John Dillon from Colwyn Bay to Glossop North End
Michael Boateng from Hyde United to New Mills
Lewis King from Glossop North End to Northwich Victoria
Joel Melia from Ashton United to Ramsbottom United (loan)
CONFIRMED player movements registered with the Evo-stik NPL from Sunday, January 23, to 11am on Saturday, January 30.
John Dillon from Colwyn Bay to Glossop North End Michael Boateng from Hyde United to New Mills Lewis King from Glossop North End to Northwich Victoria Joel Melia from Ashton United to Ramsbottom United (loan)
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Weekend Previews
STRIKER Dan Cockerline comes into the CURZON ASHTON squad for tomorrow (Saturday’s) Vanarama North game at Hednesford Town. The Blues returned to form last weekend with a victory at Nuneaton and a home draw with Stalybridge. But goals have been difficult to come by since the turn of the year and the Sheffield United man may offer a solution. Cockerline, who is 19, has been signed on loan until the end of the season. He spent time with Grantham in the Evo-stik NPL premier division last year. Liam Tomsett misses the trip to Keys Park after damaging ankle ligaments in the Nuneaton match and could be out for a fortnight. Matty Warburton is 50/50 after a dead leg. Also in the squad is defender Benito Lowe, son of Hyde United boss Gary Lowe, who made his debut against Stalybridge on Monday. Curzon manager John Flanagan said: “He did very, very well. His first challenge was really robust.” Midfielder Matty Crothers is back at National Park after a loan spell at Ramsbottom. STALYBRIDGE CELTIC make the long trek to Lowestoft still looking for their first win of 2016. Manager Liam Watson is sweating on the fitness of first-choice goalkeeper Tony McMillan (ankle) but has an able deputy in Barnsley youth keeper Jack Watson. The youngster made his debut at Curzon and delivered Celtic’s first clean sheet in 16 games. Otherwise Watson has a full squad to choose from for a game his side can ill-afford to lose. ASHTON UNITED continue their Evo-stik NPL premier division promotion push at home to Matlock Town. Cavell Coo and Matt Chadwick face fitness tests. A badly bruised foot makes Reece Gray a major doubt for HYDE UNITED who go to high-flying Stourbridge still looking for their first league win since October 26. Striker Scott Spencer remains sidelined. In the first division north, DROYLSDEN entertain Ossett Albion without hamstring injury victim James Hampson. Jacob Wood will have a late fitness test. MOSSLEY travel to Prescot Cables without Mike Fish who injured his shoulder when tackled by Kendal keeper Will Kitchen last week — an incident which led to the striker getting a yellow card. Godwin Abadaki needs a fitness test. Stuttering GLOSSOP NORTH END have a full squad for their home match with Lancaster City. FORMER Hyde United player and manager Eric Webster died last night (Sunday) at the age of 84 after a period of ill health.
He played for the Tigers during their Cheshire League glory years in the 1950s and managed them when they were founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968. Eric started out as a winger with Ardwick Lads Club before joining Manchester City, playing for them in the Football League. After leaving Maine Road in 1953, he played non-league for Ashton United, Hyde, Nantile Vale, Pwllheli and Stalybridge Celtic. As well as managing Hyde, Eric was in charge at Stalybridge, Runcorn, Ashton and Stockport County, and was Les Sutton’s assistant at Mossley in the 1990s. In his time at Edgeley Park he signed striker Micky Quinn on a free from Wigan Athletic. Quinn paid this tribute: "So Sad my old @SCFCmedia Manager Eric Webster has passed away, he was my Mentor, Manager, Groundsman, Teaman and all round #TOPMAN" Weekend Previews
HYDE UNITED visit Matlock Town tomorrow (Saturday) without an established centre-back pairing. A week after team captain Shane Killock left the club Spencer Harris has joined fellow Evo-stik NPL premier division club Buxton. Manager Gary Lowe has plans to “get a couple of kids on loan from league clubs” but they will not be in place for tomorrow’s trip to Causeway Lane. Striker Scott Spencer needs a late fitness test after suffering a reaction to his knee problem in training. Stalybridge Celtic winger Ben McKenna has signed for ASHTON UNITED who are home to Grantham Town. Striker Ben Wharton moves to Hurst Cross from Warrington Town. Defender Cavell Coo is sidelined with a hip injury. In the first division north, DROYLSDEN striker James Hampson faces a late fitness test ahead of their game at Lancaster. Former Burnley winger Luke Daly (19) joins the squad. GLOSSOP NORTH END (away to Witton) and MOSSLEY (home to Kendal) have no injuries or suspensions. Seel Park co-boss Peter Band said: “Everyone’s fit an raring to go. We haven’t had a game in three weeks so we really want to play tomorrow.” STALYBRIDGE CELTIC manager Liam Watson has a fully fit squad to choose from and that includes himself. He missed last weekend’s defeat at Solihull because of a dental procedure but will be back on the touchline when Tamworth visit Bower Fold in Vanarama North. Celtic have won only one of their last seven games and changes are expected. Skipper Matty Hughes returns after a one-game suspension and Adam Farrell and Danny Burns are back to full fitness. Niall Cummins returns to the CURZON ASHTON squad for their game at Nuneaton after missing last week’s FA Trophy trip to Sutton United to be present at the birth of his second son. Liam Tomsett is 50/50 with a calf strain. Curzon are home to Stalybridge Celtic on Monday night. The sides drew 1-1 at Bower Fold three weeks ago. YOU could hardly describe the task facing Chris Willcock as a simple one, but it is almost frighteningly straightforward. For once unencumbered by cup runs, his Glossop North End side can focus entirely on the league, and the 51 points left to play for.
Willcock doesn’t argue that his team’s form should have been better over the last month or so. But he insists the play-offs and promotion are by no means out of the question. “The league has been starting to run away from us. We’ve had some indifferent results over the last ten games and we’ve been falling behind the two clubs above us — Northwich and Warrington,” he commented. “If this was the North West Counties League the season might well be over but in the Evo-stik it’s different. We’ve got 17 games left to secure a play-off spot so there’s all to play for. We’ll be fighting for every one of the points on offer. “It’s a shame we’re no longer in any of the cups because they help to keep momentum going. But at least we know exactly what we have to do.” Warrington and Northwich both have extensive leads over the Hillmen. Even so, Willcock believes the gulf can be narrowed. He wonders how Vics will react to the loss of manager Jim Gannon to Stockport County, and what might happen if Glossop can win the two league matches between the clubs. In the same way, however, he does not discount the clubs beneath, such as Witton Albion who the Hillmen face tomorrow. “League position says we’re the favourites but Witton have had a change of manager recently and been on a good run. I think they’re going to climb the table pretty quickly. It’s the same with Lancaster who we play on January 30. It’s a very tough division,” he said. “It’s up to us to get something from Witton and Lancaster so that we don’t let the two clubs above us get any further ahead. We can’t afford any more slip-ups.” There are signs that the slip-ups may be ending. In their last two league matches Glossop have kept clean sheets. What they need to do now is regain their scoring touch. Even though they lost 2-1 to Belper in the Derbyshire Senior Cup, Willcock says they created lots of chances. The fact that they failed to take them was a huge disappointment. He adds that one or two new faces in the run-in will help to freshen things up. Willcock concluded: “I never thought we would challenge for the title. Financially, we can’t compete with a lot of clubs below us, let alone the two above. But I always felt we would compete and win more games than we lost. “There’s a long way to go and a lot to play for. We’ve got to play all the teams around us and some of them twice. We need a strong end to the season and we’ll see what develops.” Weekend Previews
CURZON ASHTON write another chapter in their short but impressive history tomorrow (Saturday) when they travel to Sutton United to make their first-ever appearance in the second round of the FA Trophy. Manager John Flanagan has a full squad to choose from but his side go into the tie on the back of two defeats and having scored only twice in the last three games. Following last week’s 2-0 home defeat by Boston United Flanagan commented: “We’ve got to look at the way we’re doing things. We’ve picked up only one point out of a possible six and conceded three goals. That’s something that doesn’t make me happy.” Sutton, who are third in Vanarama South, will be difficult to beat, especially one their own ground, the wonderfully named Gander Green Lane. In their last league match they beat St Albans 5-0. Their manager, Paul Doswell, also has a full squad to choose from. Defenders Simon Downer returns from suspension, and counterpart Dan Spence is available after injury. Their key striker is England C international Dean Fitchett. Doswell said: “I went to Cheltenham on Tuesday and had an interesting evening watching Curzon Ashton play Gloucester City. It promises to be a really good cup tie.” The winning club will receive £16,000 in prize money. Paul Phillips and Steve Halford have brought two southern faces into the ASHTON UNITED squad for the big match against fellow Evo-stik NPL premier division promotion rivals Salford City at Hurst Cross. Striker Jonah Gosling has been signed from Vanarama South club Chelmsford City, and centre-back John Mbamarah moves from Ryman League Grays Athletic. The Robins go into the game in fine fettle after erasing the memory of last week’s 5-2 defeat at Workington by beating Ramsbottom 6-0. All the goals were impressive, especially the last one when Joe Connor scored with an exquisite chip. Phillips expects Salford to be a tough proposition. He said: “They’re a fit team who push forward and keep going work hard. They’re very much like ourselves but certainly have a bit of quality about them. “We’ve been through a few things in training and hopefully we’ll give them a go.” In the same division, HYDE UNITED meet Sutton Coldfield for the second time in a week, this time at Ewen Fields. The Tigers have suffered a huge blow with the departure of Shane Killock who was team captain as well as an impressive centre-half. Scott Spencer remains injured. Central midfielder Ben Holmes joins Hyde from Huddersfield Town. In the first division north, DROYLSDEN will be hoping their recent upturn in form continues when they face Farsley Celtic at the Butchers Arms. The only two absentees are James Hampson and Lee O’Brien. GLOSSOP NORTH END (home to Trafford) and MOSSLEY (away to Spennymoor) are both at full strength. STALYBRIDGE CELTIC will have to make the tough Vanarama North trip to promotion-chasing Solihull Moors without the services of Matty Hughes. The skipper is suspended following his sending-off in the derby with Curzon Ashton. Manager Liam Watson has an otherwise full-strength squad to choose from with long-term injury victim Danny Wisdom having come through his comeback game at Gloucester City last weekend with no ill effects. Striker Adam Farrell missed that trip with an ankle injury but has recovered and is expected to play tomorrow. FOR many more months than he probably cares to remember, Aeon Lattie has been talking about the need to put the smile back on Droylsden’s face. The Bloods might not be beaming quite yet, but after some torrid years there’s at least the signs of a grin.
Droylsden have lost only one of their last five games, winning three of them. They are 16th in the Evo-stik NPL first division table and 13 points clear of the relegation places. After the horrors of a double relegation there’s finally something to smile about. Assistant-boss Lattie happily admits that the atmosphere at the Butchers Arms is better than he has known it for years. He puts it down to a squad of players who have blended well and willingly adapted to the Bloods’ chosen style of passing, attacking football. He said: “At long last we’ve got a settled side. We’ve now got lads who’ll listen to how Dave and I want to play. We’ve found some people we can get through to. We’ve explained that we have a tried and tested formula, that we’re not novices, and they’ve responded just as we would have hoped. The penny’s dropped I’m glad to say. “To be fair, some players have spent years at clubs doing things totally differently to the way we want them done. They’ve had to change, and fair play to them they’ve taken everything on board. “At last we’re going into games and thinking we’ve got a chance — that we can win. That’s so important because we play a style of football that requires confidence. “There’s a superb atmosphere and training’s been great. The lads have really been putting it in. It’s great to know we’ve finally got to the point where we’re dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. We’re seeing some rewards for a lot of hard work.” Among the players who have impressed are 20-year-old goalkeeper Steven James who has been signed on loan from Preston North. He has quickly become a favourite with the fans and Lattie appreciates his importance. “Steve’s been a breath of fresh air,” he said. “Keeper’s a very important position for us because we rely on them to pass the ball out. We need someone with decent feet who doesn’t just kick the ball up field. He’s got to be comfortable with passing it out. Steve’s done really well for us. “His loan’s up on Saturday but we’re going to extend it.” Lattie also praised the other young players in the squad saying he had been particularly impressed with their effort. “Some have come having never played proper football. They’ve been at academies where things are much different to the rough and tumble of our league. I’m happy to say they’ve embraced everything Dave and I have said to them. Long may it continue,” he commented. |
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