Five Things We Learned 2023/24 - Gameweek 2
Thu 10th August 2023 | Five Things | By Jay Cooper
1. The greatest competition in the world
The FA Cup. It will never not be a headline, and this weekend saw a handful of NWCFL teams begin their journey through the preliminary rounds in an attempt to make it into the ball pot for Round One. Skem United managed it in 2021/22 - is it anyone's time this year?
Well, the likes of Charnock Richard and Lower Breck have certainly made their intentions clear after 7-0 and 5-0 wins over Squires Gate and AFC Liverpool, respectively. Elsewhere, the likes of Bury FC, Barnoldswick Town, Padiham, Prestwich Heys and West Didsbury and Chorlton all managed victories over non-NWCFL sides, as did Irlam in their midwek replay.
2. It's August, for crying out loud
I remember in December last year, there was a gameweek where I had to find five things we learned from only 2 games that were played, due to the weather causing every other scheduled match to be postponed. That was maybe to be expected in the winter months, but the British "summer" strikes again, it seems. And it struck hardest in the First Division South.
Abbey Hulton vs Market Drayton was postponed; Ashville vs Sandbach was postponed; Winsford vs Droylsden was postponed; and even Wythenshawe vs Campion in the FA Cup felt mother nature's wrath, being moved to the following Tuesday. At least Wythy grabbed the win.
3. Seventh Heaven
We've seen a few games this season already with huge scorelines, such as Garstang 3-5 Darwen and Ashville 6-1 Winsford United, but this weekend saw two teams break the 7-goal barrier in a match for the first time in 2023/24.
As mentioned, Charnock Richard won 7-0 in their FA Cup EP round against Squires Gate, but Euxton Villa also notched 7 in midweek when they beat Nelson 7-1. A few other teams worked together to reach 7 goals over the last week, such as Route One Rovers 3-4 Ilkley Town and Bacup Borough 3-4 Runcorn Town, but Charnock and Villa are the first sides to manage it alone.
4. The 100% club
The race to see who can keep their perfect streak going longest still has plenty of competitors at this early stage, especially in the Premier Division. From 3 league games, both Bury and Kendal Town have grabbed maximum points, and both Wythenshawe and Burscough have replicated that accomplishment from 2 games.
In the First Divisions North and South, the pool is slightly thinner. Only Euxton Villa and FC St Helens, play-off hopefuls last year, maintain their perfect record in the North, whereas Stockport Town are the sole side remaining with maximum points in the South - who's going to be the team that snaps that streak?
5. Ilkley left it late
I hinted at this in entry no. 3, but it’s a story in and of itself. Route One Rovers' fast start to the campaign was weighed down a little by their first league defeat of the season against Ashton Athletic at the weekend, but it looked as if they were going to make amends in midweek, when they were 3-2 up at home against fellow West Yorkshiremen Ilkley Town going into additional time.
However, an extraordinary fightback by the visitors saw Nathan Hunt grab goals in the 91st and 95th minutes to help Sam Dexter's side snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. Derby day (of sorts) drama in week 2 - hopefully that's a nice bit of foreshadowing for the season as a whole.
Five Things We Learned 2023/24 - Gameweek 2
Thu 10th August 2023 | Five Things
By Jay Cooper
1. The greatest competition in the world
The FA Cup. It will never not be a headline, and this weekend saw a handful of NWCFL teams begin their journey through the preliminary rounds in an attempt to make it into the ball pot for Round One. Skem United managed it in 2021/22 - is it anyone's time this year?
Well, the likes of Charnock Richard and Lower Breck have certainly made their intentions clear after 7-0 and 5-0 wins over Squires Gate and AFC Liverpool, respectively. Elsewhere, the likes of Bury FC, Barnoldswick Town, Padiham, Prestwich Heys and West Didsbury and Chorlton all managed victories over non-NWCFL sides, as did Irlam in their midwek replay.
2. It's August, for crying out loud
I remember in December last year, there was a gameweek where I had to find five things we learned from only 2 games that were played, due to the weather causing every other scheduled match to be postponed. That was maybe to be expected in the winter months, but the British "summer" strikes again, it seems. And it struck hardest in the First Division South.
Abbey Hulton vs Market Drayton was postponed; Ashville vs Sandbach was postponed; Winsford vs Droylsden was postponed; and even Wythenshawe vs Campion in the FA Cup felt mother nature's wrath, being moved to the following Tuesday. At least Wythy grabbed the win.
3. Seventh Heaven
We've seen a few games this season already with huge scorelines, such as Garstang 3-5 Darwen and Ashville 6-1 Winsford United, but this weekend saw two teams break the 7-goal barrier in a match for the first time in 2023/24.
As mentioned, Charnock Richard won 7-0 in their FA Cup EP round against Squires Gate, but Euxton Villa also notched 7 in midweek when they beat Nelson 7-1. A few other teams worked together to reach 7 goals over the last week, such as Route One Rovers 3-4 Ilkley Town and Bacup Borough 3-4 Runcorn Town, but Charnock and Villa are the first sides to manage it alone.
4. The 100% club
The race to see who can keep their perfect streak going longest still has plenty of competitors at this early stage, especially in the Premier Division. From 3 league games, both Bury and Kendal Town have grabbed maximum points, and both Wythenshawe and Burscough have replicated that accomplishment from 2 games.
In the First Divisions North and South, the pool is slightly thinner. Only Euxton Villa and FC St Helens, play-off hopefuls last year, maintain their perfect record in the North, whereas Stockport Town are the sole side remaining with maximum points in the South - who's going to be the team that snaps that streak?
5. Ilkley left it late
I hinted at this in entry no. 3, but it’s a story in and of itself. Route One Rovers' fast start to the campaign was weighed down a little by their first league defeat of the season against Ashton Athletic at the weekend, but it looked as if they were going to make amends in midweek, when they were 3-2 up at home against fellow West Yorkshiremen Ilkley Town going into additional time.
However, an extraordinary fightback by the visitors saw Nathan Hunt grab goals in the 91st and 95th minutes to help Sam Dexter's side snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. Derby day (of sorts) drama in week 2 - hopefully that's a nice bit of foreshadowing for the season as a whole.
