Five Things We Learned 2024/25 - Gameweek 21
Thu 19th December 2024 | Five Things | By Jay Cooper
1. Good to be back!
Well, last week was quiet, wasn't it? For the weekend of Saturday, December 7th, there was pretty much nothing to talk about in terms of NWCFL action. Granted, Bury won 4-0 against Colne, and Chadderton won 4-2 against Glossop North End, which is quite the development at the top of the table, but beyond that, Storm Darragh was the only headline.
There were no games at all to report on from the First Division North, and there were no games at all to report on from the First Division South, to the point where there wasn't Five Things for us to learn from last week's action. Thankfully, here we are again, having seen 42 games from six different competitions unfold since this past weekend - let's dive in, shall we?
2. Three out of six ain't bad
This past weekend saw the reintroduction of the Isuzu FA Vase to all of our lives, and from six remaining NWCFL teams left in this nationwide competition at the Third Round stage, there was plenty of scope for our flag-flyers to progress. And a handful of them did just that.
Notably, both of Abbey Hulton United and West Didsbury and Chorlton conquered non-NWCFL opposition to score their names in the hat for Round Four, and Atherton LR came out on top in an all-NWCFL clash with Ashton Town, needing penalties to do so. Elsewhere, unfortunately, both South Liverpool and Winsford United fell to defeats.
3. High Fives in the Macron Cup
Elsewhere, in other domestic cup action, the Macron Cup Third Round saw a few matches take place this past weekend and beyond, with Saturday serving up some tantalising scorelines. Both Chadderton and Charnock Richard hit five against Euxton Villa and Droylsden respectively, and Maghull swept aside Ashton Athletic in another game with five goals in it, winning 4-1.
Since then, on Tuesday, there was one more Macron match to play, and it was another unfortunate day in cup competition for Winsford United. They were faced with fellow First Division South promotion-pushers Stafford Town, and were undone in a 3-1 defeat to Adam Wall's side, who see themselves into the Fourth Round.
4. New(ish) leaders in the Prem
For weeks and weeks, the top of the tree in the Premier Division has looked like so: Ramsbottom United at the top, Bury slowly creeping up behind by winning the majority of their games in hand. Wouldn't you know it, between the last one of these lists and now, we have a new side in the drivers' seat - it's neither Rammy nor Bury.
Instead, Ben Greenidge and Carl Taylor's Chadderton side are currently in top spot, having played one game more than the Shakers, and two more than Rammy. Chaddy have always been there too, pushing towards the top of the league, and having played last weekend when not many other teams did, as well as watching Bury drop points in the league last Saturday, has seen them fully stamp their claim on a potential title push.
5. Foley with a fantastic comeback
From the top of the Prem to the near bottom of the First Division South, and Foley Meir, under the relatively new stewardship of Mark Lawton, notched an impressive victory in their fight to avoid being sucked into the vacuum that is the relegation battle.
From being 2-1 down with 10 minutes of normal time remaining at home against Ashville, Daniel Ward and Jay Finney both bagged before the end to turn the game on its head, help Foley to a 3-2 win, and secure a massive three points for the East Staffordshire side.
Five Things We Learned 2024/25 - Gameweek 21
Thu 19th December 2024 | Five Things
By Jay Cooper
1. Good to be back!
Well, last week was quiet, wasn't it? For the weekend of Saturday, December 7th, there was pretty much nothing to talk about in terms of NWCFL action. Granted, Bury won 4-0 against Colne, and Chadderton won 4-2 against Glossop North End, which is quite the development at the top of the table, but beyond that, Storm Darragh was the only headline.
There were no games at all to report on from the First Division North, and there were no games at all to report on from the First Division South, to the point where there wasn't Five Things for us to learn from last week's action. Thankfully, here we are again, having seen 42 games from six different competitions unfold since this past weekend - let's dive in, shall we?
2. Three out of six ain't bad
This past weekend saw the reintroduction of the Isuzu FA Vase to all of our lives, and from six remaining NWCFL teams left in this nationwide competition at the Third Round stage, there was plenty of scope for our flag-flyers to progress. And a handful of them did just that.
Notably, both of Abbey Hulton United and West Didsbury and Chorlton conquered non-NWCFL opposition to score their names in the hat for Round Four, and Atherton LR came out on top in an all-NWCFL clash with Ashton Town, needing penalties to do so. Elsewhere, unfortunately, both South Liverpool and Winsford United fell to defeats.
3. High Fives in the Macron Cup
Elsewhere, in other domestic cup action, the Macron Cup Third Round saw a few matches take place this past weekend and beyond, with Saturday serving up some tantalising scorelines. Both Chadderton and Charnock Richard hit five against Euxton Villa and Droylsden respectively, and Maghull swept aside Ashton Athletic in another game with five goals in it, winning 4-1.
Since then, on Tuesday, there was one more Macron match to play, and it was another unfortunate day in cup competition for Winsford United. They were faced with fellow First Division South promotion-pushers Stafford Town, and were undone in a 3-1 defeat to Adam Wall's side, who see themselves into the Fourth Round.
4. New(ish) leaders in the Prem
For weeks and weeks, the top of the tree in the Premier Division has looked like so: Ramsbottom United at the top, Bury slowly creeping up behind by winning the majority of their games in hand. Wouldn't you know it, between the last one of these lists and now, we have a new side in the drivers' seat - it's neither Rammy nor Bury.
Instead, Ben Greenidge and Carl Taylor's Chadderton side are currently in top spot, having played one game more than the Shakers, and two more than Rammy. Chaddy have always been there too, pushing towards the top of the league, and having played last weekend when not many other teams did, as well as watching Bury drop points in the league last Saturday, has seen them fully stamp their claim on a potential title push.
5. Foley with a fantastic comeback
From the top of the Prem to the near bottom of the First Division South, and Foley Meir, under the relatively new stewardship of Mark Lawton, notched an impressive victory in their fight to avoid being sucked into the vacuum that is the relegation battle.
From being 2-1 down with 10 minutes of normal time remaining at home against Ashville, Daniel Ward and Jay Finney both bagged before the end to turn the game on its head, help Foley to a 3-2 win, and secure a massive three points for the East Staffordshire side.