With fixtures scheduled to resume again next weekend, here’s what you can look forward to from the football section in the second half of the season.
Due to the adverse weather conditions, the first team haven’t seen any action since the 26th November in that 3-2 win at Little Lever. The Reserves and A Team both managed to get a game in the following weekend, a 6-1 win against Dobbies and a 5-2 win at Ashtonians respectively, but that was to be the last action of 2011 as the waterlogging took hold.
The Sunday Team also signed off the year back in November with a 3-2 success at Duck Club. Jamie Comiskey’s team did well to turn around a poor start to the season and currently sit in 7th place in the Bury Sunday League Premier Division, well placed to push further away from the drop zone once the action gets back underway.
They resume on Sunday 8th January with the visit of Huntley Mount to Heys Road. Following that, there’s the short trip to Hillock to take on First Division Unsworth in the Millennium Cup first round.
Back on to the Saturday teams, Craig Howarth’s First Team travel to Old Mancunians next Saturday in the Lancs Amateur League Premier Division before a trip to Horwich Victoria the following week. Their first home game of the new year is on the 21st January when Howe Bridge Mills visit Heys Road.
Also to look forward to (on dates to be arranged) is the second round cup tie at home to near neighbours Old Standians and the Kenyon Cup Semi-final match against Heywood St James of the Manchester League Premier Division. The latter to be played at Ramsbottom United’s Riverside Stadium probably some time in March. The winners then through to a final to be played at Bury’s Gigg Lane – which if we were to get there would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for some of the lads and a great feather – whatever the result – in our young club’s cap! So please keep your eye’s open for news of the date of the semi, as your support up at Rammy would be greatly appreciated.
In the league, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster so far with a few losses followed by a few wins. Then some more losses and some more wins. These results have unsurprisingly left the team in a mid-table position of 7th but with just five points separating six top half teams, a good run should see the team challenge a little further up the table.
That consistency in their results is what manager Howarth and coach Danny Smith will be striving for as our debut Premier Division campaign gets back underway.
On to the Reserves now and struggles with consistency is something that is of little concern to the management team of Liam Morrissey and Brian Clegg. Their side have won every single competitive game they have played so far this season. A league and cup winning run now spanning sixteen games!
The run sees them top of Division Four with 42 points, 14 wins from 14 games and a positive goal difference of 41. We will all be hoping that run continues for the remaining twelve league games of the season, a feat to be proud of whatever level of football you play at.
The Reserves also have a cup Quarter-final tie to look forward to against Old Mancunians Reserves, again on a date to be arranged.
The A Team underwent a change of manager midway through the first half of the season as Craig Howarth’s brother, Andrew, took over from Aaron Saunders. The team have also struggled to put a string of results together but three wins out of three before the winter break has left them third in Division Five.
A continuation of these good results should see the team push the top two all the way in the scramble for promotion to Division Four, especially as an early exit from the third team cup competition leaves them free to concentrate on the league.
So, there’s lots to look forward to in the new year but as always, check with the club, this website or facebook before travelling to any games – expect the weather-based postponements to continue for a few more weeks yet!
• Don’t miss a kick as the season continues with extensive coverage on this website, facebook, twitter and in the Prestwich & Whitefield Guide. Better still, why not come and support any of our teams. They’ll be either a First Team or Reserve Team game on Heys Road every Saturday afternoon while the A Team will play their home games at Drinkwater Park.
• You can check out all the results and tables from the Lancashire Amateur League here: http://www.lancsam.fsnet.co.uk and the Bury Sunday League here: http://www.freewebs.com/buryfootball
• Don’t forget you can keep up-to-date with all the news and reports from our junior teams by visiting their dedicated website at http://www.pfcjuniors.co.uk
