Five Things We Learned 2024/25 - Gameweek 31
Thu 27th February 2025 | Five Things | By Jay Cooper
1. It’s anyone’s game in the Prem play-offs
One thing that this weekend’s results from the Premier Division did exemplify is the fact that the race the play-off places could not be any hotter. Three points – just three – separate 4th place from 7th, with only two places in that bundle allowing for progression to the play-offs. Those two spots are currently occupied by Padiham and West Didsbury and Chorlton, both of whom won this weekend. The Storks won again on Tuesday night, and West were held 1-1 at Litherland 24 hours later.
Right outside the top five are Chadderton and Irlam, both of whom lost this weekend. Longridge Town surprisingly scalped Chaddy in the 93rd minute, and Irlam fell to a hard-working Burscough side. Before Saturday, both of these Manchester outfits were three points ahead of both Padiham and West. It can truly change on a whim at the minute.
2. Player of the season on people’s minds?
With the business end of the season fast approaching, it’s becoming crunch time for who might win the NWCFL’s “… of the Season” awards in the summer. From a personal perspective, winning Player of the Season for a whole division would be an individual award to remember, and there are currently three players above all others in with a good shout for the Premier Division.
All of AFC Liverpool’s Caleb Jones, Charnock Richard’s Matty Davies, and Ramsbottom United’s Andrew Teague currently have 12 Man of the Match awards to their names from 2024/25. If one of those three names can outdo the other two and notch a few more in the remaining 7-11 matches, the award will be theirs for the taking. Football is a team sport, but there’s no shame in expanding your own personal trophy cabinet.
3. Jack’s the man at Longridge
Longridge Town have had a fairly business-as-usual season the NWCFL in 2024/25. They’re currently 18th in the table after 38 games, with a comfortable 19-point cushion on the bottom two sides. They’ve not made headlines too often this season, but over the last seven days, they seem to have stumbled onto a good combination – a never-say-die attitude, and Jack Anderton.
On their travels to Chadderton on Saturday, Town shocked a few with a 2-1 win over their promotion-hunting hosts thanks to a 93rd minute strike by Jack Anderton. And, more recently, on Tuesday, they welcomed Stockport Town to Inglewhite Road, and were nearly undone in a 2-1 defeat, but for a last minute 2-2 equaliser by Jack Anderton. Every point matters in this league, and Anderton is certainly enjoying bagging them for his side at the moment.
4. Round One to Nelson
I keep coming back to the title race in the First Division North, but only because it’s the closest title race in the NWCFL right now. Nelson are currently seven points clear of second-placed Atherton LR, which doesn’t sound close-knit, but Rovers do still have three games in hand on their title rivals. On Saturday, they met in the league for the first time this season.
And Nelson won! A golden opportunity for Atherton to close the gap by not just three points, but essentially six, was stripped away from them on home soil by goals from Will Hasler-Cregg, Max Cane and Charlie Frost for Nelson. They meet again at the end of March on Nelson’s home turf of the Daisy Arena – who knows how fine the line between the two sides will be by then?
5. Second half blitz at MDT
What on earth did Andy Jenkins, and especially Dan Dawson, say to their players at half time? After 45 minutes at Greenfields, Market Drayton Town’s hosting of Stockport Georgians was sitting uninspiringly at 0-0. In the second half? Well…
Oliver Jones got the ball rolling for the home side, and Sam Finney soon bagged a second. Then Lucas Berry pulled one back for Georgians, before Joel Reece reasserted MDT’s two-goal lead. From there, the floodgates weren’t just open – they’d been blown off the hinges, and four goals shared between the sides in the final 15 minutes led to an eventual 6-2 win for Town. Absolute cinema.
Five Things We Learned 2024/25 - Gameweek 31
Thu 27th February 2025 | Five Things
By Jay Cooper
1. It’s anyone’s game in the Prem play-offs
One thing that this weekend’s results from the Premier Division did exemplify is the fact that the race the play-off places could not be any hotter. Three points – just three – separate 4th place from 7th, with only two places in that bundle allowing for progression to the play-offs. Those two spots are currently occupied by Padiham and West Didsbury and Chorlton, both of whom won this weekend. The Storks won again on Tuesday night, and West were held 1-1 at Litherland 24 hours later.
Right outside the top five are Chadderton and Irlam, both of whom lost this weekend. Longridge Town surprisingly scalped Chaddy in the 93rd minute, and Irlam fell to a hard-working Burscough side. Before Saturday, both of these Manchester outfits were three points ahead of both Padiham and West. It can truly change on a whim at the minute.
2. Player of the season on people’s minds?
With the business end of the season fast approaching, it’s becoming crunch time for who might win the NWCFL’s “… of the Season” awards in the summer. From a personal perspective, winning Player of the Season for a whole division would be an individual award to remember, and there are currently three players above all others in with a good shout for the Premier Division.
All of AFC Liverpool’s Caleb Jones, Charnock Richard’s Matty Davies, and Ramsbottom United’s Andrew Teague currently have 12 Man of the Match awards to their names from 2024/25. If one of those three names can outdo the other two and notch a few more in the remaining 7-11 matches, the award will be theirs for the taking. Football is a team sport, but there’s no shame in expanding your own personal trophy cabinet.
3. Jack’s the man at Longridge
Longridge Town have had a fairly business-as-usual season the NWCFL in 2024/25. They’re currently 18th in the table after 38 games, with a comfortable 19-point cushion on the bottom two sides. They’ve not made headlines too often this season, but over the last seven days, they seem to have stumbled onto a good combination – a never-say-die attitude, and Jack Anderton.
On their travels to Chadderton on Saturday, Town shocked a few with a 2-1 win over their promotion-hunting hosts thanks to a 93rd minute strike by Jack Anderton. And, more recently, on Tuesday, they welcomed Stockport Town to Inglewhite Road, and were nearly undone in a 2-1 defeat, but for a last minute 2-2 equaliser by Jack Anderton. Every point matters in this league, and Anderton is certainly enjoying bagging them for his side at the moment.
4. Round One to Nelson
I keep coming back to the title race in the First Division North, but only because it’s the closest title race in the NWCFL right now. Nelson are currently seven points clear of second-placed Atherton LR, which doesn’t sound close-knit, but Rovers do still have three games in hand on their title rivals. On Saturday, they met in the league for the first time this season.
And Nelson won! A golden opportunity for Atherton to close the gap by not just three points, but essentially six, was stripped away from them on home soil by goals from Will Hasler-Cregg, Max Cane and Charlie Frost for Nelson. They meet again at the end of March on Nelson’s home turf of the Daisy Arena – who knows how fine the line between the two sides will be by then?
5. Second half blitz at MDT
What on earth did Andy Jenkins, and especially Dan Dawson, say to their players at half time? After 45 minutes at Greenfields, Market Drayton Town’s hosting of Stockport Georgians was sitting uninspiringly at 0-0. In the second half? Well…
Oliver Jones got the ball rolling for the home side, and Sam Finney soon bagged a second. Then Lucas Berry pulled one back for Georgians, before Joel Reece reasserted MDT’s two-goal lead. From there, the floodgates weren’t just open – they’d been blown off the hinges, and four goals shared between the sides in the final 15 minutes led to an eventual 6-2 win for Town. Absolute cinema.
