BARNOLDSWICK TOWN PREVIEW
Five wins in a row in all competitions and unbeaten in the last seven – the Rams season goes from strength to strength but they travel high into the Pendle Hills to face a Barnoldswick Town side that are running hot and cold this season – and where the Rams haven’t won since 2012.
MATCH: Barnoldswick Town v Ramsbottom United
VENUE: Silentnight Stadium, Greenberfield Lane, Barnoldswick, BB18 5LJ
COMPETITION: North West Counties League Premier Division
DATE: Tuesday 8th October 2024
KICK-OFF: 7:45pm
ADMISSION: Adults £7 | Concessions £4 | U16s £1 | Under 12s FREE
OVERVIEW:
It was the last game of last season (pictured above) when we last climbed high over Burnley to play Barnoldswick Town and visited their rustic ground in picturesque surroundings next to a sewage farm. The aroma that evening, as the two sides played out a lower-mid table 1-1 draw kind of matched the season that both the Rams and Barlick had endured for the previous eight and a half months.
Move on six months and we prepare to head north once again but with a much improved fragrance about the Rams – sitting four points clear at the top of the table having played 18 games and with a more than healthy goal difference of +27. With five matches in a row unbeaten, including the nerve-jangling, backs-to-the-wall 1-0 win at FC Isle of Man on Saturday, Steve Wilkes’ side are riding the crest of a wave at present.
It is quite remarkable that the Rams finished with 50 points across the full 46 game season last term and already have 39 in the bank… and we are not even half-way through! The wonders of the turnaround in form and success, it is joyeous to watch and enjoy.
However, there will be no resting on laurels as Barnoldswick Town are next up, a side that the Rams have had many a battle with over the years, none more so in that epic 2011/12 season where the two sides did battle at the top of the NWCFL table and the Rams held off Barlick’s challenge, including that much needed 2-0 win at the Silentnight Stadium in March 2012, thanks to Jon Robinson’s double either side of half time.
It was the last time, though, that the Rams won there. Who can forget the 5-4 FA Cup Preliminary Round game in August 2021 and, of course, last season’s ‘get the season finished’ Thursday night 1-1?
Barnoldswick find themselves down in 18th place in the table but have only played 12 games thus far, the fewest of the division as they enjoyed a great run in the FA Cup qualifiers, getting to the second round and have moved into the first round of the FA Vase too.
But while this has been going well, their recent league form has dropped off, losing their last four to Irlam, Glossop North End, FC Isle of Man and West Didsbury and Cholton but they have won three of their home games and five in all so will be a tough nut to crack on Tuesday evening.
HISTORY:
This will be the 9th competitive meeting between the sides since the first in 2010 and the Rams hold a 4-2 head-to-head lead with two draws.
The two draws both came last season – Matthew Dudley’s 25th minute penalty was cancelled out by Brad Carsley’s strike 13 minutes later in the first game at the HWRS in August 2023 before the as-mentioned 1-1 draw at the Silentnight Stadium in April when Jack Foster scored after 21 minutes to give the home side the lead which was eventually equalised by Oumar Camara two minutes from time.
The first ever meeting came in August 2010 when Joel Pilkington’s goal in the first half was enough to seal a 1-0 victory but Barlick got their revenge a couple of months later when Liam Garbutt and Aaron Hollindrake sandwiched Mark Drew’s penalty for a 2-1 home win.
