PILKINGTON PREVIEW
Home, sweet home! The Rams play their first home game in a month on Saturday when Pilkington head into town as the hosts look to get back to winning ways after their disappointing FA Vase exit last weekend.
MATCH: Ramsbottom United vs Pilkington
VENUE: Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Ramsbottom, BL0 0BS
COMPETITION: North West Counties Premier Division
DATE: Saturday 16th November 2024
KICK-OFF: 3:00pm
ADMISSION: Adults – £9, Concessions – £5, U12 – £1 (with paying adult) – CASH ONLY
OVERVIEW:
It was mid-summer when we last played Pilkington, the first game of the season over in the west. 27th July, the earliest ever start to a league campaign in our history. Rob Wilson’s 92nd minute strike gave us a share of the spoils that afternoon. That was the first game of the first half of the season … how nice that they are the first game in the second half too!
Twenty-two games have passed since that July afternoon and we are hosting at the HWRS for the first time since mid-October and still at the top of the league, four points clear of Bury, who have three games in hand. Continuing to win is just the only way of dealing with that particular challenge and we are currently on an 11-match unbeaten spell since that FC Isle of Man home lost on 10 September, two whole months ago.
Standing in the way for match number 24 of this mammoth league campaign are Pilkington, who are going through a tough time of it down in 22nd place in the table with just four wins from their 21 games played. However, half of those wins have come in their last four games, beating Colne 4-2 and Prestwich Heys 3-2 but taking defeats against AFC Liverpool and Bury inbetween.
But they certainly proved to be a tough nut to crack in the reverse fixture so nothing will be taken for granted whatsoever as the Rams target a quick response to the disappointment of last Saturday’s FA Vase defeat at Silsden.
With just the one defeat at home all season from the 12 games played, the Rams are enjoying playing at the HWRS this season – only Bury (0) and Lower Breck (1) have a similar home losing record to us but nine home wins – no-one can match that thus far.
Kick off is at 3pm – there is certainly a buzz around the place at the moment and it’s great to see!
HISTORY:
This is the 5th meeting between Rammy and Pilkington and there has been just two results so far – a 2-2 draw twice and a 5-1 Rammy win twice.
The first meeting came in the league in October last year when Kuda Chingwaro scored four in the 5-1 success and then, a week later, we headed to the Arcoframe Stadium and a nerve-jangling FA Vase game saw the Rams take the tie 4-3 on penalties after Adam Gilchrist (not the former Australian cricket wicket-keeper) scored in 90+1 to give the Greens the lead only for Oscar Radcliffe to hammer home the equaliser three minutes later.
Then in April this year, the Rams headed there again and collected another 5-1 win, this time Oumar Camara scoring a quadruple in the victory. What will happen this time? With 20 goals scored in the four previous meetings, it will be entertaining, that’s for sure!
STEVE WILKES’ THOUGHTS:
“It was a really frustrating afternoon for us last weekend and I think everyone who saw the game will agree that we were the much better side but we didn’t take our chances.
“But we have dusted ourselves off and come into the game with Pilkington looking to continue our good league run of results, where we are unbeaten in the last two months. We know that Pilkington will be difficult to break down and they have scored a couple of good results of late so they will come here with a bit of confidence.
“We just need to be more ruthless in the final third and take the chances that we present.”
