SOUTH LIVERPOOL PREVIEW
A play-off place is secured as this final regular season home game arrives with the visit of South Liverpool – but the job is not yet done!
MATCH: Ramsbottom United vs South Liverpool
VENUE: Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Ramsbottom, BL0 0BS
COMPETITION: North West Counties League Premier Division
DATE: Saturday 11th April 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 FACILTIES at the ground.
OVERVIEW:
And so, here we are. The final regular season home league game and it’s been a hell of a ride so far as the Rams know that the season will continue for another week … or two!
The last home game of the 46-match round is here and we welcome South Liverpool to the HWRS for just the second time and they will not be coming here with end-of-season party hats on having secured their highest league position in their reformed history – they could still climb to as high as 13th.
The Rams’ job is not done, there is still three games to play and, barring a significant slide from the leaders Wythenshawe or a calamitous slide from us, it will be a home play-off semi-final in a couple of weeks time.
Sadly, the last two games has seen the Rams collect just a single point from games against relegation-threatened Litherland and 16th placed Longridge Town, who had lost their previous six.
South Liverpool head into town off the back of a 5-0 win over City of Liverpool on Bank Holiday Monday, which snapped a five-game winless run but they have beaten play-off chasing Irlam and play-off place holders Padiham in moderately recent times so they will not be coming here for just a kick about.
Home comforts have been most comfortable this season – in fact, if the Rams can stave off a defeat here, it will be the best home full season they have had since 1999/2000 season where the Riverside was a total fortress, seeing 15 wins and six draws from their 21 games. The Rams finished third that season as their away form was terrible!
Just three games remain and the target is clear. Promotion automatically or through an extra couple of games – it matters not but the support does matter so let’s get right behind the lads in the next three/four/five matches!
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
We offer a very warm welcome to everyone who has come across from South Liverpool for this game.
South Liverpool have a long and rich history dating all the way back into the 19th century but this will be just the fourth time the sides have met since their promotion back to the NWCFL Premier Division last season.
So far, the three previous matches have all been stacked in the Rams’ favour – so much so that South Liverpool are yet to score across the 270 minutes of football.
The first meeting came in August 2024 at the HWRS when an Oumar Camara double (pictured above) split Luke Sephton and Robert Wilson strikes in a 4-0 win before it was the same score in March last year at Jericho Lane thanks to Corey Stacey’s first half goal and second half hits from Tom Hoyle, Harvey Whyte from the spot and Camara again in injury time.
It was only a couple of months ago that the two sides met in this season and goals either side of half time from Luke Sephton and Harvey Hayhurst brought home the 2-0 success.
STEVE WILKES SAYS:
“Two games in April and just one point gained has been disappointing as we just didn’t take our chances in the Longridge game and should have been out of sight. But we have put that behind us and we now know that we are in the play-offs as a minimum.
“South Liverpool gave us some problems a couple of months ago and it won’t be easy today for our last regular home game of the season. Let’s continue to get behind the lads today.”
