TDP Solicitors Stadium in a first meeting of the two sides. The Purps currently sit in 11th place, but after a brilliant away win against Ryhope CW in the second round of the FA Vase last week, manager Simon Burton will be expecting his team to take that level of dominance and passion into their league form, which has been inconsistent of late.
Winsford are in a decent run of form, with only one defeat in their last 6 matches, and their away league form, mirrors exactly, the home form of the Purps, so this seems certain to be an exciting match.
Padiham in 8th, travel to Silver Street to face an Irlam side who are 6 places below them in the table, yet only 3 points adrift.
Irlam scored a great 5-3 away win just over a week ago at West Didsbury & Chorlton, then suffered a 2-1 defeat at in form Squires Gate on Tuesday night, the same evening which saw Padiham lose at home to Abbey Hey by the same scoreline.
Again, Irlam’s home record of 4 wins 1 draw and 3 defeats is matched by Padiham’s away record, so this game could go either way.
Barnoldswick Town welcome the Premier Division form team, as Squires Gate visit the Silentnight Stadium. Barlick will be hoping they won't be caught napping as Gate are high in confidence due to 6 wins and a draw in their last 7 league games which has propelled them up the table to 10th place.
This is all the more remarkable when you consider that the visitors only won one of their opening 14 matches! Barlick stopped a run of 3 successive defeats on Wednesday night with an impressive 4-0 win at AFC Darwen, and due to a number of postponements, will be looking forward to their first home league match since 10th October.
1874 Northwich entertain West Didsbury & Chorlton at the St Luke’s Barton Stadium, with the visitors in a real bad run of form. West have lost their last 5 matches in all competitions, conceding 22 goals along the way. Their last match on Tuesday night saw them lose 1-4 at home to bottom club Barnton which gave the away side their first league win of the campaign.
By contrast, 1874’s league position of 18th belies their form, as they have up to 8 matches in hand on some of the teams around them, mainly due to their cup exploits so far this season. The home side sit second in the form table with 5 wins and a draw, and last time out they scored an impressive victory over Tow Law Town, winning 5-1 in the FA Vase 2nd round.
Ashton Athletic, who currently occupy 13th spot in the table, welcome Congleton Town to Brocstedes Park. Again, Ashton’s league position isn't a real reflection of their form as they have only played 11 league matches so far, so have quite a few in hand on their rivals.
Last week saw Ashton triumph in a fantastic 1-0 over a very strong Morpeth Town side to progress to the FA Vase 3rd round. Congleton are in the lower reaches of the form table, with only 1 win in their last 6 games, however, last time out they held high flying Charnock Richard 1-1 at home, so they will be looking to build on that result this weekend.
AFC Liverpool take on AFC Darwen at the Marine Travel Arena with both clubs struggling near the bottom of the league and separated by just 1 point.
The home side are on a dreadful run with no win since 10th September, and their last match, a derby away at City of Liverpool, saw them gain a point from a 1-1 draw, which halted a run of 11 straight defeats.
AFC Darwen on the other hand are the league’s lowest scorers, with only 16 goals in the 17 league games played and only 5 of those have been scored away from home. That said, the visitors have had a good result recently, holding Runcorn Town 2-2 at home, so this will be an interesting match.
And finally, the battle of the bottom two takes place at Townfield, as bottom club Barnton take on Burscough who occupy 22nd spot.
Barnton secured their first league victory of the season on Tuesday night with a terrific 4-1 win away at West Didsbury & Chorlton. They certainly don't appear to have a problem scoring goals, but defensively they have struggled and have surrendered leads in a number of matches so far this season to lose valuable points.
With Barnton having played more league matches than anyone else in the division, they really need to start tightening up at the back if they are to try and haul themselves out of the relegation places.
Burscough have also struggled since their relegation last year. With only 2 league wins all season and being the joint 4th lowest scorers, the Linnets have had a very inconsistent start to life in the Premier Division. 3 of their last 4 league defeats have come against sides from the top 4 in the table, namely, Charnock Richard, Hanley Town & Runcorn Linnets, with the other at home against City of Liverpool, so they'll be hoping for a change of fortune in this battle of the basement clubs.
