NELSON PREVIEW

League action takes a break once again as we turn our attention to the Isuzu FA Vase and an interesting Round 3 clash with a side we haven’t met in league action for 15 years but are riding high in Division 1 North – it’s a welcome back to Nelson.

MATCH: Ramsbottom United vs Nelson
VENUE: Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Ramsbottom, BL0 0BS
COMPETITION: North West Counties League Premier Division
DATE: Saturday 6th December 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:
10 April 2010 was the last time that the Rams and Nelson clashed in league action.  We played each other in the League Cup in 2023 and are regular pre-season friendly opponents – we were back in early July when the Rams won 2-1.

But it has been a very long time since we locked horns for an East Lancashire ‘derby’ of sorts but here we are, both looking to book a place in the fourth round of the competition for the very first time – and move five wins away from a glorious day out in north London.

Nelson, with a number of familiar faces in their ranks including defender Billy Priestley and goalkeeper Chris Thompson, are flying in the league below, despite having only played 10 games in their division but haven’t lost since mid-August and dropped their first points since then with 1-1 draw at home to Maghull last Saturday.

They are fifth as it stands, four points off top spot with a full five games in hand so they are looking very good for a return to the NWCFL Premier Division for the first time since 2018.

So it will be a fascinating game between two side both going well, despite the Rams’ recent blip that saw them sink to defeat on Tuesday night at Wythenshawe, seeing the Rams slip to second place in the table, a table which is becoming very bunched up and could go anywhere.

However, this is the FA Vase and, as mentioned, neither the Rams nor Nelson have ever been to round four.  The disappointing Hallam game in 2024 was the last time we got to round 3 but it was 2010 since Nelson’s last visit when they were hammered 5-0 by Marske United.

What a game this promises to be – and, of course, we are all looking forward to seeing our good friend, the ever smiley Andy Ed!

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 down the valley from Nelson for this game.

It really is hard to believe that, despite the history of this fixture going all the way back to the Rams’ first ever season in the NWCFL in 1995, the first ever fixture being a 4-0 victory for the hosts at Victoria Park in August of that year, we haven’t played each other – bar a league cup game in 2023 – for 15 years competitively.  We have regular friendlies – we won 2-1 in July for instance – but that won’t be any guide to today’s game.

You have to go back all the way to January 2004 to find the last Nelson victory over the Rams, one of two across the 15 fixtures played, and that was in the LFA Marsden Trophy quarter-finals when Lee Buggie scored twice for the Rams but it wasn’t enough as Nelson ran out 3-2 to the good.

That was 10 games ago and the Rams have since won eight and drawn two including a double in 2009/10 when Nelson saw themselves drop from the Premier Division into Division 1 for three seasons.  Carl Lomax and Anthony Johnson scored in a 2-0 win at Victoria Park while Jon Robinson, Lomax again and an own goal from Steve Maden ensured the Rams came from behind after Adam Whiteside gave them the lead to take all three points – the goalkeeper that day … Chris Thompson!

Overall, it’s 9-2 to the Rams with four draws – the last game saw Henri Ogunby score a hat-trick in the league cup clash in October 2023 (pictured above) – and we look forward to this fixture to re-engage a very old rivalry.

STEVE WILKES SAYS:
“It was a bitterly disappointing performance on Tuesday night against Wythenshawe, it really was unacceptable and, as you saw, passion boiled over but that’s football and now we turn our attention to Nelson, who are on a terrific run of results and will be very tough opponents.

“Everyone knows that I enjoy the FA Vase challenge and we are close to a place in the fourth round for the very first time and that’s exciting.  But we will definitely have to buck our ideas up and start playing the way we know we can do.”