South Liverpool preview

by | Aug 6, 2026

Two league games down so time to take a break and commence the long and winding road to Wembley in the Emirates FA Cup as we welcome South Liverpool to the HWRS on Saturday.

MATCH: Ramsbottom United vs South Liverpool
VENUE: Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Ramsbottom, BL0 0BS
COMPETITION: Emirates FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
DATE: Saturday 8th August 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:
The Rams and 742 other hopeful entrants get the road to Wembley open for business on Saturday as the Extra Preliminary Round kicks off with the visit of fellow NWCFL Premier Division outfit South Liverpool.

A total of 219 games will be played across the country today as the dreams of clubs from Cumbria to Cornwall and Kent to Northumberland gets under way and the excitement of ‘how far can we go’ fills the air.

Our opponents have kicked off their league campaign unbeaten, but have seen leads lost to both Irlam on Saturday in a 1-1 draw and then the same happening behind closed doors at Droylsden on Tuesday night before the lights failed and the game was abandoned after 64 minutes so they will be looking to put that right and progress to the next round and hope for a full 90 minutes too!

The extra preliminary round has been fairly kind to Ramsbottom United with just one exit at this stage in the last eight clashes since going down 4-2 against Ashton Town in 2007 at Atherton Collieries’ ground – the only defeat coming in 2024 against Stalybridge Celtic.

Can you remember the others?  Hallam in 2008, Cheadle Town in 2009, Winsford United in 2010, Barnoldswick Town in 2011, Thackley via a replay in 2022, Stockport Town in 2023 and Golcar United last year.

The Rams come into this game off the back of an outstanding 3-0 home victory over Trafford on Tuesday night, which has certainly put down a marker and moved the hosts up to third in the fledgling league table – but attention now turns to the FA Cup and what spoils that can bring.

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
For the third time in our history, we welcome South Liverpool to the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium and we wish everyone making the journey over a warm welcome.

It is only since our return to the NWCFL that we have met and all of the previous four meetings has gone the way of the Rams.

In the 2024/25 season, the Rams returned back-to-back 4-0 victories, the first coming in August 2024 at the HWRS when Luke Sephton’s early strike set the tone before Oumar Camara’s brace and Rob Wilson’s strike – all within nine minutes of the second half restart – eased the home side to the comfortable win.

And it was the same again at Jericho Lane as Corey Stacey scored in the first half before Tom Hoyle, a Harvey Whyte penalty and Camara in injury time brought home four goals and three points.

Last season it was a little closer with a double 2-0 win for the Rams.  Luke Sephton and Harvey Hayhurst (pictured above) scored either side of the break in February and then a quickfire double from Luke Barlow and Hayhurst within three minutes in the first half set the Rams on their way.

So, can South Liverpool break their 360 minute duck against the Rams?  We shall see!