Premier Division: The Run-In
Fri 28th March 2025 | Match Previews | By Ben Wilkinson
Last but by no means least in this three-part series, we take a look at what's left to play for in the Premier Division...
THE TITLE
Ramsbottom United's 4-0 demolition job away at South Liverpool on Wednesday night kept them in the running for the title, albeit with the odds stacked well against them with just four games remaining. Dave McNabb's Bury hold all the cards at this late stage, the 'Shakers' amassing a huge 97 points from their 42 games so far; a club-record 11 consective wins reinforcing the Gigg Lane outfit as favourites to win the title and with it promotion to Step 4, 12 months after their agonising penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Wythenshawe Town in last season's play-off final. Three of their final four games are at the fortress that is Gigg Lane, the side have not lost a home league game in front of a crowd since all the way back in August 2023. Squires Gate, Padiham and Burscough are all still to travel to BL9 in the coming weeks, with a trip to Cheadle Town closing out their travels on the penultimate weekend of the season.
Hot on their heels are Lower Breck, a staggering run of 16 wins from 17 (the exception being a defeat away at Bury!) has propelled Breck into second place and just three points behind the 'Shakers'. Big wins over Longridge Town (5-1), FC St Helens (5-1) and South Liverpool (6-0) this month have helped the Anfield side on their way to closing the goal difference disparity with the league leaders; Breck are now only seven goals behind, meaning the title race could still go down to the very last kick on the final day! On paper, this looks to be the 'easiest' run-in of the three in the race as all four of their opponents are rooted in mid-table with Step 5 status secured for another year and possibly one eye already on the summer and next year. Their final four begins on the Island on Saturday evening before they return to home turf for back-to-back home games against Litherland REMYCA and Barnoldswick Town before a final-day trip to Cheadle Town's Ground Up Solutions Stadium.
Even though Ramsbottom can still reach 102 points, their title hopes are extremely slim after back-to-back home defeats in February saw them fall away, a run of four successive wins since merely doing enough to keep pace with the unstoppable force and immovable objects that are the top two. The 'Rams' travel to relegation-threatened Prestwich Heys this weekend in a potential 'banana-skin' before Stockport Town visit the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium. A trip to Chadderton follows before their season finishes back on home turf against Barnoldswick on April 19th.
| |
Bury (P42, 97pts) |
Lower Breck (P42, 94pts) |
Ramsbottom United (P42, 90pts) |
| Saturday 29th March |
Squires Gate (h) |
FC Isle of Man (a) |
Prestwich Heys (a) |
| Friday 4th April |
|
Litherland REMYCA (h) |
|
| Saturday 5th April |
Padiham (h) |
|
Stockport Town (h) |
| Saturday 12th April |
Cheadle Town (a) |
Barnoldswick Town (h) |
Chadderton (a) |
| Saturday 19th April |
Burscough (h) |
Cheadle Town (a) |
Barnoldswick Town (h) |
THE PLAY-OFFS
The above-mentioned trio have all secured play-off positions as an absolute minimum, alongside Padiham who are now playing to determine exactly where they will finish inside those positions. The final spot is, barring a freak set of results, up for grabs between the Greater Manchester triad of West Didsbury & Chorlton, Irlam & Chadderton. West are the most likely candidates to claim the final spot as they hold a four-point advantage over Irlam in 6th and they host 7th-placed Chadderton on Saturday - a win for the hosts would in all likelihood signal the end of Chadderton's aspirations while a win for Chaddy would put them well in the hunt. Irlam visit South Liverpool on the same day hoping that the sides immediately above and below them cancel each other out, opening the door for John Main's side.
Following their trip to Brookburn Road, Chadderton finish the season with three home games, although the club are still playing at their home-from-home at Avro while the pitch installation at Andrew Street is finalised. Pilkington are the first visitors next Friday before a local derby against Ramsbottom and a final-day clash against Litherland REMYCA. Irlam are also back at base on the final day, FC St Helens visiting Silver Street for the first time, whilst West Didsbury & Chorlton face a trip over the Irish Sea for their last game.
| |
West Didsbury & Chorlton (P42, 74pts)
|
Irlam (P42, 70pts) |
Chadderton (P42, 68pts) |
| Saturday 29th March |
Chadderton (h) |
South Liverpool (a) |
West Didsbury & Chorlton (a) |
| Friday 4th April |
|
|
Pilkington (h) |
| Saturday 5th April |
AFC Liverpool (a) |
Abbey Hey (h) |
|
| Saturday 12th April |
Longridge Town (h) |
Prestwich Heys (a) |
Ramsbottom United (h) |
| Saturday 19th April |
FC Isle of Man (a) |
FC St Helens (h) |
Litherland REMYCA (h) |
THE RELEGATION BATTLE
The battle to beat the drop is showing no signs of being resolved anytime soon, with five sides fighting for three spots at Step 5 next season. South Liverpool look set to survive in their first season since promotion, although all of their remaining games are against outfits in the top half of the table, they need just six more points to be absolutely sure of the trap door closing beneath them. Three points closer to the dotted line are Pilkington; they travel to bottom of the form table Longridge Town on Saturday with aims of putting some breathing space between them and those below them - two of the bottom three being up against two of the top three.
A pivotal fixture in this battle looks set to come from Ruskin Drive on April 12th where Pilkington and Squires Gate face off. Pilks snatched the three points in the reverse fixture by the seaside through goals in the 88th and 94th minute; a similar outcome this time round could be the game that their safety is confirmed in advance of a final-day away day in the Peak District at Glossop North End.
A run of one win in eleven games has dragged Colne back into the bottom two, with goal difference the difference between them and Prestwich Heys at this stage of the season. The Reds have picked up just 11 points on the road this season and have two trips to Liverpool remaining to try to boost that tally, a trip to Litherland Sports Park awaits them this weekend before visiting the Marine Travel Arena for some Friday night football in two weeks' time; home games against mid-table Cheadle Town and Abbey Hey completing their schedule.
| |
South Liverpool (P42, 37pts) |
Pilkington (P42, 34pts) |
Prestwich Heys (P42, 30pts) |
Colne (P42, 30pts) |
Squires Gate (P42, 28pts) |
| Saturday 29th March |
Irlam (h) |
Longridge Town (a) |
Ramsbottom United (h) |
Litherland REMYCA (a) |
Bury (a) |
| Friday 4th April |
|
Chadderton (a) |
|
|
|
| Saturday 5th April |
FC St Helens (a) |
|
Barnoldswick Town (a) |
Cheadle Town (h) |
Glossop North End (h) |
| Friday 11th April |
|
|
|
AFC Liverpool (a) |
|
| Saturday 12th April |
Padiham (a) |
Squires Gate (h) |
Irlam (h) |
|
Pilkington (a) |
| Saturday 19th April |
AFC Liverpool (h) |
Glossop North End (a) |
Longridge Town (a) |
Abbey Hey (h) |
Charnock Richard (a) |
Premier Division: The Run-In
Fri 28th March 2025 | Match Previews
By Ben Wilkinson
Last but by no means least in this three-part series, we take a look at what's left to play for in the Premier Division...
THE TITLE
Ramsbottom United's 4-0 demolition job away at South Liverpool on Wednesday night kept them in the running for the title, albeit with the odds stacked well against them with just four games remaining. Dave McNabb's Bury hold all the cards at this late stage, the 'Shakers' amassing a huge 97 points from their 42 games so far; a club-record 11 consective wins reinforcing the Gigg Lane outfit as favourites to win the title and with it promotion to Step 4, 12 months after their agonising penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Wythenshawe Town in last season's play-off final. Three of their final four games are at the fortress that is Gigg Lane, the side have not lost a home league game in front of a crowd since all the way back in August 2023. Squires Gate, Padiham and Burscough are all still to travel to BL9 in the coming weeks, with a trip to Cheadle Town closing out their travels on the penultimate weekend of the season.
Hot on their heels are Lower Breck, a staggering run of 16 wins from 17 (the exception being a defeat away at Bury!) has propelled Breck into second place and just three points behind the 'Shakers'. Big wins over Longridge Town (5-1), FC St Helens (5-1) and South Liverpool (6-0) this month have helped the Anfield side on their way to closing the goal difference disparity with the league leaders; Breck are now only seven goals behind, meaning the title race could still go down to the very last kick on the final day! On paper, this looks to be the 'easiest' run-in of the three in the race as all four of their opponents are rooted in mid-table with Step 5 status secured for another year and possibly one eye already on the summer and next year. Their final four begins on the Island on Saturday evening before they return to home turf for back-to-back home games against Litherland REMYCA and Barnoldswick Town before a final-day trip to Cheadle Town's Ground Up Solutions Stadium.
Even though Ramsbottom can still reach 102 points, their title hopes are extremely slim after back-to-back home defeats in February saw them fall away, a run of four successive wins since merely doing enough to keep pace with the unstoppable force and immovable objects that are the top two. The 'Rams' travel to relegation-threatened Prestwich Heys this weekend in a potential 'banana-skin' before Stockport Town visit the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium. A trip to Chadderton follows before their season finishes back on home turf against Barnoldswick on April 19th.
| |
Bury (P42, 97pts) |
Lower Breck (P42, 94pts) |
Ramsbottom United (P42, 90pts) |
| Saturday 29th March |
Squires Gate (h) |
FC Isle of Man (a) |
Prestwich Heys (a) |
| Friday 4th April |
|
Litherland REMYCA (h) |
|
| Saturday 5th April |
Padiham (h) |
|
Stockport Town (h) |
| Saturday 12th April |
Cheadle Town (a) |
Barnoldswick Town (h) |
Chadderton (a) |
| Saturday 19th April |
Burscough (h) |
Cheadle Town (a) |
Barnoldswick Town (h) |
THE PLAY-OFFS
The above-mentioned trio have all secured play-off positions as an absolute minimum, alongside Padiham who are now playing to determine exactly where they will finish inside those positions. The final spot is, barring a freak set of results, up for grabs between the Greater Manchester triad of West Didsbury & Chorlton, Irlam & Chadderton. West are the most likely candidates to claim the final spot as they hold a four-point advantage over Irlam in 6th and they host 7th-placed Chadderton on Saturday - a win for the hosts would in all likelihood signal the end of Chadderton's aspirations while a win for Chaddy would put them well in the hunt. Irlam visit South Liverpool on the same day hoping that the sides immediately above and below them cancel each other out, opening the door for John Main's side.
Following their trip to Brookburn Road, Chadderton finish the season with three home games, although the club are still playing at their home-from-home at Avro while the pitch installation at Andrew Street is finalised. Pilkington are the first visitors next Friday before a local derby against Ramsbottom and a final-day clash against Litherland REMYCA. Irlam are also back at base on the final day, FC St Helens visiting Silver Street for the first time, whilst West Didsbury & Chorlton face a trip over the Irish Sea for their last game.
| |
West Didsbury & Chorlton (P42, 74pts)
|
Irlam (P42, 70pts) |
Chadderton (P42, 68pts) |
| Saturday 29th March |
Chadderton (h) |
South Liverpool (a) |
West Didsbury & Chorlton (a) |
| Friday 4th April |
|
|
Pilkington (h) |
| Saturday 5th April |
AFC Liverpool (a) |
Abbey Hey (h) |
|
| Saturday 12th April |
Longridge Town (h) |
Prestwich Heys (a) |
Ramsbottom United (h) |
| Saturday 19th April |
FC Isle of Man (a) |
FC St Helens (h) |
Litherland REMYCA (h) |
THE RELEGATION BATTLE
The battle to beat the drop is showing no signs of being resolved anytime soon, with five sides fighting for three spots at Step 5 next season. South Liverpool look set to survive in their first season since promotion, although all of their remaining games are against outfits in the top half of the table, they need just six more points to be absolutely sure of the trap door closing beneath them. Three points closer to the dotted line are Pilkington; they travel to bottom of the form table Longridge Town on Saturday with aims of putting some breathing space between them and those below them - two of the bottom three being up against two of the top three.
A pivotal fixture in this battle looks set to come from Ruskin Drive on April 12th where Pilkington and Squires Gate face off. Pilks snatched the three points in the reverse fixture by the seaside through goals in the 88th and 94th minute; a similar outcome this time round could be the game that their safety is confirmed in advance of a final-day away day in the Peak District at Glossop North End.
A run of one win in eleven games has dragged Colne back into the bottom two, with goal difference the difference between them and Prestwich Heys at this stage of the season. The Reds have picked up just 11 points on the road this season and have two trips to Liverpool remaining to try to boost that tally, a trip to Litherland Sports Park awaits them this weekend before visiting the Marine Travel Arena for some Friday night football in two weeks' time; home games against mid-table Cheadle Town and Abbey Hey completing their schedule.
| |
South Liverpool (P42, 37pts) |
Pilkington (P42, 34pts) |
Prestwich Heys (P42, 30pts) |
Colne (P42, 30pts) |
Squires Gate (P42, 28pts) |
| Saturday 29th March |
Irlam (h) |
Longridge Town (a) |
Ramsbottom United (h) |
Litherland REMYCA (a) |
Bury (a) |
| Friday 4th April |
|
Chadderton (a) |
|
|
|
| Saturday 5th April |
FC St Helens (a) |
|
Barnoldswick Town (a) |
Cheadle Town (h) |
Glossop North End (h) |
| Friday 11th April |
|
|
|
AFC Liverpool (a) |
|
| Saturday 12th April |
Padiham (a) |
Squires Gate (h) |
Irlam (h) |
|
Pilkington (a) |
| Saturday 19th April |
AFC Liverpool (h) |
Glossop North End (a) |
Longridge Town (a) |
Abbey Hey (h) |
Charnock Richard (a) |
