Five Things We Learned 2023/24 - Gameweek 23
Thu 4th January 2024 | Five Things | By Jay Cooper
1. New year, same ol' weather
It never ends, does it? Certainly not in this country, and certainly not in the North West. Since the last one of these lists, which was the final one of 2023, there was expected to be a whopping 34 games in NWCFL - there have only been 15.
It's all well and good to sigh and curse at the clouds, but these consistent postponements due to waterlogged pitches are going to make for a very crammed end to the season when we've finally waited out these downpours. All we can do from a fans' perspective is wish the players the best of luck with those busy schedules and thank them for their commitment.
2. 4-2'ne favours the bold
One day of matches that thankfully didn't see any postponements was yesterday - we managed to go 2 for 2 on January 3rd - God bless us everyone! And hey, fair play to both Litherland REMYCA and Wythenshawe Town of the Premier Division who brought their A-games on Wednesday night.
In fact, fair play to both of AFC Liverpool and Ramsbottom United, who were the two defeated sides by REMY and Wythy, for the fights they put up. Both matches finished 4-2, with the all-Merseyside clash resulting in a home win for REMY, and Wythy taking all 3 points from Rammy's Acrebottom Lane.
3. De Boyd of Confidence
Speaking of Wythenshawe Town, Rory Fallon's side are on the run of a lifetime at the moment. Of all the teams in the NWCFL Prem, no one holds a candle to their current form, with Town having avoided defeat in their last 12 league games, and they've won 9 of those.
In more recent weeks, some of the credit for this purple patch can be placed on the shoulders of new signing George Boyd. The former Premier League winger, once a game-winning goalscorer against Manchester City for Burnley, has scored in 4 out of 5 games played thus far for Town since the 38-year-old made his debut against Burscough. You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!
4. A few near misses, but Grant and Byrne hit
Another thing that the last week of fixtures has brought to us is braces. Over the last 7 days, 8 different players across all 3 NWCFL divisions have managed to score twice in games. A matchweek to be proud of on a personal level for those individuals, but Litherland REMYCA's Bobby Grant and Bacup Borough's Lewis-Simon Byrne went one better.
Grant was REMY's man of the match in their weekend head-to-head away at Glossop North End, bagging a hat-trick and dragging his side into a 3-1 lead during a match that they would eventually draw 3-3. As for Byrne, he was also on the mark on 3 occasions as his Bacup side battered bottom-side Nelson 5-0 away from home in the First Division North on the same day.
5. Barnton chipping away at things
In amongst the 4-2's, 4-3's and 5-0's that we DID manage to see take place over the course of the last week or so in the NWCFL, perhaps the most non-descript and uninspiring result of the bunch to the naked eye would be Barnton's 1-0 victory over Alsager Town in the First Division South. But, like most things in this division, there's more beneath the surface.
Not only was this victory achieved with a goal in the most dramatic of circumstances - a 90+7th minute winner; not only was this Barnton's 4th win AND 4th clean sheet in their last 6 league games; but this result also sees Danny Moss’s side move to 7th in the league table - 2 points behind the play-off places, with 3 games in hand. Watch this space.
Happy New Year from everyone at the NWCFL!
Five Things We Learned 2023/24 - Gameweek 23
Thu 4th January 2024 | Five Things
By Jay Cooper
1. New year, same ol' weather
It never ends, does it? Certainly not in this country, and certainly not in the North West. Since the last one of these lists, which was the final one of 2023, there was expected to be a whopping 34 games in NWCFL - there have only been 15.
It's all well and good to sigh and curse at the clouds, but these consistent postponements due to waterlogged pitches are going to make for a very crammed end to the season when we've finally waited out these downpours. All we can do from a fans' perspective is wish the players the best of luck with those busy schedules and thank them for their commitment.
2. 4-2'ne favours the bold
One day of matches that thankfully didn't see any postponements was yesterday - we managed to go 2 for 2 on January 3rd - God bless us everyone! And hey, fair play to both Litherland REMYCA and Wythenshawe Town of the Premier Division who brought their A-games on Wednesday night.
In fact, fair play to both of AFC Liverpool and Ramsbottom United, who were the two defeated sides by REMY and Wythy, for the fights they put up. Both matches finished 4-2, with the all-Merseyside clash resulting in a home win for REMY, and Wythy taking all 3 points from Rammy's Acrebottom Lane.
3. De Boyd of Confidence
Speaking of Wythenshawe Town, Rory Fallon's side are on the run of a lifetime at the moment. Of all the teams in the NWCFL Prem, no one holds a candle to their current form, with Town having avoided defeat in their last 12 league games, and they've won 9 of those.
In more recent weeks, some of the credit for this purple patch can be placed on the shoulders of new signing George Boyd. The former Premier League winger, once a game-winning goalscorer against Manchester City for Burnley, has scored in 4 out of 5 games played thus far for Town since the 38-year-old made his debut against Burscough. You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!
4. A few near misses, but Grant and Byrne hit
Another thing that the last week of fixtures has brought to us is braces. Over the last 7 days, 8 different players across all 3 NWCFL divisions have managed to score twice in games. A matchweek to be proud of on a personal level for those individuals, but Litherland REMYCA's Bobby Grant and Bacup Borough's Lewis-Simon Byrne went one better.
Grant was REMY's man of the match in their weekend head-to-head away at Glossop North End, bagging a hat-trick and dragging his side into a 3-1 lead during a match that they would eventually draw 3-3. As for Byrne, he was also on the mark on 3 occasions as his Bacup side battered bottom-side Nelson 5-0 away from home in the First Division North on the same day.
5. Barnton chipping away at things
In amongst the 4-2's, 4-3's and 5-0's that we DID manage to see take place over the course of the last week or so in the NWCFL, perhaps the most non-descript and uninspiring result of the bunch to the naked eye would be Barnton's 1-0 victory over Alsager Town in the First Division South. But, like most things in this division, there's more beneath the surface.
Not only was this victory achieved with a goal in the most dramatic of circumstances - a 90+7th minute winner; not only was this Barnton's 4th win AND 4th clean sheet in their last 6 league games; but this result also sees Danny Moss’s side move to 7th in the league table - 2 points behind the play-off places, with 3 games in hand. Watch this space.
Happy New Year from everyone at the NWCFL!
