Premier Division Preview
Fri 6th March 2015 | General | By Patrick Burke
With the title on a knife edge, leaders Runcorn Linnets will hope to reopen a 21 point gap over Glossop North End, forcing North End to win seven of their eight games in hand.
In recent weeks, Freddie Potter has proved a very shrewd acquisition, his four goals effectively gaining the Linnets an extra five points. However, they will be sorely tested when they visit AFC Liverpool.
The hosts should be in high spirits, after recording a first league win in eight attempts on Wednesday at West Didsbury & Chorlton. Top scorer Ryan Cox also returned to form, with his first two goals since 10th January.
3rd placed Ashton Athletic welcome Alsager Town. After two good draws in difficult games versus Bootle and 1874 Northwich, Athletic won 2-0 last time in their ‘away’ game with tenants St Helens Town. Meanwhile, Alsager have lost three games on the spin in the league, which sees the Bullets in 14th place.
1874 Northwich closed the gap on Ashton with a 5-0 triumph over St Helens Town on Tuesday. Their record of just 19 goals conceded in the league is bettered only by Glossop North End, and they will hope to continue that when they travel to Barnoldswick Town.
Relegation fighting Barlick will take confidence from their recent form, a defeat at Glossop on Wednesday being their only loss in their last four, and a win could potentially take them four points clear of the drop.
5th placed Squires Gate will hope to continue their fantastic season when they visit Winsford United. With three consecutive victories, and Mark Buchan scoring four goals in their last two games, a trip to the Barton Stadium should provide a good matchup between two in form teams.
Winsford haven’t lost in the league since the start of December, and lie 12th with enough games in hand to push for a solid top half finish.
Sitting one place below Squires Gate, Colne are also having a good season, and are top of the form table; they will hope to make it six successive league wins when Maine Road visit. The visitors have failed to win in four league games, but a decent 1-1 draw at home to Bootle last Saturday may prove a catalyst for them to try and climb the table from their current position of 16th.
Currently, Bootle lie in 7th place and haven’t lost a league game since the end of November. However, they needed a last minute Tom Peterson equaliser at Maine Road last Saturday to preserve that record. They visit West Didsbury & Chorlton, and will no doubt hope for a similar result to the Men United quarter final, when Bootle won 3-0 at WD&C.
The home side welcome a Merseyside outfit for the second time in five days, having lost 3-2 to AFC Liverpool on Tuesday – that continued a disappointing run for the south-west Manchester based side which has seen them lose five games on the bounce.
Congleton Town vs Bacup & Rossendale Borough should be a fascinating game. The Bears have been in excellent form of late, with three consecutive victories. Visitors Bacup and Rossendale Borough will hope to continue their recent revival: they have won two and drawn one of their last three.
With good wins over AFC Blackpool and AFC Liverpool, the great escape is very much on, as they are now just seven points from safety with four games in hand.
Finishing off this week’s preview are two games between mid-table and relegation fighting sides. Firstly, Abbey Hey are 13th and welcome St Helens Town to The Abbey Stadium.
Two defeats against two good sides (Squires Gate and Colne) have halted the momentum they had built up with three consecutive league games won. Earlier in the season, Town beat Abbey Hey 1-0 at Brocstedes Park, but they have gone into freefall with 10 defeats in their last 11.
Finally, Runcorn Town entertain AFC Blackpool at Pavillions. Men United Cup semi-finalists Town have lost three league games on the bounce and are currently 15th. AFC Blackpool are in 20th place. Three successive losses haven’t helped their cause, but they are still within touching distance of the two teams immediately above them.
We are at the stage whereby every game is important, and one slip up could cost a side dearly. It may be a case of who holds their nerve, particularly at the top, where Runcorn Linnets entertain Glossop North End on the last day of the season – what a game that is going to be!
Premier Division Preview
Fri 6th March 2015 | General
By Patrick Burke
With the title on a knife edge, leaders Runcorn Linnets will hope to reopen a 21 point gap over Glossop North End, forcing North End to win seven of their eight games in hand.
In recent weeks, Freddie Potter has proved a very shrewd acquisition, his four goals effectively gaining the Linnets an extra five points. However, they will be sorely tested when they visit AFC Liverpool.
The hosts should be in high spirits, after recording a first league win in eight attempts on Wednesday at West Didsbury & Chorlton. Top scorer Ryan Cox also returned to form, with his first two goals since 10th January.
3rd placed Ashton Athletic welcome Alsager Town. After two good draws in difficult games versus Bootle and 1874 Northwich, Athletic won 2-0 last time in their ‘away’ game with tenants St Helens Town. Meanwhile, Alsager have lost three games on the spin in the league, which sees the Bullets in 14th place.
1874 Northwich closed the gap on Ashton with a 5-0 triumph over St Helens Town on Tuesday. Their record of just 19 goals conceded in the league is bettered only by Glossop North End, and they will hope to continue that when they travel to Barnoldswick Town.
Relegation fighting Barlick will take confidence from their recent form, a defeat at Glossop on Wednesday being their only loss in their last four, and a win could potentially take them four points clear of the drop.
5th placed Squires Gate will hope to continue their fantastic season when they visit Winsford United. With three consecutive victories, and Mark Buchan scoring four goals in their last two games, a trip to the Barton Stadium should provide a good matchup between two in form teams.
Winsford haven’t lost in the league since the start of December, and lie 12th with enough games in hand to push for a solid top half finish.
Sitting one place below Squires Gate, Colne are also having a good season, and are top of the form table; they will hope to make it six successive league wins when Maine Road visit. The visitors have failed to win in four league games, but a decent 1-1 draw at home to Bootle last Saturday may prove a catalyst for them to try and climb the table from their current position of 16th.
Currently, Bootle lie in 7th place and haven’t lost a league game since the end of November. However, they needed a last minute Tom Peterson equaliser at Maine Road last Saturday to preserve that record. They visit West Didsbury & Chorlton, and will no doubt hope for a similar result to the Men United quarter final, when Bootle won 3-0 at WD&C.
The home side welcome a Merseyside outfit for the second time in five days, having lost 3-2 to AFC Liverpool on Tuesday – that continued a disappointing run for the south-west Manchester based side which has seen them lose five games on the bounce.
Congleton Town vs Bacup & Rossendale Borough should be a fascinating game. The Bears have been in excellent form of late, with three consecutive victories. Visitors Bacup and Rossendale Borough will hope to continue their recent revival: they have won two and drawn one of their last three.
With good wins over AFC Blackpool and AFC Liverpool, the great escape is very much on, as they are now just seven points from safety with four games in hand.
Finishing off this week’s preview are two games between mid-table and relegation fighting sides. Firstly, Abbey Hey are 13th and welcome St Helens Town to The Abbey Stadium.
Two defeats against two good sides (Squires Gate and Colne) have halted the momentum they had built up with three consecutive league games won. Earlier in the season, Town beat Abbey Hey 1-0 at Brocstedes Park, but they have gone into freefall with 10 defeats in their last 11.
Finally, Runcorn Town entertain AFC Blackpool at Pavillions. Men United Cup semi-finalists Town have lost three league games on the bounce and are currently 15th. AFC Blackpool are in 20th place. Three successive losses haven’t helped their cause, but they are still within touching distance of the two teams immediately above them.
We are at the stage whereby every game is important, and one slip up could cost a side dearly. It may be a case of who holds their nerve, particularly at the top, where Runcorn Linnets entertain Glossop North End on the last day of the season – what a game that is going to be!
