Gameweek 31: Review

Mon 24th February 2025 | Match Reviews | By Jay Cooper

Another weekend, another round of games from all 3 divisions of the NWCFL, and in the Macron Cup quarter-finals. Let's run through the best and worst of what the last week has had to offer.

Premier Division:

I hope no one decided to beat the traffic leaving the Abbey Stadium on Saturday! With the hosts having been pegged back from 2-0 up to 2-2 against Squires Gate, they knew to play to the whistle and Jordan Barnett scored a 94^th minute spot kick to secure a 3-2 win for Simon Heaton’s men.

No late drama was necessary for AFC Liverpool, who welcomed Prestwich Heys to the Marine Travel Arena at the weekend. A first-half blitz by the hosts saw Caleb Jones, Eliot Taylor and Liam Paton score, and Heys failed to reply in the second half. The match would end 3-0.

Chadderton had a slightly later kick-off from their temporary home of the Vestacare Stadium, where Longridge Town had made the journey. Chaddy took the lead 10 minutes after the break, but were stunned in the later stages, especially when Jack Anderton bagged a winner for Town in the 93^rd minute, to seal a 2-1 win.

FC St Helens had Padiham to contend with on home soil on Saturday and got off to the perfect start with a Thomas McNamara goal in the 9^th minute. Padiham weren’t ready to roll over though, and Michael Morrison’s side hit back three times before the interval. Liam Cuthbert’s goal for FC in the second half made for a nervy finish, but the Storks held on for a 3-2 win,

Irlam were a side in the play-off places as the weekend began, and a Burscough team with little to compete for at this stage of the campaign could have made for easy pickings. However, Kian Bell gave the visitors the lead just before the half-hour mark, Kyle Preece reinstated Burscough’s advantage just after half time, and they eventually came through with a 2-1 victory.

Charnock Richard had plenty to celebrate this time last weekend, having battered Maghull to become the last remaining Prem side in the Macron Cup. On the road against Litherland REMYCA this weekend, they really took their foot off the gas. REMY bagged three goals in a second-half flurry to complete a 4-1 rout victory.

With over a thousand people in attendance at Brookburn Road, West Disbury and Chorlton gave their fans something to celebrate against struggling Pilkington. Jordan Lazenbury got the ball rolling after quarter of an hour, and West re-took the lead through Andrew Briggs after a Freddy Garbutt equaliser. In the end, Billy Matthews bagged a very late goal to confirm a 3-1 victory for the hosts.

Other scores:

Barnoldswick Town 1-1 Stockport Town

Cheadle Town 1-1 Glossop North End

FC Isle of Man 1-1 Colne

South Liverpool 0-1 Bury

First Division North:

In this season’s first battle of Second VS First, table-topping Nelson needed the win far more than Atherton LR, given that Rovers had (and still have) three games in hand on their opponents. Nelson got the job done, with William Hasler-Cregg, Max Cane and Charlie Frost all bagging before a Ryan Talbot consolation to result in a 3-1 scoreline.

Route One Rovers and Euxton Villa have both enjoyed many goal-heavy games in their respective stints in the NWCFL. When the two teams collided at the former’s Marley Stadium, Zak Khan got the ball rolling for R1R, scoring before the 20^th minute. This lit a fire under Villa, with Raj Uppal, Aidan Tait, Luke Gibson and Alex Colquhoun all scoring to secure a 4-1 win for the visitors.

Other scores:

AFC Blackpool 0-2 Ashton Town

Ashton Athletic 1-0 Holker Old Boys

Bacup Borough 2-0 Droylden

First Division South:

Abbey Hulton United’s position in the First Division South’s play-off places is fairly secure, and Jon Beaumont’s did themselves no harm with their performance this weekend. Jack Gumbley was at the centre of AHU’s 4-0 victory against Allscott Heath, scoring twice, with Luke Walsh and Kieran Brown also netting.

Another man of the moment performance this weekend came from the KRCT LTD Stadium, where Cammell Laird 1907 played host to Wolves Sporting. Jack Kelly was the tip of Laird’s spear in this game, bagging a brace and helping his side to a comfortable 3-0 win.

In a generally quiet week from the NWCFL on the goals front, Market Drayton Town apparently didn’t get the memo as they welcomed Stockport Georgians to Greenfields. In a match that was somehow 0-0 at half time, Oliver Jones and Joel Reece both scored twice in the second half for MDT as they ran out 6-2 winners.

Promotion-hunting Stafford Town and relegation-battling Foley Meir went toe to toe on Saturday. In a result that will almost definitely feel more like a defeat for Stafford Town, and more like a victory for Foley Meir, the two sides played out a 2-2 draw at the former’s Evans Park.

Other scores:

Barnton 1-1 Ashville

Cheadle Heath Nomads 0-0 Sandbach United