GLASSHOUGHTON WELFARE PREVIEW
Time for a short break from the league action as we turn our attention to the FA Vase for the first time this season and the visit of a new name on the Rammy roster in the shape of Northern Counties East side Glasshoughton Welfare.
MATCH: Ramsbottom United vs Glasshoughton Welfare
VENUE: Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Ramsbottom, BL0 0BS
COMPETITION: Isuzu FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round
DATE: Saturday 20th September 2025
KICK-OFF: 3:00pm
ADMISSION: Adults – £9, Concessions – £5, U12 – £1 (with paying adult).
NOTE: We are a CASH ONLY stadium – there are NO CARD FACILTIES at the ground.
OVERVIEW:
For many in non-league football at our level, this is the pinnacle competition. The FA Cup is very nice if you can go on a run through the qualifying rounds and maybe, just maybe, break into the first round proper but, realistically, you aren’t going to win it!
The FA Vase is a different beast though and, having been one of the 171 clubs to receive a bye in the first qualifying round, the road to Wembley commences and 420 clubs will be hoping to be whittled down to just two come 17 May 2026. Our opponents from Castleford, Glasshoughton Welfare, were another to have skipped the opening gambit and travel to our corner of East Lancashire for the first time.
Welfare, who are in NCEL Division One, have endured a difficult start to the season and find themselves down in 21st place with eight points from their 12 games despite picking up a much needed 3-2 win at home to Louth Town on Tuesday night, coming from behind to secure just their second league victory of the campaign and breaking a run of five games without a win and four games without a goal.
Members of the NCEL since 1985, our visitors will be hoping to go a distance in the competition that they reached the fourth round of in 2006/07 before going down to Dorset side Wimborne Town (not everyone goes to Dorset and wins, eh!) and have only progressed out of the qualifiers three times since 2011/12.
As for the Rams, it is a competition that Steve Wilkes knows well and he will want his charges to show that they are one of the higher ranked teams and progress further than round two like last year with the disappointing result against Silsden or a club best third round when we were forced to go to Hallam and lost 1-0.
The home side have found their feet in September with three wins and a draw and were excellent in keeping a clean sheet over Burscough on Tuesday night but the FA Vase is a trip into the unknown against new opposition – but the Rams haven’t lost a home FA Vase game since October 2010 when we lost to Staveley Miners Welfare from Derbyshire 1-0.
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.
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 coming over from Glasshoughton for this game.
This is the first time these two sides have ever met and it is always great to meet new teams and new supporters. From a Rams point of view, they will be hoping to improve their recent FA competition record against Yorkshire teams, having lost to Silsden last season, Hallam the year before and Pickering Town in the FA Trophy in 2021. We did beat Worsborough Bridge Athletic though in 2023 and Ossett United in the FA Trophy in 2020.
The Rams have only ever reached the third round of the FA Vase twice – back in 2003 before going down to Gedling Town of Nottinghamshire and then, in 2023, the rain ruined game with Hallam that was switched to Sheffield due to the weather.
Can we go further this time? Only time will tell but the Yorkshiremen will be out for revenge for the brutal assault on Yorkshire Puddings last weekend!
STEVE WILKES SAYS:
“I was really pleased with the clean sheet on Tuesday night against Burscough, it was a good win against a good side. We responded well in the second half after a poor showing in the first so pleased with the result.
“Whilst we might make some changes to the team for Saturday’s game to give some players some minutes, we will not be taking Glasshoughton lightly and we will be going out to win the game because everyone knows I love the FA Vase.”
