Remaining 2021-22 Season fixtures released
Tue 28th September 2021 | Announcements | By Gary Langley
The remaining fixtures for the 2021-22 NWCFL season have been released and there is a lot of excitement as clubs can now see how their respective festive period and season run-ins will look.
With no games scheduled for Boxing Day with it falling on a Sunday this year the Festive fixtures are scheduled for Monday 27th December with January 1st also left clear. As things stand, the season is still scheduled to finish on April 2nd 2022.
All of the fixtures are listed in the Fixtures section of the league website and we are sure that you will be scouring them for local derbies, key dates and so on. For many, that festive period is what people really enjoy, and whilst for us this year its somewhat diluted due to availability of matchdays, there is still a lot to play for. In the Premier Division, the Christmas week fixtures see Macclesfield travel to Irlam, whilst other sides in the mix such as Longridge Town and Northwich Vics go heat to head, whilst at the ASCC, Lower Breck host Congleton. Skelmersdale United and Wythenshawe Town are expected to still very much be in the mix and they host Padiham and Ashton Athletic respectively.
In Division One North the festive week has just as tough challenges for the early pace setters, the likes of Golcar, AFC Blackpool and Bury are all away. Bury travel to Steeton, Golcar head to Chadderton, whilst AFC Blackpool have a local-ish derby at Garstang. Pilkington have home advantage that day as they host neighbours, Ashton Town. South Liverpool have a bit of a festive road trip as they make the trip to Ilkley Town.
Division One South is just as busy that week, West Didsbury & Chorlton host Cammell Laird 1907 whilst up the road, Abbey Hey welcome Wythenshawe Amateurs for some festive fayre. Ellesmere Rangers have had a strong season so far and they welcome St Martins to Beech Grove.
As far as run-ins go, it’s so difficult across the three divisions to predict who will be challenging at that point, however for editorial purposes we will look at a few clubs who are expected to be in the mix. In the Premier Division, Macclesfield have an interesting run-in with two of their last three games being away from home, that includes their last two games, their last four include games against AFC Liverpool, Ashton Athletic, Congleton and at Padiham on the last day of the season. Skem have an equally tough finish, hosting Charnock Richard on March 12th, travelling to Litherland Remyca who may well be looking for survival points on the 19th, Squires Gate away the week after and finishing their campaign at home to fellow promotion-chasers, Lower Breck on 2nd April.
Speaking of Lower Breck, their last three games are all away from home, they face Barnoldswick Town, Winsford United, and of course, Skem in succession making for a tough looking finish. Vauxhall Motors, they may well be in the thick of things as well, if current form applied at the end of the season, they may fancy their chances for a strong finish as they face Prestwich Heys, Runcorn Town and Litherland Remyca in their last three games. Northwich Victoria host Winsford United in a derby game as part of their season finale, that game scheduled for March 19th, they then travel to Irlam and host Congleton in their last game of the season, which is a massive fixture given both clubs promotion ambitions.
In Division One North the challengers again subject to interpretation, however many are expecting Bury to challenge for the title, they have a decent looking finish to their campaign as they travel to Bacup, then host St Helens Town and then on the last day of the season are at home to current promotion rivals, Golcar United. AFC Blackpool also have St Helens Town involved in their run-in (which looks difficult for the St Helens side), however for Blackpool they host St Helens and then travel to Golcar in what could be a massive game by way of promotion and finish by travelling to Ilkley.
Golcar have been mentioned a couple of times already, so we know they face Bury and Blackpool on their run-in in their last two games, prior to that they will host Garstang and Travel to South Liverpool. South Liverpool are also expected to be challenging up there, they finish their campaign with a trip to Nelson and then successive home games against Cleator Moor and AFC Darwen.
Looking at the other end of the table, St Helens Town’s run-in is complicated by the fact that their gap week is the last game date of the season, so if they are to avoid trouble this season they will need to be clear of the drop zone by the end of March, their last three are Nelson, Blackpool and Bury which is tough at any time of the season. It looks like a tough campaign for Cleator Moore this season, if they are still struggling come the spring they will have to go some as their run in includes two of their last three on the road at Daisy Hill and South Liverpool, finishing their season at home to Campion. So tight is Division One North at the moment we could look at 5-6 other sides as well, but we won’t, as people are keen to look at the fixtures list!
So onwards to Division One South, this is such an open Division and any of the top ten (and maybe more) will still be fancying their promotion chances. West Didsbury & Chorlton lead the way at the moment and they will be keen to make their return to Step six a brief encounter and have shown some real quality this season. They have a decent finish to their campaign with a derby at Maine Road, followed by a home game against Alsager and finishing on the road at fellow challengers, Cheadle Town.
A resurgent New Mills has been good to see this season and they also face Alsager in their final three games which also include games against fellow promotion candidates, Wythenshawe Amateurs and a trip to Eccleshall. I mention Wythenshawe Amateurs there, they have had a great first third of the season so far and they host Cheadle, travel to New Mills and finish at home to struggling Rocester.
Abbey Hey have been solid so far and they look strong challengers to the West Didsbury/New Mills leading pack but they have a tough looking finish, they host Abbey Hulton on 19th March and are at home the following week to promotion chasing Ellesmere Rangers and have a difficult finish on the road at Stockport Town, who themselves could gate-crash the party if they sort their defensive issues out. Sandbach United have been consistently near the top so far this season and if they are to go up they also have a tough looking finish similar to Abbey Hey’s as they travel to Cammell Laird on 19th March, host Abbey Hulton on 26th March and finish their campaign away at Eccleshall on 2nd April.
Special Mention for the Isle of Man whom have only played eight games so far and may fancy themselves as an outside bet. They have recently started to find some form and some goals and still have notg played a home game as yet. The home games will come and that may prove a catalyst for The Ravens. Their run-in currently stands as ST Martins (h), Stockport Town (h) and finishing, also at home against Abbey Hulton United.
At the other end of the table St Martins have the biggest challenge, they are currently seven points for safety but will be buoyed by the recent managerial change and upturn in performances with a much changed squad. There’s no denying that they have a lot of work to do though and if they are to avoid the drop they will need to finish on a flourish but face a really tough looking run in with games against West Didsbury and Chorlton, Cheadle Heath Nomads and FC Isle of Man in their last four games!
Rocester have recently started to ring in the changes, they also have a tough finish with two of their final three games being against promotion challengers in the form of Wythenshawe Amateurs and possibly Stockport Town. Not an easy run-in but they will be hoping to avoid any end of season panic by clearing the danger zone before the spring even arrives. A similar problem befalls Eccleshall who have been somewhat perennial strugglers in recent years, they still have a fixture away at Isle of Man to arrange and face Sandbach United, Cammell Laird, New Mills and Cheadle Town in their last four in what looks like a very difficult finish.
Lots of if’s, buts and maybes across the three divisions. For me, the positive is that we are planning for the full season to take place, there has always been, and will continue to be a small element of doubt until we get to April, however up to now the games have taken place thick and fast and we remain on schedule (touch wood) for an April 2nd finish. The games have been competitive, the football has been of a great standard and we have been lucky enough to have fans at games in big numbers safely watching the football. Long may that continue!
We are just going to close with one comment. We do recognise that by doing the fixtures in two half season batches and with the groundshare restrictions imposed on us, particularly in the Premier Division, a minority of clubs have ended up with four or five successive home or away fixtures. We will look to remedy this as soon as possible with Club Secretaries and the Fixtures Secretary for a more balanced fixture list in these instances. Lets hope that the 2022/23 season is more straight forward!
Remaining 2021-22 Season fixtures released
Tue 28th September 2021 | Announcements
By Gary Langley
The remaining fixtures for the 2021-22 NWCFL season have been released and there is a lot of excitement as clubs can now see how their respective festive period and season run-ins will look.
With no games scheduled for Boxing Day with it falling on a Sunday this year the Festive fixtures are scheduled for Monday 27th December with January 1st also left clear. As things stand, the season is still scheduled to finish on April 2nd 2022.
All of the fixtures are listed in the Fixtures section of the league website and we are sure that you will be scouring them for local derbies, key dates and so on. For many, that festive period is what people really enjoy, and whilst for us this year its somewhat diluted due to availability of matchdays, there is still a lot to play for. In the Premier Division, the Christmas week fixtures see Macclesfield travel to Irlam, whilst other sides in the mix such as Longridge Town and Northwich Vics go heat to head, whilst at the ASCC, Lower Breck host Congleton. Skelmersdale United and Wythenshawe Town are expected to still very much be in the mix and they host Padiham and Ashton Athletic respectively.
In Division One North the festive week has just as tough challenges for the early pace setters, the likes of Golcar, AFC Blackpool and Bury are all away. Bury travel to Steeton, Golcar head to Chadderton, whilst AFC Blackpool have a local-ish derby at Garstang. Pilkington have home advantage that day as they host neighbours, Ashton Town. South Liverpool have a bit of a festive road trip as they make the trip to Ilkley Town.
Division One South is just as busy that week, West Didsbury & Chorlton host Cammell Laird 1907 whilst up the road, Abbey Hey welcome Wythenshawe Amateurs for some festive fayre. Ellesmere Rangers have had a strong season so far and they welcome St Martins to Beech Grove.
As far as run-ins go, it’s so difficult across the three divisions to predict who will be challenging at that point, however for editorial purposes we will look at a few clubs who are expected to be in the mix. In the Premier Division, Macclesfield have an interesting run-in with two of their last three games being away from home, that includes their last two games, their last four include games against AFC Liverpool, Ashton Athletic, Congleton and at Padiham on the last day of the season. Skem have an equally tough finish, hosting Charnock Richard on March 12th, travelling to Litherland Remyca who may well be looking for survival points on the 19th, Squires Gate away the week after and finishing their campaign at home to fellow promotion-chasers, Lower Breck on 2nd April.
Speaking of Lower Breck, their last three games are all away from home, they face Barnoldswick Town, Winsford United, and of course, Skem in succession making for a tough looking finish. Vauxhall Motors, they may well be in the thick of things as well, if current form applied at the end of the season, they may fancy their chances for a strong finish as they face Prestwich Heys, Runcorn Town and Litherland Remyca in their last three games. Northwich Victoria host Winsford United in a derby game as part of their season finale, that game scheduled for March 19th, they then travel to Irlam and host Congleton in their last game of the season, which is a massive fixture given both clubs promotion ambitions.
In Division One North the challengers again subject to interpretation, however many are expecting Bury to challenge for the title, they have a decent looking finish to their campaign as they travel to Bacup, then host St Helens Town and then on the last day of the season are at home to current promotion rivals, Golcar United. AFC Blackpool also have St Helens Town involved in their run-in (which looks difficult for the St Helens side), however for Blackpool they host St Helens and then travel to Golcar in what could be a massive game by way of promotion and finish by travelling to Ilkley.
Golcar have been mentioned a couple of times already, so we know they face Bury and Blackpool on their run-in in their last two games, prior to that they will host Garstang and Travel to South Liverpool. South Liverpool are also expected to be challenging up there, they finish their campaign with a trip to Nelson and then successive home games against Cleator Moor and AFC Darwen.
Looking at the other end of the table, St Helens Town’s run-in is complicated by the fact that their gap week is the last game date of the season, so if they are to avoid trouble this season they will need to be clear of the drop zone by the end of March, their last three are Nelson, Blackpool and Bury which is tough at any time of the season. It looks like a tough campaign for Cleator Moore this season, if they are still struggling come the spring they will have to go some as their run in includes two of their last three on the road at Daisy Hill and South Liverpool, finishing their season at home to Campion. So tight is Division One North at the moment we could look at 5-6 other sides as well, but we won’t, as people are keen to look at the fixtures list!
So onwards to Division One South, this is such an open Division and any of the top ten (and maybe more) will still be fancying their promotion chances. West Didsbury & Chorlton lead the way at the moment and they will be keen to make their return to Step six a brief encounter and have shown some real quality this season. They have a decent finish to their campaign with a derby at Maine Road, followed by a home game against Alsager and finishing on the road at fellow challengers, Cheadle Town.
A resurgent New Mills has been good to see this season and they also face Alsager in their final three games which also include games against fellow promotion candidates, Wythenshawe Amateurs and a trip to Eccleshall. I mention Wythenshawe Amateurs there, they have had a great first third of the season so far and they host Cheadle, travel to New Mills and finish at home to struggling Rocester.
Abbey Hey have been solid so far and they look strong challengers to the West Didsbury/New Mills leading pack but they have a tough looking finish, they host Abbey Hulton on 19th March and are at home the following week to promotion chasing Ellesmere Rangers and have a difficult finish on the road at Stockport Town, who themselves could gate-crash the party if they sort their defensive issues out. Sandbach United have been consistently near the top so far this season and if they are to go up they also have a tough looking finish similar to Abbey Hey’s as they travel to Cammell Laird on 19th March, host Abbey Hulton on 26th March and finish their campaign away at Eccleshall on 2nd April.
Special Mention for the Isle of Man whom have only played eight games so far and may fancy themselves as an outside bet. They have recently started to find some form and some goals and still have notg played a home game as yet. The home games will come and that may prove a catalyst for The Ravens. Their run-in currently stands as ST Martins (h), Stockport Town (h) and finishing, also at home against Abbey Hulton United.
At the other end of the table St Martins have the biggest challenge, they are currently seven points for safety but will be buoyed by the recent managerial change and upturn in performances with a much changed squad. There’s no denying that they have a lot of work to do though and if they are to avoid the drop they will need to finish on a flourish but face a really tough looking run in with games against West Didsbury and Chorlton, Cheadle Heath Nomads and FC Isle of Man in their last four games!
Rocester have recently started to ring in the changes, they also have a tough finish with two of their final three games being against promotion challengers in the form of Wythenshawe Amateurs and possibly Stockport Town. Not an easy run-in but they will be hoping to avoid any end of season panic by clearing the danger zone before the spring even arrives. A similar problem befalls Eccleshall who have been somewhat perennial strugglers in recent years, they still have a fixture away at Isle of Man to arrange and face Sandbach United, Cammell Laird, New Mills and Cheadle Town in their last four in what looks like a very difficult finish.
Lots of if’s, buts and maybes across the three divisions. For me, the positive is that we are planning for the full season to take place, there has always been, and will continue to be a small element of doubt until we get to April, however up to now the games have taken place thick and fast and we remain on schedule (touch wood) for an April 2nd finish. The games have been competitive, the football has been of a great standard and we have been lucky enough to have fans at games in big numbers safely watching the football. Long may that continue!
We are just going to close with one comment. We do recognise that by doing the fixtures in two half season batches and with the groundshare restrictions imposed on us, particularly in the Premier Division, a minority of clubs have ended up with four or five successive home or away fixtures. We will look to remedy this as soon as possible with Club Secretaries and the Fixtures Secretary for a more balanced fixture list in these instances. Lets hope that the 2022/23 season is more straight forward!
