Premier Division Preview - Saturday 5th May 2018
Fri 4th May 2018 | General | By Patrick Burke
With the weather forecast suggesting that it’s going to be cracking the flags on Saturday and 11 huge games in the Premier Division, these are the weekends that fans and players alike want to be involved in!
Leaders Runcorn Linnets have been crowned champions after getting the three points they needed against Squires Gate on Thursday, and travel to AFC Liverpool.
Michael Ellison’s Linnets secured a well-deserved promotion to the Evo-Stik League without kicking a ball last weekend, but suffered only their fifth league defeat of the season on Monday, going down 3-0 at Northwich Victoria. They had conceded just one goal in seven games prior to that, so will want a return to that solidity this weekend!
However, they are sure to be tested by an AFC Liverpool side fighting for their lives. Their last eight have followed a pattern of a win then a loss, but they will hope for that to come to an end having impressively dispatched of 1874 Northwich 3-0 on Tuesday.
That moved them out of the bottom four, but they have just a one point cushion ahead of Burscough, so know there is still much work to be done.
Widnes need to secure 2nd place ahead of Runcorn Town, and would boost their prospects of doing that with a win at Irlam.
The hosts failed to follow up back-to-back victories on Monday night as they went down 5-1 at home to Winsford United, and that leaves them perched comfortably in 15th place.
The away side’s form under Ste Akrigg and Kev Towey continues to startle, with 23 wins from their last 25 and five clean sheets from their last six in the league, most recently the 2-0 triumph at Maine Road on Monday.
They wrapped up their place in the Macron Cup final in the week, drawing 2-2 at Winsford to go through 7-2 on aggregate, so they will be eyeing a very successful finale to their debut Premier Division campaign.
Chris Herbert’s Runcorn Town trail Widnes by three points with an inferior goal difference, but they need to keep the pressure on as they host Padiham.
After putting together a nine game unbeaten run, going down 3-1 at Ashton Athletic last weekend will have been a major blow for them, but they will be pleased that they bounced back with a win by the same scoreline at Northwich Vics on Tuesday.
The middle of the pack is so tight that the visitors climbed from 17th to 13th by beating AFC Darwen on Wednesday, which will have been a welcome result having taken just one point from the previous 24 on offer.
Like Widnes, City of Liverpool will be delighted with their first season at this level. Their current position of 4th is the highest that they can finish, but they will want to strengthen their hold on that when they entertain Northwich Vics.
The Purps had been on a 14 match unbeaten run, but that came to an end with successive away defeats at Hanley Town and West Didsbury & Chorlton, so they will want to get back to winning ways here.
If Steve Wilkes’ Vics are on the same form as Monday night against Linnets, this will be a tricky one for the hosts. It was actually the only victory in the last five for the team in 16th place, although they did also draw 1-1 with Squires Gate last weekend.
Bootle in 5th are breathing down their tenants’ necks, and they travel to relegation-threatened Abbey Hey at the weekend. Just one in from their last eight, including a 3-2 reverse at fellow strugglers Burscough last Saturday, has lurched Luke Gibson’s men back into the mire, and they are just a point and a place above their last opponents.
The Bucks, meanwhile, also lost to Burscough in their last outing – going down 2-1 on Tuesday night at the TDP Solicitors Stadium – but that was after four victories from their previous five.
7th meets 6th at Mossie Park in what looks an exciting prospect as Charnock Richard welcome Hanley Town. Like the other two sides who were promoted last year, the hosts have adapted well to life in the top tier.
Form has been a little inconsistent of late, losing at 1874 Northwich last Saturday after beating Vics 3-2 prior to that. In contrast, Hanley ended a run of five straight losses last Saturday by overcoming City of Liverpool 2-0, so they will hope that the result can drive them on to a positive finish to a successful season.
Squires Gate against 1874 Northwich looks a similarly close match-up and should be a good contest for the neutral. That Gate are 10th and six points clear of the side below them is absolutely remarkable given their perilous position when Andy Clarkson took over.
They drew 1-1 at Vics last weekend to extend their current unbeaten run to 11 games, and have won four of their last five on the Fylde Coast. 1874 have earned plenty of plaudits for the way they have dealt with their fixture congestion, and they sit 8th in the table.
They lost at AFC Liverpool on Tuesday night, but this came after beating Charnock Richard and Darwen, so swill want to bounce back here.
Up until a 3-2 defeat at Ashton in the week, 9th placed Barnoldswick Town were the form team in the division having won six on the trot, including a 5-0 triumph over Barnton last Saturday.
They visit 14th placed Congleton Town hoping to prove that the result was merely a blip, but the Bears will be on a high having beaten Padiham 2-0 on Monday night to end a four game winless streak. With a congested top ten and seven teams who are neck-and-neck below that, there’s plenty of incentive for both to end 2017/18 strongly.
Two sides separated by one place meet in a mid-table encounter in South Manchester as West Didsbury & Chorlton entertain Ashton Athletic. Steve Settle’s hosts have won seven of their last ten, and edged an entertaining encounter with City of Liverpool 4-3 on Tuesday.
However, the visitors vanquished West 7-1 in the reverse fixture, so they will be after a third victory on the spin to leapfrog their opponents into the top half.
In an important contest at the bottom, Burscough travel to St Luke’s Barton Stadium for the second time in less than 48 hours as they visit Winsford United.
Lee Duckworth’s 17th placed Blues have had a decent week, impressively overcoming Irlam 5-1 before holding Widnes to a draw in the second leg of the Macron Cup semi-final, even though the damage had already been done.
As for the visitors, they have hit form at exactly the right time, coming out on top in their three prior to their trip to 1874 on Thursday. After reaching the Macron Cup final to face Widnes last weekend by beating Irlam 3-0, Burscough then recorded a crucial six points in the league, closing the gap on Abbey Hey with victory over them and then recording a fantastic win at Bootle in midweek. It’s given Dave Sutton’s men momentum in their battle to stay up.
Three points for two out of AFC Liverpool, Abbey Hey and Burscough would condemn third from bottom Maine Road, who don’t have a game this weekend, to relegation.
And last but not least is a meeting at Townfield between two sides who will be desperate to give their supporters something to cheer about.
Barnton and AFC Darwen are both on 16 points, the former ahead on goal difference, so whoever finishes on top will have a great chance of avoiding last place. Barnton picked up their first home league win of the season two weeks back against AFC Liverpool, but lost at Barnoldswick last weekend.
The Villagers won the away fixture against Darwen 3-1, so the visitors will be keen to end their 16 match winless run here. They did claim a useful 3-3 draw against Congleton last weekend.
There’s much to be decided this weekend. The fine margins could make an almighty difference to the final composition of the table and promotion and relegation issues, so make sure you get behind your club!
Premier Division Preview - Saturday 5th May 2018
Fri 4th May 2018 | General
By Patrick Burke
With the weather forecast suggesting that it’s going to be cracking the flags on Saturday and 11 huge games in the Premier Division, these are the weekends that fans and players alike want to be involved in!
Leaders Runcorn Linnets have been crowned champions after getting the three points they needed against Squires Gate on Thursday, and travel to AFC Liverpool.
Michael Ellison’s Linnets secured a well-deserved promotion to the Evo-Stik League without kicking a ball last weekend, but suffered only their fifth league defeat of the season on Monday, going down 3-0 at Northwich Victoria. They had conceded just one goal in seven games prior to that, so will want a return to that solidity this weekend!
However, they are sure to be tested by an AFC Liverpool side fighting for their lives. Their last eight have followed a pattern of a win then a loss, but they will hope for that to come to an end having impressively dispatched of 1874 Northwich 3-0 on Tuesday.
That moved them out of the bottom four, but they have just a one point cushion ahead of Burscough, so know there is still much work to be done.
Widnes need to secure 2nd place ahead of Runcorn Town, and would boost their prospects of doing that with a win at Irlam.
The hosts failed to follow up back-to-back victories on Monday night as they went down 5-1 at home to Winsford United, and that leaves them perched comfortably in 15th place.
The away side’s form under Ste Akrigg and Kev Towey continues to startle, with 23 wins from their last 25 and five clean sheets from their last six in the league, most recently the 2-0 triumph at Maine Road on Monday.
They wrapped up their place in the Macron Cup final in the week, drawing 2-2 at Winsford to go through 7-2 on aggregate, so they will be eyeing a very successful finale to their debut Premier Division campaign.
Chris Herbert’s Runcorn Town trail Widnes by three points with an inferior goal difference, but they need to keep the pressure on as they host Padiham.
After putting together a nine game unbeaten run, going down 3-1 at Ashton Athletic last weekend will have been a major blow for them, but they will be pleased that they bounced back with a win by the same scoreline at Northwich Vics on Tuesday.
The middle of the pack is so tight that the visitors climbed from 17th to 13th by beating AFC Darwen on Wednesday, which will have been a welcome result having taken just one point from the previous 24 on offer.
Like Widnes, City of Liverpool will be delighted with their first season at this level. Their current position of 4th is the highest that they can finish, but they will want to strengthen their hold on that when they entertain Northwich Vics.
The Purps had been on a 14 match unbeaten run, but that came to an end with successive away defeats at Hanley Town and West Didsbury & Chorlton, so they will want to get back to winning ways here.
If Steve Wilkes’ Vics are on the same form as Monday night against Linnets, this will be a tricky one for the hosts. It was actually the only victory in the last five for the team in 16th place, although they did also draw 1-1 with Squires Gate last weekend.
Bootle in 5th are breathing down their tenants’ necks, and they travel to relegation-threatened Abbey Hey at the weekend. Just one in from their last eight, including a 3-2 reverse at fellow strugglers Burscough last Saturday, has lurched Luke Gibson’s men back into the mire, and they are just a point and a place above their last opponents.
The Bucks, meanwhile, also lost to Burscough in their last outing – going down 2-1 on Tuesday night at the TDP Solicitors Stadium – but that was after four victories from their previous five.
7th meets 6th at Mossie Park in what looks an exciting prospect as Charnock Richard welcome Hanley Town. Like the other two sides who were promoted last year, the hosts have adapted well to life in the top tier.
Form has been a little inconsistent of late, losing at 1874 Northwich last Saturday after beating Vics 3-2 prior to that. In contrast, Hanley ended a run of five straight losses last Saturday by overcoming City of Liverpool 2-0, so they will hope that the result can drive them on to a positive finish to a successful season.
Squires Gate against 1874 Northwich looks a similarly close match-up and should be a good contest for the neutral. That Gate are 10th and six points clear of the side below them is absolutely remarkable given their perilous position when Andy Clarkson took over.
They drew 1-1 at Vics last weekend to extend their current unbeaten run to 11 games, and have won four of their last five on the Fylde Coast. 1874 have earned plenty of plaudits for the way they have dealt with their fixture congestion, and they sit 8th in the table.
They lost at AFC Liverpool on Tuesday night, but this came after beating Charnock Richard and Darwen, so swill want to bounce back here.
Up until a 3-2 defeat at Ashton in the week, 9th placed Barnoldswick Town were the form team in the division having won six on the trot, including a 5-0 triumph over Barnton last Saturday.
They visit 14th placed Congleton Town hoping to prove that the result was merely a blip, but the Bears will be on a high having beaten Padiham 2-0 on Monday night to end a four game winless streak. With a congested top ten and seven teams who are neck-and-neck below that, there’s plenty of incentive for both to end 2017/18 strongly.
Two sides separated by one place meet in a mid-table encounter in South Manchester as West Didsbury & Chorlton entertain Ashton Athletic. Steve Settle’s hosts have won seven of their last ten, and edged an entertaining encounter with City of Liverpool 4-3 on Tuesday.
However, the visitors vanquished West 7-1 in the reverse fixture, so they will be after a third victory on the spin to leapfrog their opponents into the top half.
In an important contest at the bottom, Burscough travel to St Luke’s Barton Stadium for the second time in less than 48 hours as they visit Winsford United.
Lee Duckworth’s 17th placed Blues have had a decent week, impressively overcoming Irlam 5-1 before holding Widnes to a draw in the second leg of the Macron Cup semi-final, even though the damage had already been done.
As for the visitors, they have hit form at exactly the right time, coming out on top in their three prior to their trip to 1874 on Thursday. After reaching the Macron Cup final to face Widnes last weekend by beating Irlam 3-0, Burscough then recorded a crucial six points in the league, closing the gap on Abbey Hey with victory over them and then recording a fantastic win at Bootle in midweek. It’s given Dave Sutton’s men momentum in their battle to stay up.
Three points for two out of AFC Liverpool, Abbey Hey and Burscough would condemn third from bottom Maine Road, who don’t have a game this weekend, to relegation.
And last but not least is a meeting at Townfield between two sides who will be desperate to give their supporters something to cheer about.
Barnton and AFC Darwen are both on 16 points, the former ahead on goal difference, so whoever finishes on top will have a great chance of avoiding last place. Barnton picked up their first home league win of the season two weeks back against AFC Liverpool, but lost at Barnoldswick last weekend.
The Villagers won the away fixture against Darwen 3-1, so the visitors will be keen to end their 16 match winless run here. They did claim a useful 3-3 draw against Congleton last weekend.
There’s much to be decided this weekend. The fine margins could make an almighty difference to the final composition of the table and promotion and relegation issues, so make sure you get behind your club!
