As the new football season draws ever closer, there’s been a few changes to the make-up of the club over the summer weeks.
On the pitch, former manager Lee Metcalfe has returned to the club to assist Craig Howarth in the running of our first team.
Forward Danny Smith (pictured above) has started playing again since taking a season out to recover from his knee injuries while new players Peter Gallager and Liam White have featured heavily in our pre-season games.
Defender Chris Hopkins is also edging back in to action after his lengthy time on the side line with an ankle injury and Darren Buckley is also back after time out at the end of last season.
A big blow for the team though is the loss of last year’s leading scorer and players player of the year Ashley Hoolighan who suffered a knee injury playing for his Sunday team in the Millennium Cup final a couple of months ago. Ashley is awaiting a knee operation and we all wish him a swift return to action.
Since last season’s cruel exit in the semi-final of the Kenyon Cup, this term’s campaign has brough a mixed set of results in the group stage.
A 3-2 defeat in the opener against Elton Vale was followed up with a 1-1 draw against Lancashire Amateur League Premeir Division rival Bury GSOB. Despite a 7-0 rout of Radcliffe Town Reserves on Saturday, a 4-point total in the group stage looks unlikely to be enough to see the team progress in to the knockout stages unless Radcliffe can get a result from one of their remaining two games.
Andrew Howarth’s A Team have stepped up to become our Reserve team following the departure of Liam Morrissey’s side at the end of last season. This also means that his side will jump up a couple of divisions to play in Division 3.
It’s been a tough pre-season so far for the side but there’s been positives from each of their games that should see them hopefully hold their own playing at the higher level.
On to Sunday’s and Jamie Comiskey and his team fought off any relegation fears to ensure another season in the top level of the Bury Sunday League. His side will now be know as Prestwich Sunday ‘A’ due to the arrival of a new team to the club over the summer.
Dean Royle, no stranger to the local amateur football scene, brings a side which will be Prestwich Sunday B playing in the Rochdale and District Sunday League. Elected straight in to the Premier Division of a very competitive league, Dean’s team is packed with talent and could be an exciting side to watch over the coming months.
Both Sunday teams will now be playing away from Heys Road as previously the amount of games on there was getting just too much for an already difficult pitch. Sunday A will be playing their home games on Outwood Road while the Sunday B team will be playing at the newly refurbished Goshen.
There’s still some pre-season games to come before the league campaign starts in a few weeks. Keep tabs on the fixtures and results page of this website for details of forthcoming games while you can also follow us on facebook and twitter for up-to-the-minute news from around the club.
