WEST DIDSBURY AND CHORLTON PREVIEW

The start of a huge week of football for Ramsbottom United which could go a long way to deciding our fate come the end of the season – it starts with the home leg of our two meetings with West Didsbury and Chorlton.

MATCH: Ramsbottom United vs West Didsbury and Chorlton
VENUE: Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Ramsbottom, BL0 0BS
COMPETITION: North West Counties League Premier Division
DATE: Tuesday 17th March 2026
KICK-OFF: 7.45pm
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:
Eight games left and still all to play for after two solid victories on the road in the last two fixtures at AFC Liverpool and FC St Helens which has sliced the gap at the top of the table to just three points, although Wythenshawe have played a game more.

However, commencing on Tuesday night is a vitally important eight days for Steve Wilkes’ side.  Back to back evening games against seventh-placed West Didsbury & Chorlton – the first at the HWRS and the return next Wednesday in south-west Manchester sandwiching a classic ‘six-pointer’ against the third-placed free-scoring Chadderton on Saturday.

It will be a challenging week for the visitors too as they face another play-off chaser in Padiham on Saturday so for both clubs, this next few days will be key to their ambitions and their hopes come April 18th.

For West, this is their 56th match of the season having reached the quarter-finals of the FA Vase before tumbling out on penalties to Bristol-based Hallen FC (who now play about four miles up the road from your previewer at AFC Stoneham in the semi-final) and have the semi-finals of the Macron Cup still to play.

Their play-off hopes kind of rely on their results in the next week or so, sitting five points shy of fifth-place but with games in hand over some of those above them.  With a defeat and a draw against FC St Helens and two more dropped points to resurgent Litherland REMYCA, they stopped the slide with a 4-0 victory over Longridge Town on Saturday so come into this game with some confidence restored.

As for the Rams, two wins in the last two, both with good performances across the team, have boosted the belief that automatic promotion is still a possibility but this game and the ones on the horizon will have significant implications.  With Atherton LR on a run of 11 wins in a row quietly going about their business, there is a lot still to sort out.

But March games matters first … this is a biggie!

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 up from West Didsbury and Chorlton for this game.

For the third time this season, we will lock horns as the first came in the Macron Cup in November and then, of course, we had the abandonment of the league game a month ago at half-time.  So lets have another go!

This is the eighth ‘completed’ meeting between the sides and the Macron Cup defeat for the Rams was the first time that WD&C had tasted victory since the first meeting in the LFA Trophy in 2014 which the Rams won 3-0.

We have been regular foes in the league since 2023 with a double ‘Desmond’ on the 2023/24 season and the former Archbishop returned in the League Cup in October 2024 with the Rams progressing via a penalty shoot out.

Last season, the Rams completed the double when Harvey Whyte’s penalty and a double from Tom Hoyle gave the Rams a 3-1 success at the Step Places Stadium, despite Connor J Hughes’ late consolation and 540 came and saw Harvey Hayhurst’s sole strike (pictured above) separate the sides at the HWRS a year ago.

STEVE WILKES SAYS:
“I think the lads have been looking forward to this spell of matches for a while now as we know how important it is that we play at our very best.  We have played well in the last couple of games after the disappointment of losing at Burscough but these next three games are huge for our promotion hopes.

“West have had a great season and done brilliantly in the FA Vase – it was a shame to see them knocked out on penalties in the quarters.  So they will be coming into this game and the one next week with restored confidence.  We know we need to be at our best now as its everything to play for.

“All that we ask is that our supporters continue, like they always do, to get right behind the lads as your support in these next eight games is going to push us all the way over the line.”