Division One Preview - 2nd December 2017
Fri 1st December 2017 | General | By Gary Langley
A full programme is scheduled for Division One this weekend, but like with last weekend, many eyes will be on the weather. Yes, it’s that time of year where some games do ultimately succumb to nature but it’s how clubs deal with that which will ultimately dictate their fate when it comes to end of season promotions and bottom two finishes. I’m not going to use the “R-word” because as things stand its unlikely.
Right, lets tuck into the game previews and we will start at The Mechanics Stadium where AFC Blackpool host Alsager Town in a battle of two of the promotion chasing teams in the top six. These sides have differing form going into this weekend’s games with Alsager in intermittent form of late although they did record an impressive win last Saturday, running out 5-2 winners over Holker Old Boys. They have stuttered in a couple of recent games though and this has arguably prevented them from breaking into the top two – up to now!
AFC Blackpool are in much more consistent form and Dave Worthington’s side are good value for their lofty position in the form and indeed league table. They will see this as an opportunity to enhance their own automatic promotion credentials as they head into a busy month which sees this fixture reversed in just a few weeks.
Atherton LR and Carlisle City go head-to-head at Crilly Park with these clubs almost side by side in mid-table at the moment. Carlisle City have only won two of their last six which is form that has prevented them from being on the cusp of the top six positions, although it is worth noting that those wins were against Litherland Remyca and Whitchurch Alport in the League. The calibre of those wins show that in the big games they can certainly rise to the occasion.
Atherton LR have steadied themselves after a poor October which saw them slip down the table quite swiftly. They are hot on the heels of Carlisle City now after a splendid November and have the top six in sight if they can string a few more good results together. These sides met at Crilly Park in the Macron Cup in October and it was City who came out 0-4 winners on that occasion.
Bacup Borough welcome league leaders Silsden AFC and despite their hearty lead at the top of the table, Silsden have had a little wobble in recent weeks. It’s not earth shattering in the wider scope of things although Holer showed that they can be beaten when they turned Silsden over at Rakesmoor a couple of weeks ago and then shortly after, Tadcaster beat them in the cup. Silsden got back to business last week when they defeated Nelson last Friday to get back on track.
Bacup Borough on their day can beat anyone, however the weather has not blessed them with too many opportunities to play football of late. They will not be fazed by the visit of the league leaders and the league table shows that if they can grind a win out this weekend then they could elevate themselves into upper/mid-table so the incentive is there.
Cammell Laird 1907 welcome Chadderton to Kirklands this weekend as both of these clubs look to rack up some important points for differing reasons. Chadderton need points as they are in the bottom six, this despite two wins in their last three games, those wins coming against Cheadle Town and Abbey Hulton respectively. David Fish will be looking to make in-roads into the clubs above them and like with Bacup who I touched on earlier, a win could see them climb the table swiftly although they have played more games than many of the teams around them.
I very rarely listen to Counties Podcast but this week I listened to the interview with Mick McGraa, Lairds Manager and what he said made a fair bit of sense, he summed up the likely approach of a number of clubs in that chasing pack and that is the fact that mathematically any club from Remyca in Second right down to lower mid-table will fancy their chances if they can string some results together. Lairds are in decent form at the moment and when the gaffer says he is aiming for ultimately second place then why not? Looking at their fixtures that are approaching they will have to graft a bit to do so.
It's not just at the upper half of the table that clubs are looking to make swift progress, in the lower half of the table a number of clubs are in the same boat. Such is the close nature of the First Division at the moment, there are a number of teams who could climb quite quickly with any sort of momentum. St Helens Town are one such club and they travel to little Wembley to face Nelson this weekend. I watched St Helens defeat to Oswestry last weekend and they were matching the in-form Shropshire side for most of the game and were a stroke of luck or so away from taking at least a point from the game. Nelson, well they haven’t had the best of seasons so far, however in appointing Steve Cunningham as the new Manager there recently they will be hoping to tap into player pools and build up some momentum there to get Nelson’s spirits up as they will be looking to build for the mid-long term.
New Mills and Daisy Hill meet at Church Lane with neither club in great form at the moment and looking for improvement, the same that can be said for Abbey Hulton with just one win and six defeats in their last seven who travel to Stockport Town this weekend.
Another two of the top six meet this weekend as Prestwich Heys face Sandbach United at Adie Moran Park. Prestwich Heys haven’t faced top six sides too often this season but when they have they have tended to struggle. These sides met in the league as recently as the 4th November when Sandbach were outside of the top six and Heys were handsome winners on the day, recording a comprehensive 0-6 win on the road. The home side are in a unique position, as well as looking to fend off other sides eyeing up the second spot, they also have an eye over their shoulder as there are a number of clubs not too far behind them, even outside of the top six looking to apply pressure on them and the others around them.
Sandbach United have drifted in and out of the play-off spaces of late but have found some good consistent form of late so if I was a betting man, I would wager that the 0-6 reverse of a few weeks ago is unlikely to be repeated.
Cheadle Town take on Whitchurch Alport at Park Road Stadium this weekend. Cheadle Town are currently 15th in the table but are a side that are improving quickly, they are riding high in the form table with only one defeat in their last five games and averaging two goals a game. Their last defeat was on 4th November, a 0-2 defeat to Whitchurch Alport!
Whitchuch are still in and around the top six despite some poor form by their own high standards, they stand 15th in the form table for example but in brighter news they have the best defence in the division at the moment. Alport loom large for the clubs above them and they will be aware of that, this is backed up by an impressive 2-0 midweek win over in-form Cammell Laird 1907.
Holker Old Boys host Litherland REMYCA at Rakesmoor this weekend with both sides keen to reap the points and both looking upwards. Holker are mid-table in both the league and form charts at present but area still within sight of the play-off area. At this point last season the top six were basically the same as how the season ended after the group had such a good start, but contrast that to this season, it is still very much wide open and Holker will be aware of this as they look to capitalise on a good home record.
For Holker’s good home record you can equally see Remyca’s decent travelling form although in saying that they have lost their last two away games on the spin, to Carlisle City in the league and Bootle in the Macron Cup. That aside, they have been good on the road and with the recent return of Lennon Whewell from Bootle they are looking strong at the moment and will be keen to keep the pressure on Silsden above them and a number of other clubs around them.
FC Oswestry Town welcome Eccleshall to The Venue this weekend in the battle of two of the most-improved sides. It was not that long ago that these clubs occupied two of the bottom three places but both have managed to climb the table and are away from trouble at the moment. I saw FC Oswestry at first hand last weekend and they were a very effective side, they spread the ball about well and of course knew where the net was as they scored three on the day. Eccleshall are unbeaten in their last five league games and their last two defeats have been in cup games, that includes their last game which was back on 22nd November as they suffered a 0-3 defeat at home in the Macron Cup to FC Oswestry Town no less.
Division One Preview - 2nd December 2017
Fri 1st December 2017 | General
By Gary Langley
A full programme is scheduled for Division One this weekend, but like with last weekend, many eyes will be on the weather. Yes, it’s that time of year where some games do ultimately succumb to nature but it’s how clubs deal with that which will ultimately dictate their fate when it comes to end of season promotions and bottom two finishes. I’m not going to use the “R-word” because as things stand its unlikely.
Right, lets tuck into the game previews and we will start at The Mechanics Stadium where AFC Blackpool host Alsager Town in a battle of two of the promotion chasing teams in the top six. These sides have differing form going into this weekend’s games with Alsager in intermittent form of late although they did record an impressive win last Saturday, running out 5-2 winners over Holker Old Boys. They have stuttered in a couple of recent games though and this has arguably prevented them from breaking into the top two – up to now!
AFC Blackpool are in much more consistent form and Dave Worthington’s side are good value for their lofty position in the form and indeed league table. They will see this as an opportunity to enhance their own automatic promotion credentials as they head into a busy month which sees this fixture reversed in just a few weeks.
Atherton LR and Carlisle City go head-to-head at Crilly Park with these clubs almost side by side in mid-table at the moment. Carlisle City have only won two of their last six which is form that has prevented them from being on the cusp of the top six positions, although it is worth noting that those wins were against Litherland Remyca and Whitchurch Alport in the League. The calibre of those wins show that in the big games they can certainly rise to the occasion.
Atherton LR have steadied themselves after a poor October which saw them slip down the table quite swiftly. They are hot on the heels of Carlisle City now after a splendid November and have the top six in sight if they can string a few more good results together. These sides met at Crilly Park in the Macron Cup in October and it was City who came out 0-4 winners on that occasion.
Bacup Borough welcome league leaders Silsden AFC and despite their hearty lead at the top of the table, Silsden have had a little wobble in recent weeks. It’s not earth shattering in the wider scope of things although Holer showed that they can be beaten when they turned Silsden over at Rakesmoor a couple of weeks ago and then shortly after, Tadcaster beat them in the cup. Silsden got back to business last week when they defeated Nelson last Friday to get back on track.
Bacup Borough on their day can beat anyone, however the weather has not blessed them with too many opportunities to play football of late. They will not be fazed by the visit of the league leaders and the league table shows that if they can grind a win out this weekend then they could elevate themselves into upper/mid-table so the incentive is there.
Cammell Laird 1907 welcome Chadderton to Kirklands this weekend as both of these clubs look to rack up some important points for differing reasons. Chadderton need points as they are in the bottom six, this despite two wins in their last three games, those wins coming against Cheadle Town and Abbey Hulton respectively. David Fish will be looking to make in-roads into the clubs above them and like with Bacup who I touched on earlier, a win could see them climb the table swiftly although they have played more games than many of the teams around them.
I very rarely listen to Counties Podcast but this week I listened to the interview with Mick McGraa, Lairds Manager and what he said made a fair bit of sense, he summed up the likely approach of a number of clubs in that chasing pack and that is the fact that mathematically any club from Remyca in Second right down to lower mid-table will fancy their chances if they can string some results together. Lairds are in decent form at the moment and when the gaffer says he is aiming for ultimately second place then why not? Looking at their fixtures that are approaching they will have to graft a bit to do so.
It's not just at the upper half of the table that clubs are looking to make swift progress, in the lower half of the table a number of clubs are in the same boat. Such is the close nature of the First Division at the moment, there are a number of teams who could climb quite quickly with any sort of momentum. St Helens Town are one such club and they travel to little Wembley to face Nelson this weekend. I watched St Helens defeat to Oswestry last weekend and they were matching the in-form Shropshire side for most of the game and were a stroke of luck or so away from taking at least a point from the game. Nelson, well they haven’t had the best of seasons so far, however in appointing Steve Cunningham as the new Manager there recently they will be hoping to tap into player pools and build up some momentum there to get Nelson’s spirits up as they will be looking to build for the mid-long term.
New Mills and Daisy Hill meet at Church Lane with neither club in great form at the moment and looking for improvement, the same that can be said for Abbey Hulton with just one win and six defeats in their last seven who travel to Stockport Town this weekend.
Another two of the top six meet this weekend as Prestwich Heys face Sandbach United at Adie Moran Park. Prestwich Heys haven’t faced top six sides too often this season but when they have they have tended to struggle. These sides met in the league as recently as the 4th November when Sandbach were outside of the top six and Heys were handsome winners on the day, recording a comprehensive 0-6 win on the road. The home side are in a unique position, as well as looking to fend off other sides eyeing up the second spot, they also have an eye over their shoulder as there are a number of clubs not too far behind them, even outside of the top six looking to apply pressure on them and the others around them.
Sandbach United have drifted in and out of the play-off spaces of late but have found some good consistent form of late so if I was a betting man, I would wager that the 0-6 reverse of a few weeks ago is unlikely to be repeated.
Cheadle Town take on Whitchurch Alport at Park Road Stadium this weekend. Cheadle Town are currently 15th in the table but are a side that are improving quickly, they are riding high in the form table with only one defeat in their last five games and averaging two goals a game. Their last defeat was on 4th November, a 0-2 defeat to Whitchurch Alport!
Whitchuch are still in and around the top six despite some poor form by their own high standards, they stand 15th in the form table for example but in brighter news they have the best defence in the division at the moment. Alport loom large for the clubs above them and they will be aware of that, this is backed up by an impressive 2-0 midweek win over in-form Cammell Laird 1907.
Holker Old Boys host Litherland REMYCA at Rakesmoor this weekend with both sides keen to reap the points and both looking upwards. Holker are mid-table in both the league and form charts at present but area still within sight of the play-off area. At this point last season the top six were basically the same as how the season ended after the group had such a good start, but contrast that to this season, it is still very much wide open and Holker will be aware of this as they look to capitalise on a good home record.
For Holker’s good home record you can equally see Remyca’s decent travelling form although in saying that they have lost their last two away games on the spin, to Carlisle City in the league and Bootle in the Macron Cup. That aside, they have been good on the road and with the recent return of Lennon Whewell from Bootle they are looking strong at the moment and will be keen to keep the pressure on Silsden above them and a number of other clubs around them.
FC Oswestry Town welcome Eccleshall to The Venue this weekend in the battle of two of the most-improved sides. It was not that long ago that these clubs occupied two of the bottom three places but both have managed to climb the table and are away from trouble at the moment. I saw FC Oswestry at first hand last weekend and they were a very effective side, they spread the ball about well and of course knew where the net was as they scored three on the day. Eccleshall are unbeaten in their last five league games and their last two defeats have been in cup games, that includes their last game which was back on 22nd November as they suffered a 0-3 defeat at home in the Macron Cup to FC Oswestry Town no less.
