Division One Preview - 27th January 2018
Fri 26th January 2018 | General | By Gary Langley
With a lot of last weekend’s games being wiped out by the weather it would be easy to thing the weekend would have been an insignificant one, however, the games that took place had a real impact on the league standings. The weather forecast for this weekend is....... too unpredictable so I won’t go there with quoting from our friends at the Met Office, suffice to say that there is another strong weekend of fixtures in the pipeline so let’s have a quick look at them.
The only place to start is at Cobbydale Construction Stadium where top of the table Silsden AFC host second placed Litherland Remyca in a massive game in Division One. Silsden immediately bounced back from last weekend’s home defeat by Whitchurch Alport with a solid performance in a 2-1 win over Bacup on Tuesday evening. That win kept the pressure on the sides below them including The Remy, who are still within sight of Silsden and put in shift in midweek at Cheadle Town. Remyca, by their own admission, despite not playing at their best they defeated Cheadle 0-5 on Wednesday which sees them twelve points behind the leaders, but with three games in hand on them. This is a massive fixture for both clubs.
Prestwich Heys look to keep the pressure on Remyca above them and Whitchurch below them as they host Eccleshall at Adie Moran Park. Heys’ are unbeaten in the league since mid-November and have been in strong form going into this weekend’s game. Eccleshall go into this game off back to back wins against Cammell Laird 1907 and FC Oswestry Town and bagging seven goals in the process, those results have lifted them back up to seventeenth place and well clear of the bottom two.
Eighth placed Sandbach look to get back to winning ways as they host Atherton LR at the Sandbach Community Football Stadium. Sandbach have lacked the consistency that we saw from them last season up to now as this is reflected in their current league position. They are still very much in the play-off mix but will view a win this weekend as a must as they look to keep the pressure on Lairds and AFC Blackpool immediately above them. Atherton LR look to keep their own momentum going as they go into this game following back to back wins over Stockport Town and Carlisle City. New Manager Warren Jones has been working hard with his squad and has spoken well in the local media so you get the impression the tide maybe turning for them.
Whitchurch Alport take on Bacup Borough at Yockings Park looking to keep the pressure on Prestwich Heys and Litherland Remyca for the automatic promotion spot. Alport go into this game with eight straight wins behind them, seven of which are league games and are putting the type of runs together that people predicted before the season commenced. Bacup currently sit in the bottom five but have played up to five games less than the clubs around them. They go into this game off six straight defeats, however their last two games were narrow 1-2 reverses against leaders, Silsden and promotion chasing Holker.
AFC Blackpool will look to consolidate their place in the play-off zone as they go head to head with Carlisle City at The Mechanics Stadium. Blackpool’s three match winning run was somewhat surprisingly ended by Nelson a fortnight ago so will be keen to return to winning ways. That will be a tough challenge though as Carlisle make the trip down the M6 and they have travelled well this season with several decent wins in the road. I saw them at Remyca a couple of weeks back and they are a good side who can play the ball on the deck and the Mechanics pitch will suit their style of play.
Cammell Laird take on Stockport Town at Kirkland’s looking to press their claim for a play-off position. These sides met as recently as a fortnight ago in the Cheshire Senior Cup and it was Stockport who won that one 4-0 on their own pitch. The following week Lairds travelled to Eccleshall and were beaten
Fourteenth placed Abbey Hulton take on nineteenth placed Chadderton with both clubs recent form not too brilliant, indeed both clubs sit in the bottom five in the form table. Abbey Hulton are in the middle of a tough run of fixtures with a 0-3 defeat at home to Prestwich Heys in their last game and over the next fortnight they have Whitchurch Alport, Alsager and Silsden to face so they will be aiming to make the most of this game if they can. For Chadderton they go into this game off five straight league defeats to similar calibre of opposition so they too will be keen to get back to winning ways.
Alsager Town take on Cheadle Town looking to consolidate their promotion challenge. They currently sit fifth in the table but are still well poised to mount a challenge to the automatic promotion places. Cheadle Town currently sit in lower/mid table but know a win could see them climb a number of places as they look to put their midweek 5-0 home defeat by Litherland behind them.
St Helens Town face Nelson at Ruskin Drive with both sides having under-performed by general consensus this season and with both sides sitting in the bottom three it’s unlikely either club would disagree. Daisy Hill are the third side in that trio and they welcome New Mills to New Sirs this weekend looking to gain a catalyst for some results that will lift them clear of trouble. For New Mills two wins in their last three league games have put a positive spin on recent form and they will be keen to put in a better performance than the last time these two met when Daisy Hill beat New Mills 5-1 on the Millers own pitch.
Holker OB currently sit ninth in the table and are within reach of the top six and they will be looking to keep the pressure on the clubs around them as they take on FC Oswestry Town this weekend at Rakesmoor. Holker are in good form with only one defeat in their last six league games whilst FC Oswestry are in a similar vein with only one defeat in their last three.
Division One Preview - 27th January 2018
Fri 26th January 2018 | General
By Gary Langley
With a lot of last weekend’s games being wiped out by the weather it would be easy to thing the weekend would have been an insignificant one, however, the games that took place had a real impact on the league standings. The weather forecast for this weekend is....... too unpredictable so I won’t go there with quoting from our friends at the Met Office, suffice to say that there is another strong weekend of fixtures in the pipeline so let’s have a quick look at them.
The only place to start is at Cobbydale Construction Stadium where top of the table Silsden AFC host second placed Litherland Remyca in a massive game in Division One. Silsden immediately bounced back from last weekend’s home defeat by Whitchurch Alport with a solid performance in a 2-1 win over Bacup on Tuesday evening. That win kept the pressure on the sides below them including The Remy, who are still within sight of Silsden and put in shift in midweek at Cheadle Town. Remyca, by their own admission, despite not playing at their best they defeated Cheadle 0-5 on Wednesday which sees them twelve points behind the leaders, but with three games in hand on them. This is a massive fixture for both clubs.
Prestwich Heys look to keep the pressure on Remyca above them and Whitchurch below them as they host Eccleshall at Adie Moran Park. Heys’ are unbeaten in the league since mid-November and have been in strong form going into this weekend’s game. Eccleshall go into this game off back to back wins against Cammell Laird 1907 and FC Oswestry Town and bagging seven goals in the process, those results have lifted them back up to seventeenth place and well clear of the bottom two.
Eighth placed Sandbach look to get back to winning ways as they host Atherton LR at the Sandbach Community Football Stadium. Sandbach have lacked the consistency that we saw from them last season up to now as this is reflected in their current league position. They are still very much in the play-off mix but will view a win this weekend as a must as they look to keep the pressure on Lairds and AFC Blackpool immediately above them. Atherton LR look to keep their own momentum going as they go into this game following back to back wins over Stockport Town and Carlisle City. New Manager Warren Jones has been working hard with his squad and has spoken well in the local media so you get the impression the tide maybe turning for them.
Whitchurch Alport take on Bacup Borough at Yockings Park looking to keep the pressure on Prestwich Heys and Litherland Remyca for the automatic promotion spot. Alport go into this game with eight straight wins behind them, seven of which are league games and are putting the type of runs together that people predicted before the season commenced. Bacup currently sit in the bottom five but have played up to five games less than the clubs around them. They go into this game off six straight defeats, however their last two games were narrow 1-2 reverses against leaders, Silsden and promotion chasing Holker.
AFC Blackpool will look to consolidate their place in the play-off zone as they go head to head with Carlisle City at The Mechanics Stadium. Blackpool’s three match winning run was somewhat surprisingly ended by Nelson a fortnight ago so will be keen to return to winning ways. That will be a tough challenge though as Carlisle make the trip down the M6 and they have travelled well this season with several decent wins in the road. I saw them at Remyca a couple of weeks back and they are a good side who can play the ball on the deck and the Mechanics pitch will suit their style of play.
Cammell Laird take on Stockport Town at Kirkland’s looking to press their claim for a play-off position. These sides met as recently as a fortnight ago in the Cheshire Senior Cup and it was Stockport who won that one 4-0 on their own pitch. The following week Lairds travelled to Eccleshall and were beaten
Fourteenth placed Abbey Hulton take on nineteenth placed Chadderton with both clubs recent form not too brilliant, indeed both clubs sit in the bottom five in the form table. Abbey Hulton are in the middle of a tough run of fixtures with a 0-3 defeat at home to Prestwich Heys in their last game and over the next fortnight they have Whitchurch Alport, Alsager and Silsden to face so they will be aiming to make the most of this game if they can. For Chadderton they go into this game off five straight league defeats to similar calibre of opposition so they too will be keen to get back to winning ways.
Alsager Town take on Cheadle Town looking to consolidate their promotion challenge. They currently sit fifth in the table but are still well poised to mount a challenge to the automatic promotion places. Cheadle Town currently sit in lower/mid table but know a win could see them climb a number of places as they look to put their midweek 5-0 home defeat by Litherland behind them.
St Helens Town face Nelson at Ruskin Drive with both sides having under-performed by general consensus this season and with both sides sitting in the bottom three it’s unlikely either club would disagree. Daisy Hill are the third side in that trio and they welcome New Mills to New Sirs this weekend looking to gain a catalyst for some results that will lift them clear of trouble. For New Mills two wins in their last three league games have put a positive spin on recent form and they will be keen to put in a better performance than the last time these two met when Daisy Hill beat New Mills 5-1 on the Millers own pitch.
Holker OB currently sit ninth in the table and are within reach of the top six and they will be looking to keep the pressure on the clubs around them as they take on FC Oswestry Town this weekend at Rakesmoor. Holker are in good form with only one defeat in their last six league games whilst FC Oswestry are in a similar vein with only one defeat in their last three.
