Matchday Preview: Week 14
Fri 30th October 2026 | Match Previews | By Jay Cooper
Once again, this weekend’s league games threaten to be overshadowed by cup matches, with the Isuzu FA Vase returning on Saturday.
Saturday
Isuzu FA Vase, 2nd Round:
Saturday will see 13 NWCFL teams feature in 13 different Isuzu FA Vase 2nd Round clashes, which means that there is the potential for 13 NWCFL teams to feature in the 3rd Round, should they all come out victorious tomorrow.
The NWCFL teams who will feature in home Vase games include:
- AFC Bridgnorth vs Desborough Town
- Bilston Town vs Heanor Town
- Chadderton vs Bottesford Town
- FC St Helens vs Boldon CA
- Holker Old Boys vs Winsford United
- Maghull vs Retford
- Nelson vs Parkgate
- Thornton Cleveleys vs Billingham Town
- Woolton vs Durham United
That leaves four more teams who will be on the road on Saturday, hoping to take one more step towards Wembley:
- Bishop Auckland vs Atherton LR
- Cheadle Town vs Droylsden
- Sheffield vs South Liverpool
- West Didsbury & Chorlton vs Prestwich Heys
Semi-familiar away trips on the cards for Droylsden and Prestwich Heys, who will square off with recent NWCFL member clubs, whilst South Liverpool will go on the road to face the oldest recognised active football club in the English League Pyramid.
Premier Division:
Supplementing the Isuzu FA Vase main course will be a side dish of six Premier Division games on Saturday, all kicking off at 3pm.
With all of the top three all absent from league action, fourth placed Barnoldswick Town will have the chance to close the gap between themselves and top-of-the-table Droylsden to a mere point, should they win at home to 10th placed FC Isle of Man.
Right behind them in fifth are Trafford, who will be afforded the chance to play one of their games in hand that they currently hold over the majority of their contemporaries on Saturday. They will also be at home, with bottom side Abbey hey scheduled to visit Shawe View.
A surprise defeat for Trafford would be music to the ears of eighth placed Irlam, who are currently two points shy of the top five. The right set of results would see them leap into the play-off places this weekend, provided they can see off 11th placed Charnock Richard on home soil.
Virtually the same circumstances apply to Glossop North End as Irlam, with just two goals keeping GNE out of the top eight in the table. Three points would change that on Saturday, with 15th placed Ramsbottom United posing as the SK13 side’s latest hurdle.
Off the back of a Preston derby defeat to Fulwood Amateurs in the Macron Cup last time out, Euxton Villa, in 16th, will be faced with a second local clash on the spin as they welcome Longridge Town to the Jim Fowler Memorial Ground. The visitors are just one point and one place behind their hosts in the table going into this affair.
Just one league position, and a dotted line, separates third bottom Litherland REMYCA from second bottom AFC Liverpool ahead of their meeting at Litherland Sports Park this weekend. The points difference between the two Merseyside outfits threatens to either increase to seven, or drop to just one.
First Division North:
There are as many as eight games scheduled for Saturday from the First Division North.
Leaders Maghull are in serious danger of, at least temporarily, conceding their spot at the top of the tree on Saturday. Just a point behind them and with a league game on the cards this weekend are Cammell Laird 1907, who will host 17th placed Maine Road at the OWS Engineering LTD Stadium.
Flixton are one of two NWCFL newcomers for the season that have set up shop in the top five from their first 15 league games. If they want to maintain that status for Halloween, they will need to put 15th placed Ashton Athletic to the sword on Saturday at Valley Road.
The other side riding high in their debut NWCFL campaign, to the point where the play-offs currently look like a distinct possibility, are fifth placed Halewood Apollo. The 12-year-old club are hoping to recover from their 8-1 defeat in the Macron Cup last Friday with maximum points away at winless bottom side Uppermill.
Defeats for either of the newbies would leave the door ajar for Darwen FC to sneak into the top five, with the Salmoners currently sitting a point behind the play-off spots. They will contest a home game on Saturday, welcoming fifth bottom AFC Knowsley to the Multevo Group Anchor Ground.
Bacup Borough, currently 14th, and Colne, currently seventh, are just three points apart from one another in the standings, and they will play each other on Saturday at the former’s Brian Boys West View Stadium. A home victory would close a wide gap in the mid-table mix.
Fulwood Amateurs upset the on-paper odds last time out with a 4-1 victory against Premier Division Euxton Villa in the Macron Cup. Back in First Division North action, they will hope to carry that momentum into their away fixture against 11th placed Ashton Town.
The right set of results this weekend could afford 10th placed Ashville the opportunity to advance three places in the league standings, and to close the gap between themselves and the top five to just three points. To do that, though, they’ll need to fork out a home win against 16th placed Steeton.
Squires Gate have been given a golden opportunity this weekend to distance themselves from the drop zone. They are currently outside of the bottom three by just a point, but have a game in hand on all three sides below them, and neither Garstang nor AFC Blackpool – the two sides directly beneath them – will feature on Saturday. The catch? They’ll need to beat 12th placed Daisy Hill at home to realise this chance.
First Division South:
Even with one pre-announced postponement, there are eight more league games coming your way from the First Division South on Saturday.
With their two closest challengers in FA Vase action on Saturday, league leaders Sandbach United will have the chance to increase their cushion at the top to a whopping seven points with a win this weekend. They will be on the road to the Theatre of Jockeys to face 11th placed Dawley Town.
Stafford Town are the next best-placed team in league action on Saturday, and a win would see them rise from fourth to second in the standings. Their opponents at Evans Park will be a vengeful Telford Town side, who will be hoping for retribution from an 11-0 defeat suffered on Monday.
Eccleshall currently round out the top five on goal difference alone, helped in part by being the winning team in that 11-0 fixture earlier this week. Victory, and their closest challengers failing to win by six more goals than they can manage, would see them maintain their top five status for Halloweekend as they welcome 15th placed Shawbury United to the Stoke Signage Stadium.
Those closest challengers are Wolverhampton Casuals, who will be hoping for a slip up from their foes as they ready themselves for a home game on Saturday. Allscott Heath will be the visitors to Brinsford Stadium, and they will go into the game just two places worse off than their hosts in the standings.
Barnton are the team situated between Wolverhampton Casuals and Allscott Heath in the league right now, and they will fancy themselves as play-off contenders as October becomes November. They will travel to the Trentham Foods Stadium this weekend to face 12th placed Foley Meir, as they look to keep the pressure on the top six.
Church Lane will host a mid-table clash this Saturday as ninth placed home side New Mills welcome 13th placed NWCFL debutants Wednesfield Community for a clash between sides separated by more places than points in the league table.
Cheadle Heath Nomads have played more league games than any other side in the First Division South so far this season, and won’t be slowing their role this weekend, either. They will be the home side on Saturday at the Ideal Building Systems Stadium, with 14th placed Brereton Social playing the visitors.
There is a decently healthy five-point separating the three sides inside the drop zone in the South from the rest of the division at this early-to-middle stage of the campaign. The two teams directly above the bottom three will meet one another on Saturday at the Balufab Stadium, with fifth bottom Market Drayton Town hosting fourth bottom Crewe.
Matchday Preview: Week 14
Fri 30th October 2026 | Match Previews
By Jay Cooper
Once again, this weekend’s league games threaten to be overshadowed by cup matches, with the Isuzu FA Vase returning on Saturday.
Saturday
Isuzu FA Vase, 2nd Round:
Saturday will see 13 NWCFL teams feature in 13 different Isuzu FA Vase 2nd Round clashes, which means that there is the potential for 13 NWCFL teams to feature in the 3rd Round, should they all come out victorious tomorrow.
The NWCFL teams who will feature in home Vase games include:
- AFC Bridgnorth vs Desborough Town
- Bilston Town vs Heanor Town
- Chadderton vs Bottesford Town
- FC St Helens vs Boldon CA
- Holker Old Boys vs Winsford United
- Maghull vs Retford
- Nelson vs Parkgate
- Thornton Cleveleys vs Billingham Town
- Woolton vs Durham United
That leaves four more teams who will be on the road on Saturday, hoping to take one more step towards Wembley:
- Bishop Auckland vs Atherton LR
- Cheadle Town vs Droylsden
- Sheffield vs South Liverpool
- West Didsbury & Chorlton vs Prestwich Heys
Semi-familiar away trips on the cards for Droylsden and Prestwich Heys, who will square off with recent NWCFL member clubs, whilst South Liverpool will go on the road to face the oldest recognised active football club in the English League Pyramid.
Premier Division:
Supplementing the Isuzu FA Vase main course will be a side dish of six Premier Division games on Saturday, all kicking off at 3pm.
With all of the top three all absent from league action, fourth placed Barnoldswick Town will have the chance to close the gap between themselves and top-of-the-table Droylsden to a mere point, should they win at home to 10th placed FC Isle of Man.
Right behind them in fifth are Trafford, who will be afforded the chance to play one of their games in hand that they currently hold over the majority of their contemporaries on Saturday. They will also be at home, with bottom side Abbey hey scheduled to visit Shawe View.
A surprise defeat for Trafford would be music to the ears of eighth placed Irlam, who are currently two points shy of the top five. The right set of results would see them leap into the play-off places this weekend, provided they can see off 11th placed Charnock Richard on home soil.
Virtually the same circumstances apply to Glossop North End as Irlam, with just two goals keeping GNE out of the top eight in the table. Three points would change that on Saturday, with 15th placed Ramsbottom United posing as the SK13 side’s latest hurdle.
Off the back of a Preston derby defeat to Fulwood Amateurs in the Macron Cup last time out, Euxton Villa, in 16th, will be faced with a second local clash on the spin as they welcome Longridge Town to the Jim Fowler Memorial Ground. The visitors are just one point and one place behind their hosts in the table going into this affair.
Just one league position, and a dotted line, separates third bottom Litherland REMYCA from second bottom AFC Liverpool ahead of their meeting at Litherland Sports Park this weekend. The points difference between the two Merseyside outfits threatens to either increase to seven, or drop to just one.
First Division North:
There are as many as eight games scheduled for Saturday from the First Division North.
Leaders Maghull are in serious danger of, at least temporarily, conceding their spot at the top of the tree on Saturday. Just a point behind them and with a league game on the cards this weekend are Cammell Laird 1907, who will host 17th placed Maine Road at the OWS Engineering LTD Stadium.
Flixton are one of two NWCFL newcomers for the season that have set up shop in the top five from their first 15 league games. If they want to maintain that status for Halloween, they will need to put 15th placed Ashton Athletic to the sword on Saturday at Valley Road.
The other side riding high in their debut NWCFL campaign, to the point where the play-offs currently look like a distinct possibility, are fifth placed Halewood Apollo. The 12-year-old club are hoping to recover from their 8-1 defeat in the Macron Cup last Friday with maximum points away at winless bottom side Uppermill.
Defeats for either of the newbies would leave the door ajar for Darwen FC to sneak into the top five, with the Salmoners currently sitting a point behind the play-off spots. They will contest a home game on Saturday, welcoming fifth bottom AFC Knowsley to the Multevo Group Anchor Ground.
Bacup Borough, currently 14th, and Colne, currently seventh, are just three points apart from one another in the standings, and they will play each other on Saturday at the former’s Brian Boys West View Stadium. A home victory would close a wide gap in the mid-table mix.
Fulwood Amateurs upset the on-paper odds last time out with a 4-1 victory against Premier Division Euxton Villa in the Macron Cup. Back in First Division North action, they will hope to carry that momentum into their away fixture against 11th placed Ashton Town.
The right set of results this weekend could afford 10th placed Ashville the opportunity to advance three places in the league standings, and to close the gap between themselves and the top five to just three points. To do that, though, they’ll need to fork out a home win against 16th placed Steeton.
Squires Gate have been given a golden opportunity this weekend to distance themselves from the drop zone. They are currently outside of the bottom three by just a point, but have a game in hand on all three sides below them, and neither Garstang nor AFC Blackpool – the two sides directly beneath them – will feature on Saturday. The catch? They’ll need to beat 12th placed Daisy Hill at home to realise this chance.
First Division South:
Even with one pre-announced postponement, there are eight more league games coming your way from the First Division South on Saturday.
With their two closest challengers in FA Vase action on Saturday, league leaders Sandbach United will have the chance to increase their cushion at the top to a whopping seven points with a win this weekend. They will be on the road to the Theatre of Jockeys to face 11th placed Dawley Town.
Stafford Town are the next best-placed team in league action on Saturday, and a win would see them rise from fourth to second in the standings. Their opponents at Evans Park will be a vengeful Telford Town side, who will be hoping for retribution from an 11-0 defeat suffered on Monday.
Eccleshall currently round out the top five on goal difference alone, helped in part by being the winning team in that 11-0 fixture earlier this week. Victory, and their closest challengers failing to win by six more goals than they can manage, would see them maintain their top five status for Halloweekend as they welcome 15th placed Shawbury United to the Stoke Signage Stadium.
Those closest challengers are Wolverhampton Casuals, who will be hoping for a slip up from their foes as they ready themselves for a home game on Saturday. Allscott Heath will be the visitors to Brinsford Stadium, and they will go into the game just two places worse off than their hosts in the standings.
Barnton are the team situated between Wolverhampton Casuals and Allscott Heath in the league right now, and they will fancy themselves as play-off contenders as October becomes November. They will travel to the Trentham Foods Stadium this weekend to face 12th placed Foley Meir, as they look to keep the pressure on the top six.
Church Lane will host a mid-table clash this Saturday as ninth placed home side New Mills welcome 13th placed NWCFL debutants Wednesfield Community for a clash between sides separated by more places than points in the league table.
Cheadle Heath Nomads have played more league games than any other side in the First Division South so far this season, and won’t be slowing their role this weekend, either. They will be the home side on Saturday at the Ideal Building Systems Stadium, with 14th placed Brereton Social playing the visitors.
There is a decently healthy five-point separating the three sides inside the drop zone in the South from the rest of the division at this early-to-middle stage of the campaign. The two teams directly above the bottom three will meet one another on Saturday at the Balufab Stadium, with fifth bottom Market Drayton Town hosting fourth bottom Crewe.
