Irlam preview
For the first time in a month, the Rams head home to a new look Harry Williams Riverside Stadium where in-form Irlam head in while the hosts look to get their league campaign kick-started.
MATCH: Ramsbottom United vs Irlam
VENUE: Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Ramsbottom, BL0 0BS
COMPETITION: North West Counties League Premier Division
DATE: Saturday 14th November 2026
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 FACILITIES at the ground.
OVERVIEW:
Can the Rams turn their season around? 14 games in and we are down in 14th place and 11 points shy of the play-off places so a concerted run of results would peak the interest and send a warning shot across the bows of the league that Rob Henry’s side are not out for the count.
With just one league win in the last seven since beating Prestwich Heys at the start of September, there has been some significant signs of improvement with a couple of draws on the last two Saturdays at Glossop North End and Charnock Richard and an impressive 3-1 victory in the Macron Cup at Chadderton 3-1 to raise the spirits.
The side are more than capable as they have proven but the injury toll continues to cause selection problems for the management but results are the currency as always in league football and a result against an in-form Irlam side would be a suitable tonic.
Three wins on the spin for the visitors at Charnock, Flixton (in the Manchester Premier Cup) and Glossop have lifted them to seventh in the table with a couple of games in hand on two of the sides ahead of them so will travel to the HWRS looking to improve their own promotion hopes with another win – they have won four and drawn two of their seven away games this campaign.
A healthy crowd is expected so get down early to support the lads as they look to climb the ladder.
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 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
This will be the 9th meeting in all competitions between the sides (in Irlam’s current guise) since the first in the FA Cup at Harry Williams Riverside Stadium in September 2020.
306 football starved spectators came to see the Rams win 4-1 with goals from Mason Fawns, Jake Thompson, a Tom Kennedy penalty and Daniel O’Brien in the second half after Connor Martin gave the visitors an early lead.
The first time we met in the league was in 2023/24 season. A 1-1 draw at the HWRS (Nicholas Taylor goal cancelled out by a Harvey Whyte penalty) was followed by a 3-0 win at Silver Street just prior to Christmas 2023 with a double from Matt Dudley and a Kudo Chingwaro’s strike.
It was 3-2 at the start of the 2024/25 season with Harvey Hayhurst and Oumar Camara’s goals sandwiching an own goal from Jacob Holt that saw Declan Daniels and Toby Humphries strikes surpassed. But, since then, it hasn’t been such good reading for the Rams!
It finished 1-1 at Silver Street at the end of November – Mitchell Henry equalising Luke Sephton’s opener but Irlam won 3-2 with a 97th minute strike from Humphries in September 2025, which shattered Rams hearts after Jacob Holland-Wilkinson’s 91st minute score leveller and it finished 2-2 at the HWRS in January 2026. Matt Dudley scored after three minutes, Callum Sandle levelled a minute later, Holland-Wilkinson’s penalty after 14 minute put the hosts 2-1 up before John Johnston in the second half tied the tallies.
We have met already this season at Silver Street back in early September when Jack Mitchell and Millen Brown scored in the second half to give the home side a 2-0 win.
The Rams and Irlam’s previous guise, Mitchell Shackleton did meet way back in the mid-1990s in the Manchester League! The last of those meetings being a League Cup semi-final which the Rams won 2-1.
