Happy days for Prestwich Heys - Feature Article
Wed 24th August 2022 | Prestwich Heys | By Jay Cooper
Prestwich Heys made their NWCFL Premier Division debut in the 2021/22 season. They started poorly, losing their first 4 and propping up the rest league, until a 4-1 win over Winsford saw them finally begin to climb. Under previous manager Matt Barnes, Heys picked up some really notable victories throughout the season, including a back-and-forth away encounter at Ashton which they won 4-3, a gritty 1-0 away win against local rivals Avro, and, perhaps most memorably, scalping eventual champions Macclesfield with a 1-0 home win.
Safety was confirmed with 4 games left to be played in the campaign, and it was nothing more than they deserved, or really expected at the start of the season. Curiously, however, shortly after the season came to a close, Barnes and Co. parted ways with the club. It was a decision seen as more to do with what the board wanted going forward as opposed to a reflection of Barnes' tenure, but before long, former Avro boss Lee O'Brien was given the head coach job, with James Hampson coming in as his assistant.
The start of the 22/23 season has been quite different to the previous campaign. Heys began with a comfortable 3-0 win over Burscough, and whilst a defeat to West Didsbury and Chorlton and a draw with Litherland REMYCA threatened to stagnate their progress, they've since reinstated themselves with a 4-1 win over Charnock Richard, and then came the piece de resistance - an away trip to fierce cross-county rivals Bury AFC, which they would go on to dominate.
Since Bury AFC's inception as a club in 2019, they've played Heys 3 times in competitive action. The first was a clash in the all too brief 2020/21 season. Not long before the campaign was abandoned due to COVID-19, the two sides met at Bury's Neuven Stadium. Heys took the lead in that fixture, but were battered for 80 minutes until Bury finally broke through and equalised.
The visitors didn't let their heads drop, and a 93rd minute one-on-one allowed Jack Coop to net the winner. Then-manager Barnes said afterwards that "the lads did exactly what they were told to do for, what was it? 97 minutes?" - the game itself nearly reached the 100th minute. He also described it as "one of the proudest moments of our (himself and assistant manager Sean Cookson) careers. We've done this for Prestwich Heys."
Between that match and the one last Wednesday, the sides also came up against one another in the Macron Cup after last season's league campaign had concluded. Bury AFC certainly took their revenge with an emphatic 4-0 win to proceed. With Bury AFC also winning the D1N title, it was written that we would see this fiery clash twice more this season.
The game at the Neuven Stadium, the same ground at which their first encounter took place, came around on the 17th of August - an early season treat. Now with O'Brien and Hampson at the helm, and with a very changed line-up, Heys took the game to Bury and really fought for their retribution from the 4-0 drubbing in the late spring.
It was 2-0 to Heys before the half-time whistle, with a header from Dylan Fitzgerald and a strike from Callum Nicholas proving the difference. In the second half, Heys did the right thing and stood their ground. They didn't get greedy or cocky, they kept their heads and that led to them keeping a clean sheet.
One of the few figures who featured in both league games for Heys against Bury is goalkeeper Russell Saunders. In the aftermath of the win last Wednesday, Saunders said "everyone knew their jobs and stuck to task all game, both teams had spells but we stood firm and saw the game out.
"We are going to have good spells and bad spells, we are going to have injuries and suspensions but we are confident on our day that we can hold our own against anyone in the league".
As one of the only survivors from 2020's derby, Saunders was quick to refute any ideas that the club has changed too dramatically. "It’s still the same club, the women behind the bar are still the same, the volunteers around the ground are still the same. We’re lucky we’ve got a brilliant kit man and physios that have been around the club before so in that sense, nothing has changed. My role hasn’t changed, still have the same objectives, still have the same feeling towards the club."
Since the spoils from Bury, Heys have gone toe to toe with NPL side and former stomping ground of Jamie Vardy, Stocksbridge Park Steels in the FA Cup qualifiers. After going 2-0 down at home, they fought to a 2-2 draw and replay at the Eco Power Stadium. Again, level pegging saw the game proceed to extra time, with Steels eventually coming out on top by 2 goals to 1.
Maybe the higher division side were a little too much for Heys to handle over 180+ minutes, but if they've started this season as they mean to go on, then we might not be able to say that for much longer.
Happy days for Prestwich Heys - Feature Article
Wed 24th August 2022 | Prestwich Heys
By Jay Cooper
Prestwich Heys made their NWCFL Premier Division debut in the 2021/22 season. They started poorly, losing their first 4 and propping up the rest league, until a 4-1 win over Winsford saw them finally begin to climb. Under previous manager Matt Barnes, Heys picked up some really notable victories throughout the season, including a back-and-forth away encounter at Ashton which they won 4-3, a gritty 1-0 away win against local rivals Avro, and, perhaps most memorably, scalping eventual champions Macclesfield with a 1-0 home win.
Safety was confirmed with 4 games left to be played in the campaign, and it was nothing more than they deserved, or really expected at the start of the season. Curiously, however, shortly after the season came to a close, Barnes and Co. parted ways with the club. It was a decision seen as more to do with what the board wanted going forward as opposed to a reflection of Barnes' tenure, but before long, former Avro boss Lee O'Brien was given the head coach job, with James Hampson coming in as his assistant.
The start of the 22/23 season has been quite different to the previous campaign. Heys began with a comfortable 3-0 win over Burscough, and whilst a defeat to West Didsbury and Chorlton and a draw with Litherland REMYCA threatened to stagnate their progress, they've since reinstated themselves with a 4-1 win over Charnock Richard, and then came the piece de resistance - an away trip to fierce cross-county rivals Bury AFC, which they would go on to dominate.
Since Bury AFC's inception as a club in 2019, they've played Heys 3 times in competitive action. The first was a clash in the all too brief 2020/21 season. Not long before the campaign was abandoned due to COVID-19, the two sides met at Bury's Neuven Stadium. Heys took the lead in that fixture, but were battered for 80 minutes until Bury finally broke through and equalised.
The visitors didn't let their heads drop, and a 93rd minute one-on-one allowed Jack Coop to net the winner. Then-manager Barnes said afterwards that "the lads did exactly what they were told to do for, what was it? 97 minutes?" - the game itself nearly reached the 100th minute. He also described it as "one of the proudest moments of our (himself and assistant manager Sean Cookson) careers. We've done this for Prestwich Heys."
Between that match and the one last Wednesday, the sides also came up against one another in the Macron Cup after last season's league campaign had concluded. Bury AFC certainly took their revenge with an emphatic 4-0 win to proceed. With Bury AFC also winning the D1N title, it was written that we would see this fiery clash twice more this season.
The game at the Neuven Stadium, the same ground at which their first encounter took place, came around on the 17th of August - an early season treat. Now with O'Brien and Hampson at the helm, and with a very changed line-up, Heys took the game to Bury and really fought for their retribution from the 4-0 drubbing in the late spring.
It was 2-0 to Heys before the half-time whistle, with a header from Dylan Fitzgerald and a strike from Callum Nicholas proving the difference. In the second half, Heys did the right thing and stood their ground. They didn't get greedy or cocky, they kept their heads and that led to them keeping a clean sheet.
One of the few figures who featured in both league games for Heys against Bury is goalkeeper Russell Saunders. In the aftermath of the win last Wednesday, Saunders said "everyone knew their jobs and stuck to task all game, both teams had spells but we stood firm and saw the game out.
"We are going to have good spells and bad spells, we are going to have injuries and suspensions but we are confident on our day that we can hold our own against anyone in the league".
As one of the only survivors from 2020's derby, Saunders was quick to refute any ideas that the club has changed too dramatically. "It’s still the same club, the women behind the bar are still the same, the volunteers around the ground are still the same. We’re lucky we’ve got a brilliant kit man and physios that have been around the club before so in that sense, nothing has changed. My role hasn’t changed, still have the same objectives, still have the same feeling towards the club."
Since the spoils from Bury, Heys have gone toe to toe with NPL side and former stomping ground of Jamie Vardy, Stocksbridge Park Steels in the FA Cup qualifiers. After going 2-0 down at home, they fought to a 2-2 draw and replay at the Eco Power Stadium. Again, level pegging saw the game proceed to extra time, with Steels eventually coming out on top by 2 goals to 1.
Maybe the higher division side were a little too much for Heys to handle over 180+ minutes, but if they've started this season as they mean to go on, then we might not be able to say that for much longer.
