The Title Keeps Tilting Between Wythy and the Wirral - Feature
Wed 25th January 2023 | Match Reviews | By Jay Cooper
Last season, as 2021 became 2022 and the title race in the NWCFL Premier Division began heating up, the top 2 teams in the league met in January. I was in attendance as league leaders Macclesfield outperformed second place Skelmersdale United to win 3-1, and they would eventually win the league.
This season, as 2022 became 2023, history looked to repeat itself, as Wythenshawe Town – then top of the table – played host to their closest challengers, Vauxhall Motors, in January, in the biggest match for either side so far this season.
Before we jump into what happened on that Tuesday night at Ericstan Park, it’s worth looking into how we got here, and that is a story that is worth telling now, even though the final chapter won’t be written until the end of the season.
We begin with the hosts. Wythenshawe Town are a mere 17 months removed from their first match in the NWCFL Premier Division after promotion from the First Division South at the end of the successive COVID-curtailed half-seasons of 2019/20 and 2020/21. They made a real fist of it in their first go-around, eventually finishing 3rd in the table, only a point behind eventual promotion-earners, Skem united, and level on points with the league’s top scorers that season, Charnock Richard.
The 2022/23 season for Town came with a desire to go one better and climb into to the NPL setup, and it would be the cherry on the cake if they could do so as league champions. The way they began the season, you’d have thought they were from several leagues above, with star man Matthew Bryan in particular starting like a house on fire.
In their first 9 league games, they didn’t shed a single point, and Bryan found himself on the scoresheet a whopping 12 times during this stretch of games. Also in amongst this run were impressive, dominant wins, including 5-0 and 7-0 home victories over Burscough and Winsford united respectively.
Their winning streak was stopped from reaching double digits, by, coincidentally enough, Vauxhall Motors, who I promise we will get to, but in the reverse fixture to the one that took place last week, there no goals to speak of and the points were shared. They got right back to business the week after, did Wythy, smashing Squires Gate 6-0.
I was in attendance for a particularly spicy affair that took place at Ercistan park in October, when Town welcomed Congleton Town. After a game that featured as many goals as it did red cards (it finished 2-1 to Wythenshawe), I spoke to manager James Kinsey, who humbly suggested that his side may not have deserved all 3 points on that occasion. He was very quick to praise his team’s attitude to their defensive duties, however.
At the time of this fixture, Town were yet to concede from open play in the league, and Kinsey was aware that it wasn’t solely on the shoulders of the back 4. “It's not just the defence, though. The number 9 is working hard and the 3 behind him, so we're made up - it's a team effort and clean sheets is something we thrive off and work towards."
Kinsey also believes that his team’s defensive work rate is one of many reasons that they have performed as well as they have thus far. Speaking again to him recently, he told me that, “the other side of our game is that we’re good at scoring goals. We just need to make sure we stick to the basics, and we will, and as long as we do that, we’ll be all good for the rest of the season”. Sounds blindingly simple when you put it like that, but football is always more about the application than the idea, and Kinsey, as good manager, is keenly aware.
As winter came and went, the road began to get a little tricker for Wythenshawe. Their undefeated run in the league eventually fell in grand fashion at the hands of mid-table Lower Breck at home in early November. That would be one of four defeats that they would suffer between Halloween and their clash with the Motormen, with Barnoldswick Town noticeably defeating them 3-2 both at home and away, completing a league double.
Despite all this, they went into the match against Vauxhall at the pinnacle of the NWCFL, but they knew full well that their opponents would not lie down.
So, Vauxhall Motors. The 2022/23 season marks the 5th consecutive year that the Motormen have been playing NWCFL Premier Division football, and their most recent finish in the league was 8th place last season. They ended up missing out on the play-off places by 3 points, but their negative goal difference by the time the campaign came to a close would’ve seen them need at least an extra win and draw to secure 6th.
Manager Mick McGraa was happy with the season on the whole, but mid-table didn’t quite satisfy his or the club’s ambition. A direct quote from him to myself was that he “thought we should’ve finished higher, personally.” Rectifying this perceived injustice was priority one for McGraa and his team this time around. “The aim was top 5 this year, we want to progress every season like we have been doing since we joined the league 5 years ago.”
Well, I guess the top 2 does technically count as the top 5, and that is where Vauxhall have spent basically all season, with the majority of that time seeing them leading the way in the league. Like Wythenshawe, they also began the year with a winning streak, but this one came to an end before the reverse fixture, after a 0-0 draw with Longridge Town. Four of their wins leading to that match, though, were clean sheets.
Their undefeated run would end the week before Wythenshawe’s did, as they came back from an away trip to Charnock Richard empty handed in the last week of October. Defeats against Prestwich Heys, Avro and AFC Liverpool were to follow, but those off-days were intercut with clean sheet victories over Northwich Victoria, Longridge Town and Padiham, twice.
McGraa credits his “settled squad” for their success so far this season. “From pre-season, we brought a lot of new lads in, but since then we’ve not had too many new additions and myself and the club have a lot of stability to we can work with what we’ve got.”
All this led to the Ellesmere Port side heading to South Manchester just a point behind their hosts in the table. So, how did it go?
Both sides were quick out of the blocks, but it would be the away side who struck first. Michael Burkey scored on a lightning-fast Vauxhall counterattack (apt for a side called the Motormen), before Ben Holmes hit the bar from a free kick whilst trying to make it two. The second goal did come, and it came from another counter when Burkey stole possession on the halfway line to turn provider for Lewis Buckley.
The first half had more goals, but the second certainly had more talking points. Vauxhall skipper Thomas Mitchell was dismissed for lashing out, as was Wythy’s Dominic Smalley, in the same incident, and the game took a scrapy turn from there. Ethan Goldbourne received the visitor’s second dismissal of the afternoon for a second bookable offence, and James Dwyer, of the hosts, was sent for an early bath too as the second half progressed.
There was one more goal in the game, with both teams down to 9 men, as Vauxhall’s Ben Dufton-Kelly converted from a corner. There was also one more red card, as Vauxhall’s Haydn Cooper was given his marching orders in extra time. Despite being three men down by the final whistle, the Motormen were three goals and three points better off than their opponents.
Mick McGraa’s reflection on the game was a praise-laden one. “We knew it’d be tough; we know that they’re flying like we are. They had some great chances early on, and I think we weathered the storm well. After that we were lively, won every 2nd ball, and scored 2 great goals before half time.
“We didn’t really change our approach. We haven’t changed much all season. We gave them a lot of respect and didn’t intend to go gung-ho despite what happened on the pitch. We sat in, soaked up pressure and we knew we could hurt them on the counterattack, and that worked really well when we scored two great goals from that approach we took.”
As for James Kinsey, his opinion was one more of exasperation, albeit with some humility in there. “We were well beat. We missed chances at 0-0 that could’ve turned the game. Obviously, with the sendings off there was some embarrassment, but I think that also proves that both sides really care. Both sides really want to win, and we just have to get back on the wagon now.”
So, where do we go from here? Well, in the time since this match, Wythenshawe slumped to another Tuesday night defeat against Squires Gate in the Macron Cup, whereas Vauxhall Motors built on their 3-0 victory with another one away against FC Isle of Man.
Wythenshawe Town’s season won’t be derailed by this one result, and Kinsey knows that full well. “We’ve got to work harder and keep ploughing through. It’s a strange one that we just can’t buy a win on a Tuesday! It’s down to us to work on that and we’ve just got to make sure we get it right, and we will get it right. The aim is to finish in the top 4, and that’s what it always has been, but, first and foremost, we want to win our next game. We’re back in the league on Saturday, and all we want is 3 points, because we know we can’t confirm a league finish then, so instead we focus on Tuesday after that.”
As for McGraa, he’s well aware of the expectations that are now on his sides’ shoulders. “Well, I can’t say we’re definitely going to finish in the top 2, but of course we want to win the league, and, at this point, that’s got to be the aim. We haven’t necessarily spoke about it as a group, but anything less will be disappointing because of where we are halfway through. We’re certainly close to something good. We’d be an underdog winning the league I think, if we do.”
Like most things in life, to win a football league at any level is much easier said than done. Both teams know what they want from this season, now, and the only way to get there is by getting down to work on the pitch, when it matters.
Image credt: YouTube - Vauxhall Motors FC, Vauxhall Motors VS Wythenshawe Town, 02.10.2022
The Title Keeps Tilting Between Wythy and the Wirral - Feature
Wed 25th January 2023 | Match Reviews
By Jay Cooper
Last season, as 2021 became 2022 and the title race in the NWCFL Premier Division began heating up, the top 2 teams in the league met in January. I was in attendance as league leaders Macclesfield outperformed second place Skelmersdale United to win 3-1, and they would eventually win the league.
This season, as 2022 became 2023, history looked to repeat itself, as Wythenshawe Town – then top of the table – played host to their closest challengers, Vauxhall Motors, in January, in the biggest match for either side so far this season.
Before we jump into what happened on that Tuesday night at Ericstan Park, it’s worth looking into how we got here, and that is a story that is worth telling now, even though the final chapter won’t be written until the end of the season.
We begin with the hosts. Wythenshawe Town are a mere 17 months removed from their first match in the NWCFL Premier Division after promotion from the First Division South at the end of the successive COVID-curtailed half-seasons of 2019/20 and 2020/21. They made a real fist of it in their first go-around, eventually finishing 3rd in the table, only a point behind eventual promotion-earners, Skem united, and level on points with the league’s top scorers that season, Charnock Richard.
The 2022/23 season for Town came with a desire to go one better and climb into to the NPL setup, and it would be the cherry on the cake if they could do so as league champions. The way they began the season, you’d have thought they were from several leagues above, with star man Matthew Bryan in particular starting like a house on fire.
In their first 9 league games, they didn’t shed a single point, and Bryan found himself on the scoresheet a whopping 12 times during this stretch of games. Also in amongst this run were impressive, dominant wins, including 5-0 and 7-0 home victories over Burscough and Winsford united respectively.
Their winning streak was stopped from reaching double digits, by, coincidentally enough, Vauxhall Motors, who I promise we will get to, but in the reverse fixture to the one that took place last week, there no goals to speak of and the points were shared. They got right back to business the week after, did Wythy, smashing Squires Gate 6-0.
I was in attendance for a particularly spicy affair that took place at Ercistan park in October, when Town welcomed Congleton Town. After a game that featured as many goals as it did red cards (it finished 2-1 to Wythenshawe), I spoke to manager James Kinsey, who humbly suggested that his side may not have deserved all 3 points on that occasion. He was very quick to praise his team’s attitude to their defensive duties, however.
At the time of this fixture, Town were yet to concede from open play in the league, and Kinsey was aware that it wasn’t solely on the shoulders of the back 4. “It's not just the defence, though. The number 9 is working hard and the 3 behind him, so we're made up - it's a team effort and clean sheets is something we thrive off and work towards."
Kinsey also believes that his team’s defensive work rate is one of many reasons that they have performed as well as they have thus far. Speaking again to him recently, he told me that, “the other side of our game is that we’re good at scoring goals. We just need to make sure we stick to the basics, and we will, and as long as we do that, we’ll be all good for the rest of the season”. Sounds blindingly simple when you put it like that, but football is always more about the application than the idea, and Kinsey, as good manager, is keenly aware.
As winter came and went, the road began to get a little tricker for Wythenshawe. Their undefeated run in the league eventually fell in grand fashion at the hands of mid-table Lower Breck at home in early November. That would be one of four defeats that they would suffer between Halloween and their clash with the Motormen, with Barnoldswick Town noticeably defeating them 3-2 both at home and away, completing a league double.
Despite all this, they went into the match against Vauxhall at the pinnacle of the NWCFL, but they knew full well that their opponents would not lie down.
So, Vauxhall Motors. The 2022/23 season marks the 5th consecutive year that the Motormen have been playing NWCFL Premier Division football, and their most recent finish in the league was 8th place last season. They ended up missing out on the play-off places by 3 points, but their negative goal difference by the time the campaign came to a close would’ve seen them need at least an extra win and draw to secure 6th.
Manager Mick McGraa was happy with the season on the whole, but mid-table didn’t quite satisfy his or the club’s ambition. A direct quote from him to myself was that he “thought we should’ve finished higher, personally.” Rectifying this perceived injustice was priority one for McGraa and his team this time around. “The aim was top 5 this year, we want to progress every season like we have been doing since we joined the league 5 years ago.”
Well, I guess the top 2 does technically count as the top 5, and that is where Vauxhall have spent basically all season, with the majority of that time seeing them leading the way in the league. Like Wythenshawe, they also began the year with a winning streak, but this one came to an end before the reverse fixture, after a 0-0 draw with Longridge Town. Four of their wins leading to that match, though, were clean sheets.
Their undefeated run would end the week before Wythenshawe’s did, as they came back from an away trip to Charnock Richard empty handed in the last week of October. Defeats against Prestwich Heys, Avro and AFC Liverpool were to follow, but those off-days were intercut with clean sheet victories over Northwich Victoria, Longridge Town and Padiham, twice.
McGraa credits his “settled squad” for their success so far this season. “From pre-season, we brought a lot of new lads in, but since then we’ve not had too many new additions and myself and the club have a lot of stability to we can work with what we’ve got.”
All this led to the Ellesmere Port side heading to South Manchester just a point behind their hosts in the table. So, how did it go?
Both sides were quick out of the blocks, but it would be the away side who struck first. Michael Burkey scored on a lightning-fast Vauxhall counterattack (apt for a side called the Motormen), before Ben Holmes hit the bar from a free kick whilst trying to make it two. The second goal did come, and it came from another counter when Burkey stole possession on the halfway line to turn provider for Lewis Buckley.
The first half had more goals, but the second certainly had more talking points. Vauxhall skipper Thomas Mitchell was dismissed for lashing out, as was Wythy’s Dominic Smalley, in the same incident, and the game took a scrapy turn from there. Ethan Goldbourne received the visitor’s second dismissal of the afternoon for a second bookable offence, and James Dwyer, of the hosts, was sent for an early bath too as the second half progressed.
There was one more goal in the game, with both teams down to 9 men, as Vauxhall’s Ben Dufton-Kelly converted from a corner. There was also one more red card, as Vauxhall’s Haydn Cooper was given his marching orders in extra time. Despite being three men down by the final whistle, the Motormen were three goals and three points better off than their opponents.
Mick McGraa’s reflection on the game was a praise-laden one. “We knew it’d be tough; we know that they’re flying like we are. They had some great chances early on, and I think we weathered the storm well. After that we were lively, won every 2nd ball, and scored 2 great goals before half time.
“We didn’t really change our approach. We haven’t changed much all season. We gave them a lot of respect and didn’t intend to go gung-ho despite what happened on the pitch. We sat in, soaked up pressure and we knew we could hurt them on the counterattack, and that worked really well when we scored two great goals from that approach we took.”
As for James Kinsey, his opinion was one more of exasperation, albeit with some humility in there. “We were well beat. We missed chances at 0-0 that could’ve turned the game. Obviously, with the sendings off there was some embarrassment, but I think that also proves that both sides really care. Both sides really want to win, and we just have to get back on the wagon now.”
So, where do we go from here? Well, in the time since this match, Wythenshawe slumped to another Tuesday night defeat against Squires Gate in the Macron Cup, whereas Vauxhall Motors built on their 3-0 victory with another one away against FC Isle of Man.
Wythenshawe Town’s season won’t be derailed by this one result, and Kinsey knows that full well. “We’ve got to work harder and keep ploughing through. It’s a strange one that we just can’t buy a win on a Tuesday! It’s down to us to work on that and we’ve just got to make sure we get it right, and we will get it right. The aim is to finish in the top 4, and that’s what it always has been, but, first and foremost, we want to win our next game. We’re back in the league on Saturday, and all we want is 3 points, because we know we can’t confirm a league finish then, so instead we focus on Tuesday after that.”
As for McGraa, he’s well aware of the expectations that are now on his sides’ shoulders. “Well, I can’t say we’re definitely going to finish in the top 2, but of course we want to win the league, and, at this point, that’s got to be the aim. We haven’t necessarily spoke about it as a group, but anything less will be disappointing because of where we are halfway through. We’re certainly close to something good. We’d be an underdog winning the league I think, if we do.”
Like most things in life, to win a football league at any level is much easier said than done. Both teams know what they want from this season, now, and the only way to get there is by getting down to work on the pitch, when it matters.
Image credt: YouTube - Vauxhall Motors FC, Vauxhall Motors VS Wythenshawe Town, 02.10.2022
