THE Northern Premier League is through its second weekend while North West Counties League clubs are keeping their fingers crossed they can kick off on Saturday.
We round-up all the latest non-league news below.
COVID FEARS AHEAD OF BIG KICK-OFF
North West Counties League clubs are waiting to see if their season will start as planned on Saturday.
The FA are set to meet with clubs from Steps 5 and 6 across the country, which covers both tiers of the NWCFL, tomorrow night with fears that this weekend’s planned kick-off could be delayed amid increasing Covid-19 restrictions.
The date had been initially picked to ensure supporters were in grounds but that is now in doubt given the increasing coronavirus infection rate around the country and particularly in the North West.
Daisy Hill, Atherton LR and phoenix club Bury AFC are due to get under way in Division One North on Saturday.
The FA and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport have so far given permission for spectators to attend non-league games as long as rigorous procedures are in place, including the collection of track and trace information, installation of hand sanitising stations and social distancing being observed inside grounds.
However, the North West Counties League Macron Cup Final between Runcorn Town and 1874 Northwich scheduled to be played on Saturday was postponed after Halton Borough Council strongly advised Runcorn Town against staging the game in front of spectators.
The opening day fixtures on Saturday are scheduled to see Atherton LR host Nelson and Daisy Hill welcome Prestwich Heys while Bury AFC’s first league game sees Steeton as the visitors, pending the outcome of tomorrow night’s meeting with the FA.
LR FINISH OFF IN STYLE
Atherton LR rounded off their pre-season with a 5-1 win at home to Barnton.
LR saw Mark Battersby bag a hat-trick and Jack Price chip in with two goals having already put five past Hindsford and scored four against Walshaw Sports.
“In the first half we played some really good stuff,” said boss Mark Robinson.
“It was a bit slower going in the second half but we still scored a couple of good goals.
“We made a couple of changes on 70 minutes with next week in mind and it just went a bit flat then but they did well.
“Now we’ll get the group together a couple of times just to get ready for next week.
“It’s been a good pre-season, obviously a long one, but it’s worked well and we’re in good shape.”
AFC PAY FOR MISSED CHANCES
Captain Scott Metcalfe admitted missed chances denied Bury AFC the opportunity to round off their pre-season build-up with a victory after slipping to a 1-0 defeat at Cheadle Town.
Despite dominating for large periods, AFC could not find a way past Marcus Burgess in the home side’s goal who clinched victory thanks to Pat Devin’s effort in the 65th minute.
Metcalfe is hoping that wastefulness in front of goal is confined to pre-season and is out of the way ahead of their first ever campaign in the North West Counties League which is scheduled to kick off on Saturday.
“It was a tough one really, I thought that we dominated the game,” Metcalfe told Roch Valley Radio. “Again mistakes have cost us the game and not taking our chances at the other end that has lost us the game really.
“But it happens, it’s pre-season so I am happy it is happening now and not next week. So get them out of us now.”
“The lads know, the ones who are missing the chances, it is a team effort but we need to be killing teams off in the first 10, 15 minutes.”
COLLS UP AND RUNNING
Atherton Colls head to Warrington tonight on the back of their first Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division win of the season on Saturday.
Kyle Sambor’s 86th-minute penalty sealed a 2-1 victory at Grantham Town after Gareth Peet’s first-half free kick had been cancelled out by Niall Doran.
The travelling Colls faithful witnessed a touch of magic from Peet as some 25 yards out, he curled the ball around the Grantham wall and into the top corner for the opener.
The Gingerbreads drew level on 68 minutes, as Nathan Dyer’s low cross fell to the feet of Doran in the box. His prod towards goal deflected off the foot of an Atherton defender and went into the back of the net.
Then with just five minutes to go, Peet drove into the box and was bundled over with the referee pointing to the penalty spot.
Sambor was on hand to seal the victory as he stepped up and kept his cool, smashing the ball past Budtz to spark scenes of jubilation from his team-mates, the bench and the supporters.
BORO HIT FOR FOUR AGAIN
Radcliffe were well beaten in the opening home game of the season on Saturday as Witton Albion ran out 4-1 winners at the Neuven Stadium.
Scott Bakkor scored a first-half hat-trick to put the visitors in command with captain Matty Crothers giving Boro some hope with a late free-kick.
But Witton replied almost instantly with Will Jones making sure of the victory meaning it’s two defeats out of two for Lee Fowler’s side in the Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division having lost their opener 4-2 at Buxton.
On Saturday, Danny McKenna had blazed over the bar before Bakkor got his first four minutes in, cutting inside and firing home from outside the box to put his side in front.
Boro were two down inside the opening 10 minutes when having failed to deal with a cross they saw Jones tee up Bakkor who fired past Cameron Belford.
Fowler’s men then did show some signs of life and the game went from end to end but it was Witton who got the game’s crucial third goal just after the half hour.
Bakkor rounded off his hat-trick with a long ball over the top catching out the Boro defence and the striker rounded Belford and put the ball into the empty net.
To their credit, Boro kept coming but it wasn’t until 12 minutes from time they got their reward. Captain Crothers stepped up and sent a free-kick into the bottom corner to make it 3-1.
Any hopes of another remarkable comeback similar to the one against Workington in the FA Cup a few days earlier were dashed when Witton got their fourth on the counter through Jones.
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