WYTHENSHAWE PREVIEW

September dawns and its time to come under the lights at the HWRS once again as Wythenshawe are the visitors for the next match in the North West Counties League.

MATCH: Ramsbottom United vs Wythenshawe
VENUE: Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Ramsbottom, BL0 0BS
COMPETITION: North West Counties Premier Division
DATE: Tuesday 2nd September 2025
KICK-OFF: 7:45pm
ADMISSION: Adults – £9, Concessions – £5, U12 – £1 (with paying adult).
NOTE: We are a CASH ONLY stadium – there are NO CARD FACILTIES at the ground.

OVERVIEW:
It has been eight days since our last game, the very disappointing first league loss of the campaign away at Padiham.  Nothing much has changed at the top of the table though.  The Rams are still in fourth place in the early ladder, five points behind the six-game unbeaten Storks.

Of course, it is far too early to be interested too much in the table, given it is only five/seven games old but there is plenty of interest in this particular fixture against the eighth placed visitors from south Manchester, who departed the league upwardly two seasons ago, only to return from whence they came twelve months later.

With five games played, Wythenshawe are unbeaten in the league since their opening day 3-0 reverse at The Arbories, seeing off Chadderton and Longridge Town and taking FC Isle of Man down 4-0 n their last league clash on Bank Holiday Monday.

So a game against an in-form side is certainly going to be an interesting one given we didn’t put a dent into their promotion campaign in 2023/24 as they tucked in 4-0 on the opening day and then came into the HWRS and took a 2-1 victory home with them.

The Rams need to get back into form again after the Padiham defeat, having played superbly in the FA Cup penalties loss to Silsden and then hammering the side from the Manx 4-1 only to find themselves turned over despite taking an early lead at the league leaders.

It is just finding that correct formula that is missing at present and manager Steve Wilkes is very aware of it too.  He has the arsenal in his squad, they just need to fire a few shots to put their hopes firmly back on course.

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.

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 coming up from Wythenshawe for this game, meetiing for just the third time.

The previous two, in Wythenshawe’s promotion campaign, saw them take all six points on offer..

It was a glorious afternoon at Hollyhedge Park in late July 2023 when three late goals, from the 88th minute onwards, put the promoted hosts firmly on track and it left the Rams scratching their heads as to what hit them in the dying embers of the contest.

In the reverse fixtures at the HWRS, Mason’s early hit for the visitors was cancelled out by Luke Sephton in the first half (pictured above).  But Parkinson’s strike four minutes into the second half ensured all three points headed down the M66.

STEVE WILKES SAYS:
“We have had a good eight days off since our last game and, whilst training has been intense, the lads know they must improve on their performance at Padiham if we are to seriously challenge come the end of the season.

“It is early in the season but hopes can be lost this early and we cannot afford to slip behind any further, we must keep track and maintain the good form that we have shown so much of in the early season games so far.”