PRESTWICH HEYS PREVIEW
Are you a sufferer of paraskevidekatriaphobia? Then you might want to give this one a miss. The Rams take a short trip and head down the M66 on Friday night to face bottom side Prestwich Heys in the Macron League Cup.
MATCH: Prestwich Heys v Ramsbottom United
VENUE: Adie Moran Park, Sandgate Road, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 6NT
COMPETITION: North West Counties League Macron League Cup
DATE: Friday 13th December 2024
KICK-OFF: 7:45pm
ADMISSION: Adults £7 | Concessions £4 | Under 16s £1 | Under 11s FREE
OVERVIEW:
It’s Friday night under the lights for the Rams this week – unfortunately not our lights as was for the original fixture with a bumper sponsorship package sold with Christmas revellers for our home game with Charnock Richard. That game has had to be postponed until January instead.
The Macron League Cup takes precedence, and we head into round three having seen off Charnock Richard and Stockport Georgians, and the bright lights of a quarter-final is the reward for the winners in Whitefield.
And we make the short trip to old friends Prestwich Heys for the 7.45pm kick-off at Adie Moran Park. It pits top against bottom in the league although that will be very much put to the side and Heys will see this as a huge free-hit.
Heys have endured a tough season, sitting without a league win since the end of August and their only two victories since have been in the League Cup, beating Irlam on penalties and Cheadle Heath Nomads in the last round.
Our hosts find themselves 13 points short of safety as it stands with two wins in 26 games and a goal difference of -37. As opposed to the Rams who have a goal difference of +37 and hold a one-point lead over Chadderton and two points over Bury, who still have one game in hand.
League matters are parked for a week before we head down to Stockport Town next week and then the much-awaited trip to Gigg Lane on Boxing Day.
But there is a cup game to win first and the Rams target a place in the quarter-final for the first time since March 2012 when we lost 3-2 to Norton United – who don’t exist anymore! You may remember that was the Rams’ only defeat in that epic season’s last two months.
Maybe it’s an omen … who knows! Oh and … paraskevidekatriaphobia? It is the fear of Friday 13th! Apparently!
HISTORY:
A game under the Adie Moran Park floodlights does bring back its own ‘Friday 13th’ shivers as it will be the first time we will have been back there since 12 September 2023, a game that continues to be etched firmly in the dark quadrants of the brains of any Rammy fan who was there!
It was one of those nights that you left the ground, head shaking wondering what you had just seen! Jack Coop’s double and Kai Haigh’s third in the second half flattened any enthusiasm after winning at league leaders Kendal Town just three days previously.
Heys completed the double with a 4-2 victory at the HWRS but we collected all three points back in September this year when the Sephton brothers collected a goal each in a 2-1 success.
STEVE WILKES SAYS:
“We will go into this game with our normal professionalism and will completely ignore the positions of the two teams in the league table as that will be irrelevant for this Cup game.
“Heys have had two good wins in the competition and will be wanting to find some form to take into the league. But we have a lot to play for and are in this competition so want to continue our own good run of results.
“Nothing will be taken for granted.”
