Gameweek 8: Review

Tue 17th September 2024 | Match Reviews | By Jay Cooper

Another weekend, another round of games coming from all 3 divisions of the NWCFL, as well as the FA Cup. Let's run through the best and worst of what the last couple of days have had to offer.

FA Cup:

• Bury just can’t be stopped! It was, according to manager Dave McNabb, the Shakers’ “best performance of the season by far”, when they travelled away to Blyth Spartans on Saturday. One 3-0 win later, they’re set up for an away trip to rivals Radcliffe in the next round.
• Barnoldswick Town, by contrast, did not enjoy their FA Cup clash from the weekend nearly as much as Bury. Curzon Ashton were their hosts on Saturday, but Barlick were sent home from the competition having lost 6-0.
• Our third and final flag-bearers still in the FA Cup before the weekend were West Didsbury and Chorlton, but they too fell short of advancing any further when they hosted Darlington at the Step Places Stadium. It finished 2-1 to the non-NWCFL side.

Premier Division:

Friday:

• Friday saw two games in the Premier Division, one of which had one more goal to its name than the other. Lower Breck faced off with Abbey Hey in the day’s later kick-off and battered them 4-0 on home soil.

Saturday:

• There were two teams from the Premier Division this weekend who managed six goals away from home. Stockport Town travelled to AFC Liverpool on Saturday, and a Jack Atkinson double helped Paul Turnbull’s side to a 6-2 victory.
• Secondly, Ramsbottom United arguably went one better than Stockport in their destruction of Burscough at the Community Ground. Thomas Hoyle was a hat-trick hero in Rammy’s 6-0 victory.
• FC St Helens looked beaten by half time in their Saturday clash against Charnock Richard, being 2-0 down. However, goals from Jack Ball and Josh Hall saved the match for the hosts in a 2-2 draw.
• The same applied to Chadderton, who spent Saturday away in Blackpool, facing Squires Gate. Gate were another team to squander a 2-0 half time lead to draw 2-2, thanks to goals by Jack Holt and Muis Bibire Bello.

Other scores:

Friday:

• Prestwich Heys 0-3 Glossop North End

Saturday:

• Colne 0-2 Irlam
• FC Isle of Man 2-0 Cheadle Town
• Longridge Town 2-0 South Liverpool
• Padiham 2-0 Pilkington

First Division North:

• Bacup Borough continued their resurgence after banishing their losing streak last week against Garstang. This time around, they put Darwen FC to the sword at home in a 3-1 win, with the first two goals coming in the opening 10 minutes.
• A hat-trick of teams who bagged six on Saturday! This time it’s Daisy Hill’s turn to receive their plaudits, as they brushed Skelmersdale United aside in a 6-0 clean sweep. Samuel Twist helped himself to two goals in this game.
• It was a second half-heavy game at the Jim Fowler Memorial Ground as Euxton Villa took on Thornton Cleveleys. The visitors thought they’d won the match in the 87^th minute when Jacob Aspinall scored, but Jacob Hancock levelled at 2-2 in the 98^th minute to save a point for Villa.
• Maine Road had no such scares with their Blackpool-based visitors on Saturday. AFC Blackpool were the away side in this clash, but they were sent back to the seaside having been beaten 3-0.
• There was a penalty scored on both sides of the goal-laden battle between Steeton and Holker Old Boys. Joshua Debenham and Jason Walker were both on target from 12 yards in a game that Holker eventually won 5-2.

Other scores:

• Atherton LR 3-0 Maghull
• Droylsden 0-0 Route One Rovers
• Garstang 1-0 Ashton Town
• Nelson 1-2 Ashton Athletic

First Division South:

• Alsager Town had four different goalscorers in their 4-0 home victory over Wolves Sporting. All of Reece Davies, Kieran Hamm, Alex Hughes and Matthew Argent-Barnes were involved as Alsager maintained their push towards the top of the tree.
• Another four-goal game took place at Ashville’s Ray Parker Stadium, when they welcomed Shawbury United. Both teams got off the mark within the opening five minutes, and Shawbury’s Jack Howse scored in the 97^th minute to save a 2-2 draw.
• Another game that saw two goals scored in the opening five minutes was the six-goal thriller between Cammell Laird 1907 and Allscott Heath. Both of those early strikes went the way of the latter, and they eventually ran out 4-2 winners.
• The 4-2 results keep on coming, with Stafford Town being on the right side of another one after their weekend visit to Foley Meir. Adam Wall’s side were 3-0 up at half time, and the manager may have been a little disappointed with two concessions in the second half, but they did more than enough in the end.
• With one Stockport-named side scoring six in the Prem, it was a poorer day for the other in the South. Stockport Georgians welcomed Cheadle Heath Nomads to Cromley Road on Saturday, but might’ve wished they hadn’t by full time, as the visitors ran out 4-1 winners, with goals from four different players.

Other scores:

• Abbey Hulton United 1-0 New Mills
• Eccleshall 1-3 Barnton
• Sandbach United 3-1 Market Drayton Town
• Winsford Town 0-0 Runcorn Town