WEST DIDSBURY & CHORLTON PREVIEW
It is probably the highlight fixture of the NWCFL Macron League Cup Round 3 as the Premier Division league leaders take on the side in second place for a spot in the last eight of the competition.
MATCH: Ramsbottom United vs West Didsbury and Chorlton
VENUE: Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Ramsbottom, BL0 0BS
COMPETITION: North West Counties League Macron Cup
DATE: Saturday 22nd November 2025
KICK-OFF: 3:00pm
ADMISSION: Adults – £9, Concessions (over 67) – £5, U12 – £1 (with paying adult).
NOTE: We are a CASH ONLY stadium – there are NO CARD FACILTIES at the ground.
OVERVIEW:
The draw conductors couldn’t have pinged together a bigger game at this stage of the competition – top v second and a repeat of the round one tie back in October that went to a penalty shoot out with the Rams prevailing 5-3 after the game closed 2-2.
It’s Ramsbottom United and West Didsbury and Chorlton, two sides separated by a single point at the summit of the Premier Division and still to meet in the league. Will this be a pre-cursor to the first Tuesday in January when we meet again in the league and late February when we head south?
Who knows? It is always difficult to gauge cup competitions but the Rams have been well versed in not taking any game lightly, not changing the team too drastically but keeping with the formula that has worked so well so far – and has seen the Rams remain unbeaten in a month and a half, across 11 games in all competitions.
West come into this game in good form as well, with victories in their last five since being well beaten at home to Irlam at the back end of October. Commanding victories over Pilkington, City of Liverpool and away at FC Isle of Man saw them hit the top spot until the Rams’ demolition of the Burscough-lodgers saw us regain it on Tuesday night.
But this will be a very keenly contested game between two sides with, and no disrespect to the competition whatsoever, probably bigger fish to fry – both in the league and in the FA Vase where the Rams host Nelson and West travel to Rossington Main next month in round 3.
FACILITIES
The game at Ramsbottom United will be by payment in CASH at the turnstile (the club does not have a card facility). Prices are as shown above and programmes are £2.
Due to cricket and adjacent building works, parking for spectators should be away from the ground, in either town centre car parks (drivers are advised to check any time limits) or in the various side streets, all of which are no more than 5-10 minutes walk away but please be mindful of local residents and businesses.
Please be aware that the access road to Ramsbottom Cricket Club and Ramsbottom United FC has now had a no parking policy imposed with immediate effect carrying a fine of £100. Please do not park on this road.
Various bus routes come into Ramsbottom town centre (https://bustimes.org/localities/ramsbottom for details) and the East Lancs Railway (https://www.eastlancsrailway.org.uk/events-activities/western-region-weekend/) station is adjacent to the ground.
Tea Bar serving hot and cold drinks, pie and peas, sweets, crisps etc will be open within the ground, as will the Can Bar serving beer, lager and cider.
HISTORY
We offer a very warm welcome to everyone who has come up from West Didsbury and Chorlton for this game.
The Rams and West first played against each other in the LFA Trophy in 2014 with the Rams winning 3-0 with goals from Spencer, Gaskell and Dean enough to beat the lower league opposition (as it was then) – a side that contained Nic Evangelinos, who would become something of a Ramsbottom United star in years to come!
It wasn’t under August 2023 that we first met in the league, when the Rams returned to the NWCFL and both games saw the spoils shared 2-2, West pulling back from 2-0 down to grab a draw at the HWRS and twice came from behind to level at Brookburn Road in March 2024.
However, last season, it was more a tale of the Rams – the 2-2 draw in the League Cup that saw the visitors win on penalties before a league double, 3-1 at the Step Places Stadium with a brace from Tom Hoyle and just Harvey Hayhurst’s strike on 21 minutes separating the sides in the return game at the HWRS.
STEVE WILKES SAYS:
“The one thing that you can be absolutely sure of is that we are not taking this competition lightly nor are we taking our opposition lightly either.
“This is, without doubt, the tie of the round and we will be playing it like it should be played. We are on a fantastic run of form with 11 wins in a row – a club record – and were outstanding in beating City of Liverpool 8-0 in my official 1,300th match as a manager, which was another club record.
“But we will not be taking our foot off the pedal as every game is important. We know that we have some massive games coming up against Chadderton, Irlam and the rescheduled game with Wythenshawe. It is tough on the players playing twice in a week, every week, but that’s the hand we are dealt and we will play every game with the same intensity.”
