Monday 30 August 2021 - Kick-off 3.00pm v Lower Breck The North West Counties Football League Premier Division Official Matchday Programme ASHTON ATHLETIC ASHTON ATHLETIC HELP KEEP THE FANS AT THE GAME, FOLLOW THE RULES TO ENSURE WE CAN ALL ENJOY FOOTBALL www.nwcfl.com HOW YOU CAN HELP: WASH HANDS REGULARLY STAY HOME IF YOU HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS SOCIALLY DISTANCE & MASK ON REQUEST 1m+ NWCFL Review It promised to be a great weekend of action and we are only half way through it! Yesterday saw a number of games that would have potentially had a major effect on the top and bottom of each division and that proved to be correct, as by the end of the day the leaders of all three divisions had changed! Starting with the Premier Division, it looked straightforward at Congleton where top faced bottom as Ashton Athletic visited the Cheshire Silk 106.7 Stadium but it was anything but as Chris Bandell put the visitors ahead just before half time. Tom Pope levelled on 70 minutes only for Josh Nicholson to restore Ashton’s lead on 77 minutes, a goal that proved to be the winner lifting them off the bottom and saw The Bears slip to third by the end of the day. Wythenshawe Town came from behind twice in their game against Lower Breck to run out 3-2 winners on the day, goals from Steve Hewitt, Joel Bembo and Deane Smalley on the 89th minute giving them the win and sending them top. Wythenshawe are closely followed by Macclesfield who gained a decent win on the road at Barnoldswick. The Silkmen went ahead on the 19th minute with a goal from Tom Clare, followed by a second goal bagged by Aaron Dwyer. However it wasn’t to be a comfortable win at the Silentnight Stadium as Barlick’ pulled a goal back on 42 minutes from Gareth Hill to make the second half a tense affair. Macclesfield held on though and are just behind Wythenshawe in second. At the opposite end of the table, Litherland Remyca’s poor start continued as they were turned over 0-3 by Squires Gate at Litherland Sports Park. Goals from Saad Mekkaoui, Dean Ing and Max Rogers doing the damage, sending The Remy to the bottom of the table and propelling Squired Gate up to thirteenth. Vauxhall Motors seem to have found second gear in recent performances and they continued to climb up the table yesterday, bolstered by a decent looking 1-0 home win over Skelmersdale United. The only goal of the game coming from Jack Kelly on 71 minutes. Also upwardly mobile are Prestwich Heys who got their first win of the season with a 4-1 home win over Winsford United. Niall Sultan got the ball rolling with a goal on 15 minutes followed by a second scored by Jack Coop on 38 minutes. Heys looked impressive throughout and extended their lead in the second half with goals from Oscar Campbell on 65 minutes and Tony Hall three minutes in to added time. Winsford’s 87th minute penalty scored by Jack Duckworth proved only to be a consolation. Not much separated Irlam and Runcorn Town in the table and that showed yesterday as both sides played out a 2-2 draw at the RG3 Digital Stadium. Indeed, Town only secured a point courtesy of an equaliser from Craig Cairns deep into added time. AFC Liverpool keep the pressure on the leaders with a 2-1 home win over Longridge Town. A brace from Danny Cockerline either side of a Scott Harries goal for the visitors saw the Reds home with the three points. Just ahead of AFC Liverpool are Northwich Victoria, they kept their good start going with a 2-1 home win over Padiham. The visiting Storks had gone ahead on 29 minutes courtesy of a Marcus Perry goal. However, two penalties from Matt Birchall on 45 and 56 minutes gave The Trickies the lead, and ultimately the win that keeps them nicely positioned in the top six. The other game of the day saw Avro finish the day in fourth, courtesy of an impressive 3-2 home win over Charnock Richard. Goals from Bailey Sloane, Danny Byrnes and Oumar Camera gave Avro the three points and helped the leap-frog their opponents. MATCH DAY 15:00 Ashton Athletic v Lower Breck 15:00 Avro v Prestwich Heys 15:00 Charnock Richard v AFC Liverpool 15:00 Longridge Town v Burscough 15:00 Macclesfield v Congleton Town 15:00 Padiham v Barnoldswick Town 15:00 Runcorn Town v Vauxhall Motors 15:00 Skelmersdale United v Litherland REMYCA 15:00 Winsford United v Irlam 15:00 AFC Blackpool v Garstang 15:00 Ashton Town v Chadderton 15:00 Atherton LR v Pilkington 15:00 Bury AFC v Daisy Hill 15:00 Cleator Moor Celtic v Holker Old Boys 15:00 Golcar United v Bacup Borough 15:00 Ilkley Town v Nelson 15:00 St Helens Town v South Liverpool 15:00 Steeton v Campion 14:00 Abbey Hey v FC Isle of Man 15:00 Abbey Hulton United v Sandbach United 15:00 Alsager Town v Barnton 15:00 Cheadle Heath Nomads v Cheadle Town 15:00 Eccleshall v Stafford Town 15:00 New Mills v Stockport Town 15:00 St Martins v Ellesmere Rangers 15:00 West Didsbury & Chorlton v Maine Road 15:00 Wythenshawe Amateurs v Cammell Laird 1907 Premier Division First Division South First Division North Welcome to Brocstedes Park Year Formed: 1968 Life President: Jimmy Witherington Club President: Bill Bohannon Club Chairman: Jimmy Whyte Club Secretary: Jimmy Whyte Club Treasurer: Brad Reid First Team Managers : Jay Foulds & Dougie Pitts Assistant Manager: David Tickle Physio: Amy Benson Development Squad Manager: Paul Piert Under 18’s Manager: Carl Vieri Programme Editor: Bernie Johnson Ground: Brocstedes Park Address: Brocstedes Road, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 0NR Telephone: 01942 716360 Website: www.ashtonathletic.co.uk Twitter: @AshtonAthletic Facebook: www.facebook.com/AshtonAthletic The Entity: Unincorperated Members Club Midweek Home Games: Tuesday Registered Outfield Colours: Yellow Shirts, Blue Shorts & Socks Registered Goalkeeping Colours: Green Shirt, Shorts & Socks Alternative Colours: Blue shirts, Blue Shorts & Socks Highest Attendance: 610(v Chorley 30/09/17) County Affiliation: Lancashire FA Honours: Atherton Charity Cup: Winners: 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09 NWCFL Challenge Cup: Winners: 2013/14 Wigan Cup: Winners: 2014/15 Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy: Winners 2016/17 Dougie Pitts Jay Foulds Daz Mullen A warm welcome to all of our friends from Lower Breck. I hope you enjoy your afternoon at Brocstedes. After a difficult few weeks we finally have the monkey off our backs as we gained our first victory of the season with a fantastic 2-1 away win at high flying Congleton Town. That first victory had been coming as we were unluckly to lose narrowly the week before in our home match against Vauxhall Motors. On paper it should have been a straightforward victory for the home team as it was a case of top versus bottom and with home advantage! However, we know how important it is to make a good start to matches. Recently we have been going down to early goals and being forced to play catch up. This Saturday afternoon it was a different matter as we looked solid in defence and held our own all over the pitch. Chris Bandell gave us the lead just before half time and although the home side levelled on 70 minutes, Josh Nicholson gave us the winner just a few minutes later. We must now build on that splendid performance as we take on Lower Breck this afternoon. We are now off the foot of the table but another win today should see us move further away. The future’s bright, the future’s yellow. Dougie and Jay Saturday 4 September 2021 Kick-off 3.00pm v Macclesfield The North West Counties League Premier Division Premier Division P GD Pts 1 Wythenshawe Town 6 6 13 2 Macclesfield 5 5 13 3 Congleton Town 5 9 12 4 Avro 5 6 10 5 Barnoldswick Town 5 5 10 6 Northwich Victoria 6 3 10 7 Winsford United 6 0 10 8 Charnock Richard 5 11 9 9 AFC Liverpool 4 2 9 10 Lower Breck 4 2 9 11 Vauxhall Motors 5 -3 9 12 Skelmersdale United 4 2 6 13 Squires Gate 5 2 6 14 Longridge Town 5 -2 6 15 Runcorn Town 6 -4 5 16 Burscough 5 -2 4 17 Padiham 5 -4 4 18 Irlam 5 -6 4 19 Prestwich Heys 5 -7 3 20 Ashton Athletic 6 -14 3 21 Litherland REMYCA 6 -11 0 NEXT UP at Brocstedes To book an award winning mental fitness session at your club, email Elaine.Prendergast@stateofmindsport.org www.stateofmindsport.org STATE OF MIND SPORT IS PROUD TO BE THE official CHARITY PARTNER OF THE NORTH WEST COUNTIES FOOTBALL LEAGUE. State of Mind Sport is a charity that harnesses the power of sport to promote positive mental fitness, to improve performance among our sportsmen and women, fans and wider communities, AND to ultimately prevent suıcide. State of Mind Sport raise awareness of the issues surrounding mental fitness and deliver education on the subject to all levels of sport, business, education and community groups. A Brief History... Ashton Athletic Football Club was founded in 1968 and playing in the Wigan Sunday League – winning every Division in consecutive seasons and many cup competitions before switching to the Warrington League on Saturdays where similar success was sustained. The Club developed Brocstedes Park and was admitted to the Lancashire Combination, before becoming a founder member of the North West Counties League when the Combination merged with the Cheshire league in 1982. Unfortunately, financial constraints prevented the required ground improvements to be completed, and the Club was relegated into the Manchester league Division One in 1986. The drop of two leagues resulted in the majority of the playing staff moving to other club’s and for numerous years the club endeavored to re-build. Players came and went, lacking the Club loyalty that had brought success to the Club in the 1970’s and early 80’s until the Committee embraced an ambitious youth development policy in 1999. The Club is now at the end of a ten-year development plan to enhance its recreational facilities and expand the Club, in particular its junior section. Eight years ago, the Club had two teams, 50 members, one mediocre pitch with dilapidated clubhouse and changing rooms. Since then the Club members have worked tirelessly to progress the Club within its means, and with some help from external grant sources. Assistance from the Football foundation, Awards for All programme, and Wigan Council enabled a series of improvements to be completed. The main pitch was re-drained, a second pitch acquired/improved, new changing rooms and Clubhouse built, disabled access provided and other improvements made to the grounds. More recently the ground has been brought up to the necessary Ground Grading for re-entry into the NWCFL, in time for the start of the 2006/7 season and further inprovements have provided additional seating. The 2008/09 season also saw further progression of the Club, having been promoted to the Premier Division of the Vodkat North West Counties League. We were again able take to the national stage, having been accepted in the FA Cup competition after last season’s debut in the FA Vase which proved very lucrative for the Club, progressing through 3 stages and beating 2 teams from higher leagues in the process. The previous season also saw cup success for the Club retaining the Atherton Charity Cup at the end of the season. Following an impressive 6th place finish in the 2008/09 season, the Yellows struggled in the league for the next 4 seasons, finishing in the bottom three of the league in three of the next four seasons. 21st (09/10), 22nd (10/11), 14th (11/12) and 20th (12/13). Jimmy McBride, who took over the reins midway through the 12/13, left the club when the season ended and the club took the unusual step in bringing in a trio of managers, Jay Foulds, Ben Kay and Dougie Pitts. Jay and Ben were brought in from Wigan Robin Park and Dougie came in following a break from the game. The trio needed to completely rebuild the squad for the 2013/14 season and made an excellent start to their managerial careers creating club history with a 6th place finish and beating Maine Road 1-0 to win the League Challenge Cup at Curzon Ashton. More club history was made in the 2014/15 season with a highest ever 5th place finish in the league, conceding only 38 goals and losing only 7 league games that season and the Yellows were successful in the Wigan Cup, beating Newburgh Harrock United 5-1 in the final at Brocstedes Park. The 2015/16 season saw the retirement of Jay Foulds and he was replaced in the Ashton Athletic goal by Martin Pearson. Unfortunately, there were no cup heroics in that season but there was a solid 7th place finish in the league. The 2016/17 saw another top 10 finish with the club ending the season in 9th place, but the club made history in the cups reaching the 2nd qualifying round for the first time ever, losing 5-0 against Halifax Town and winning the Lancashire Cup for the first time, coming from a goal down to win 2-1 against Radcliffe Borough. Lee Vaughan scoring the winner in the final minute of the game. With the impact the management trio have made at the club in the 4 seasons that they have been in charge of the first team, the success was noticed from clubs at a higher level and following the 2016/17 season, Ben Kay left his role as joint manager to take up the role as assistant manager to Simon Howarth at Clitheroe FC, where he will link up again former Yellows captain, Ian Rowlands. A new vision for the Club is under discussion to further develop the Club and these will include plans for improvements to the access road, new junior changing rooms, additional playing fields for the junior section and a proposed girls/ladies section. The main ground is also scheduled for enhancement works with additional covered spectator areas. The Club is a voluntary organisation run by a Committee of 14 alongside approximately 25 coaches and managers. Any money raised by the Club has been ploughed back into improving the facilities and developing the youth section. The Club now has a total membership of more than 400. We have 9 junior teams consisting of approximately 160 children who take advantage of the improvement of our now excellent facilities, whilst hundreds of children and adults from opposition teams also benefit from the continually improving facilities. The Club is keen to maintain the pace of development of the club and future plans will enable increased activity at the Club, additional Junior teams and a much safer and secure environment in particular for spectators and Children. The Club was awarded the FA Charter Standard in 2013. F O O T B A L L L E A G U E T H E N O R T H W E S T C O U N T I E S nwcfl.c m For the latest League & Club News & Info, Fixtures, Results, Cup Info, Stats & Archives Follow us on social media Search ‘North West Counties League’ on Twitter and Facebook Official Website of The North West Counties Football League oFFICIAL GoALKEEPING PARTNER oF THE NoRTH WEST CouNTIES FooTBALL LEAGuE. prouD SpoNSor oF THE GoALKEEpEr oF THE MoNTH AND GoALKEEpEr oF THE YEAr AWArDS www.reusch.com www.facebook.com/ReuschUK www.twitter.com/ReuschUK For more information, visit Our Opponents Today Lower Breck Football Club was founded in the summer of 2010 in the Tuebrook area of Liverpool. The aim on formation was to establish a youthful group of quality, committed players capable of challenging for honours in all future competitions in the years to come. In the clubs first season they took the South Liverpool 2010/11 Youth Division Title which was a great achievement at the first time of asking. For the 2011/12 season the club took on the challenge and step up in quality and moved to the highly respected Carlsberg West Cheshire Association Football League. In the season that followed the club created history winning the West Cheshire League Title, The West Cheshire Youth Plate and The LCFA County Cup. History was made as no other club from the West Cheshire League had ever got their hands on the LCFA County Cup/ Treble...The club was also been nominated for Merseyside Team of the year 2011/12...Another honour in just being nominated... Again not wanting to stand still the club for the 2012/13 season joined forces with the highly respected and fast growing Famous Grapes Football Club. The lads in there first season as a open age side became a member of the Liverpool County Premier League’s 2nd Division. In keeping with tradition the lads won the 2nd Division title another remarkable achievement as this was their first year in adult football. Not settling for just a domestic trophy the club embarked on a European Tour when they traveled over to Cologne Germany to take part in the 2013 Rheintal Trophy and in doing so brought home the winner’s trophy capping another trophy led season for the lads. Due to the financial climate the decision was made by the club committee to bring the Lower Breck name back from its hiatus (Minus The Boys from the original name) For the 2013/14 season the club played their football in the Liverpool County Premier League’s 1st Division as Lower Breck FC. With hard work and dedication the club was aiming to be playing Premier League football the following season and that aim was realized when the lads clung on to the last remaining promotion spot. With the step up to the Premier Division secured the club looked to secure their position amongst the very best the city had to offer and build a squad capable of challenging for a league title in the forthcoming years. JUNE 2015 THE CLUB GROWS For the start of the 2015/16 season Lower Breck had grown from the one team the Moore family founded back in 2010 to the club now running five playing sides. A Reserve,Sunday and Two youth sides have all been added to the clubs roster of teams playing under the Breck Banner. With the addition of these sides Lower Breck set their focus on growing into a strong established club and with growth on/off the field and the club pushed full steam ahead. In the 2016/17 season the Breck secured a domestic cup double winning the highly respected I-Zingari & George Mahon Cups. In the 2017/18 season the club raised the bar even further and achieved greatness in Liverpool by winning all four competitions they played in and also going unbeaten throughout the whole campaign with a run stretching back to October 2016. LCPL,LCFA,George Mahon & I-Zinagri Cup Champions a truly remarkable feat that some massive clubs in Liverpool never managed to achieve. Lower Breck FC have made the swift transition from Youth side to North West Counties affiliated member Club in under 10 years. Fostering realistic ambitions of FA Cup Football at Breckside Park, this Club epitomises Grass Roots development. Signing off last season with an unbeaten clean-sweep of every available Trophy was a statement of our intent. You or your company could benefit from both local and national exposure: ensuring your sponsorship is a worthwhile investment for you, our Club and the wider Community. After the FA implemented the “Perfect Pyramid”restructuring The Premier Division Now Lower Breck Awaits the club. Lower Breck FC have major plans for funding and growth. In partnership with the Anfield Community Centre and support from the Liverpool County FA we hope to create an environment where local talent can play and progress. Join us in being Second to None by emailing lowerbreckfc@gmail.com and signing-up. Honours: 2010/11 - SOUTH LIVERPOOL YOUTH DIVISION CHAMPIONS 2011/12 - WEST CHESHIRE YOUTH DIVISION CHAMPIONS 2011/12 - WEST CHESHIRE YOUTH PLATE CHAMPIONS 2011/12 - LCFA UNDER 18 COUNTY CUP CHAMPIONS 2012/13 - LCPL 2nd DIVISON CHAMPIONS 2012/13 - RHEINTAL TROPHY 2013 CHAMPIONS (Cologne) 2013/14 - PROMOTION TO PREMIER LEAGUE 2016/17 - GEORGE MAHON CUP WINNERS 2016/17 - I-ZINGARI CUP WINNERS 2017/18 - LCPL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 2017/18 - LCFA CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPIONS 2017-18 - GEORGE MAHON CUP WINNERS 2017-18 - I-ZINGARI CUP WINNERS 2018-19 - PROMOTED TO NORTH WEST COUNTIES 2020-21 - PROMOTED TO NORTH WEST COUNTIES PREMIER DIVISION BACK TO LIVE BACK TO LIVE FOOTBALL! FOOTBALL! THE RETURN TO BROCSTEDES Season Tickets from only £90 Adults £45 Concessions Date Opponents H/A KO Score Goalscorers Sat 31/07/21 Wythenshawe Town H 15:00 0-1 Tue 03/08/21 Burscough A 19:45 1-3 Houghton Sat 07/08/21 Squires Gate (The Emirates F.A Cup EP) H 15:00 0-2 Sat 14/08/21 Charnock Richard A 15:00 1-9 Brown Tue 17/08/21 Winsford United A 19:45 0-3 Sat 21/08/21 Vauxhall Motors H 15:00 4-5 Brown, Joe Nicholson, Bandell (2) Sat 28/08/21 Congleton Town A 15:00 2-1 Bandell, Josh Nicholson Mon 30/08/21 Lower Breck H 15:00 Sat 04/09/21 Macclesfield H 15:00 Tue 07/09/21 Runcorn Town H 19:45 Sat 11/09/21 Abbey Hey (The Buildbase FA Vase 1Q) A 15:00 Tue 14/09/21 AFC Liverpool A 19:45 Sat 18/09/21 Prestwich Heys H 15:00 Sat 25/09/21 Squires Gate A 15:00 Wed 29/09/21 Litherland REMYCA A 19:45 Sat 02/10/21 Skelmersdale United A 15:00 Tue 05/10/21 Longridge Town H 19:45 Sat 09/10/21 Avro H 15:00 Sat 16/10/21 Padiham A 15:00 Sat 30/10/21 Irlam H 15:00 Sat 06/11/21 Northwich Victoria A 15:00 Sat 13/11/21 Barnoldswick Town A 15:00 Currently fixtures are only available to 13 November 2021. Fixture lists are being re-arranged in the light of COVID-19 restrictions. Fixtures and Results Appearances Cards Cards MOM Player Start Sub Start Sub Red Yellow Charles Akande 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 Ben Ascroft (GK) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 James Aspinall (GK) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Christopher Bandell 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 Ethan Beckford 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lewis Boyd 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Millen Brown 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 Ben Cartwright 7 0 0 0 0 1 0 Tom Douglas 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jason Foulds (GK) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Declan Gallagher 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brian Hatton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Samuel Houghton 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 Bram Johnstone 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 Oredi Kibombo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dale Korie-Butler 7 0 0 0 0 1 0 Andy Mandjoba 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Charlie Middlemore 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 Joseph Nicholson 7 0 1 0 0 1 2 Joshua Nicholson 7 0 2 0 0 0 1 James O’Hara 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 Martin Pearson (GK) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Marcus Perry * 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 Fenton Reeves 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Matthew Reid 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Andrew Thomas 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 Nathan Whalley 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 Joe White 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Harvey Whyte * 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 Dimeji Willan (GK) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Calum Wilson 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 Dean Winnard 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Sean Yeldrem 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gregor Zabret 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Player Appearences Credit- @Peester79 Ashton Athletic Managers: Jay Foulds & Dougie Pitts Lower Breck Manager: Gary Moore James Aspinall Matthew Reid Andrew Thomas Ben Cartwright Declan Gallagher Joseph Nicholson Joshua Nicholson Calum Wilson Dale Korie-Butler Christopher Bandell Bram Johnstone Ethan Beckford Charles Akande Andy Mandjoba Joe White Lewis Boyd MATCH OFFICIALS REFEREE TBC ASSISTANT TBC ASSISTANT TBC NEXT UP AT BROCSTEDES PARK Saturday 4 September 2021 Kick-off 3.00pm Macclesfield Joshua Molloy Lee Hughes Sam Finley Anthony Brown Louis Coyne Kevin McEllin John McGrath Michael Douglas Jamie McDonald Oscar Billington Jamie Menagh Jamie Clark Sam Turner James Cottrell Matthew Corness