Saturday 30 October 2021 - Kick-off 3.00pm v Irlam 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+ MATCH DAY 15:00 Ashton Athletic v Irlam 15:00 Avro v Runcorn Town 15:00 Barnoldswick Town v Skelmersdale United 15:00 Congleton Town v Winsford United 15:00 Litherland REMYCA v Padiham 15:00 Prestwich Heys v Longridge Town 15:00 Squires Gate v Northwich Victoria 15:00 Vauxhall Motors v Burscough 15:00 AFC Darwen v AFC Blackpool 15:00 Ashton Town v Campion 15:00 Bury AFC P-P Chadderton 5:00 Cleator Moor Celtic v Atherton LR 15:00 Daisy Hill v Ilkley Town 15:00 Golcar United v St Helens Town 15:00 Nelson v Bacup Borough 15:00 Pilkington v Garstang 15:00 Steeton v Holker Old Boys 15:00 Alsager Town v Eccleshall 15:00 Barnton v St Martins 15:00 Cammell Laird 1907 v Stockport Town 15:00 Cheadle Town v Sandbach United 15:00 Ellesmere Rangers v Abbey Hulton United 15:00 Maine Road v Cheadle Heath Nomads 15:00 Rocester v New Mills 15:00 Stafford Town v Abbey Hey 15:00 West Didsbury & Chorlton v Wythenshawe Amateurs 18:30 FC Isle of Man v Brocton Premier Division First Division South First Division North JOIN OUR 300 JOIN OUR 300 CLUB! CLUB! Raise money for our club! Win Cash Prizes In the first week of October our first prize won £200! 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 Manager : Jay Foulds 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 Jay Foulds Daz Mullen A warm welcome to all of our friends from Irlam. I hope you enjoy your afternoon at Brocstedes. This afternoon we return to league action as we take on high flying Irlam and look to continue our recent run of good form at home. Last Saturday we had the weekend off as a number of teams in the Premier League were involved in FA Vase matches. We will need to shake off any rustiness pretty quickly to make sure we start on the front foot against our visitors. Irlam will be looking to return to winning ways, having lost a little ground on the leaders in recent weeks. However, fourth place in the table shows that they will be a tough nut to crack. When we were last in action we overcame Padiham in a five goal thriller! It was nip and tuck in the first half as Dale Korie- Butler gave us the lead. Padiham gave us nothing though and quickly bounced back with an equaliser. We started the second half strongly as Josh Nicholson and the in-form Ethan Beckford saw us take a 3-1 lead. Padiham still weren’t finished though and pulled one back with 13 minutes to go. It was a nervy last few minutes for us but we held on for a vital victory. The future’s bright, the future’s yellow. Jay Tuesday 2 November 2021 Kick-off 7.45pm v Longridge Town The North West Counties League Premier Division Premier Division P GD Pts 1 Macclesfield 16 15 36 2 Skelmersdale United 16 17 31 3 Charnock Richard 16 18 30 4 Irlam 17 5 29 5 Avro 16 3 27 6 Congleton Town 17 10 25 7 Wythenshawe Town 16 10 25 8 Barnoldswick Town 16 6 25 9 Longridge Town 16 6 25 10 Lower Breck 16 2 25 11 Burscough 15 6 24 12 Northwich Victoria 15 5 24 13 Vauxhall Motors 16 -5 24 14 AFC Liverpool 16 -5 21 15 Prestwich Heys 17 -11 19 16 Winsford United 17 -13 18 17 Squires Gate 16 -4 17 18 Ashton Athletic 16 -13 17 19 Runcorn Town 17 -10 15 20 Padiham 16 -7 13 21 Litherland REMYCA 17 -35 6 NEXT UP at Brocstedes Table as up to Tuesday 26 Octoberr 2021 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 IRLAM FOOTBALL CLUB began life as Mitchell Shackleton Football Club, founded in October 1969 by a group of employees working for Mitchell Shackleton Limited, a well established engineering company based in Eccles, which manufactured marine and diesel crankshafts. The founding members of Mitchell Shackleton Football Club were Bob Cowlishaw (Chairman), Bill Russell (Secretary) and Charlie Flynn (Treasurer, who served the Club also served as Secretary with distinction from 1981 until his death in 1994). They were ably supported by a Committee comprising of Alf Johnson (now Club President), Ged Moore (Kit Manager) and Stan Catlin (Team Manager). Although the Cub has been in existence for over 30 years, Mitchell Shackleton FC can trace teams playing under the Company’s banner as far back as 1935. Initially, the Football Club was financially supported through the Company’s active Sports and Social Club, however the recession of the late 1970’s led to the Company restructuring its business interests, and unfortunately a reduction in the workforce. These events inevitably led to the dissolution of the Sports and Social Club, and a splintering of the various sporting sections with each individual group becoming self-financing. The Club initially entered the Eccles Amateur league before moving in 1972 to the Manchester Amateur league where there reputation began to grow. Third Division (1973-74) and Second Division (1974-75) Championships were won consecutively, and a reserve section was created as the Clubs profile grew. During this period, a re- structuring of the League saw Mitchells competing in the Industrial ‘B’ Division, in which the Club were runners-up in 1979-80. In season 1983-84, Mitchells finished Industrial ‘A’ Division runners-up, but ended the season on a high by winning the Gosling Cup. Industrial ‘A’ Division runners-up once again in season 1985- 86, and defeated finalists in the Gosling Cup of 1988-89 signalled the end of the Club’s 17 year association with the Manchester Amateur League with Mitchells again progressing upwards by joining the Manchester League in 1989. In their second season, the Club was promoted as Runners Up to take their place in the Premier Division for season 1990/91 under the guidance of Paul Traynor and Kenny Davies. In 1993, Mitchells reached the Gilchrist Cup Final, only to lose out to Woodley Sports in the Final. In 1994 Paul Traynor departed due to work commitments and Kenny Davies assumed control, ably assisted by Billy Hall. This management team took Mitchells to their highest ever league position in the Premier Division, runners-up to Abbey Hey in season 1994/95. The Club was rocked prior to Our Opponents Today Irlam the commencement of 1997-98 season when Kenny Davies walked out; taking with him several first team players to a local, at the time rival Club Monton. Dave Rowan and Craig Woodley, who had forged a successful partnership with the reserves, were promoted and asked to rebuild the side. A difficult season was to follow, but after being adrift at the bottom of the Division for most of the season, a dramatic win against fellow strugglers Wythenshawe Town and mid-table Monton Amateurs saw the Club stave of relegation. After such a close call, Mitchells would never go below sixth position in their subsequent seasons i Mitchell Shackleton were proud winners of the Albert Booth Sportsmanship Trophy in 1998-99, a testament to the spirit in which the Club plays the game. In June 2000, Club Secretary Ian Street was named Premier Divison Secretary of the Year at the AGM of the Manchester League. A major change at the Club occurred in 2002 when Mitchells were informed that Salteye Park, their existing ground at Barton was to be purchased and subsequently used for what has now to become the new Salford Reds rugby League stadium. The hunt was on for a new ground, and with compensation from their move, plus football foundation assistance, Silver St in Irlam, once home to Irlam Town became an obvious choice. The start of the 2001-02 season saw the Club change its title to Irlam MS in anticipation of a proposed move to Silver St, the site of the then defunct Irlam Town FC. The new ground at Silver St was officially opened in 2003 with a visit from Brian McClair’s Milk Cup winning, Manchester United youth team. A further name change saw Irlam MS become Irlam FC, and the appointment of Warren Dodd as secretary of the Club, from Irlam Rangers Junior Club saw development increase at the ground. The Club made the decision in 2006 that they would pursue a place in The North West Counties football League, and entry via ground improvements at Silver St meant that the Club entered their highest level of competition in their history in readiness for the 2008/2009 season. That inaugural season, under the guidance of manager Dave Mann was a tremendous success, finishing in 8th position on 52 points in our first campaign. The Clubs performances over following seasons fluctuated in the NWCFL as the Club adjusted to the higher level of competition. Previous managers Dave Mann, Ryan Gilligan and Nick Parker have all poured their effort and commitment into the Club, culminating in the appointment, Steve Nixon, a local manager with an impeccable coaching CV in readiness for season 2014/15 after taking over mid-way through the previous season With manager Steve Nixon at the helm for his 3rd campaign for the 2015/2016 season, the future began to look bright both on and off the pitch at Silver St. The opening of a brand new Clubhouse at the ground again pushed the Club to greater heights, creating a real non- league footballing set up at Silver St. Season 2015/16 season proved to be a watershed moment for the Club. Since joining the league in 2008/2009 the focus has been on youth and development of the ground, and it was 2015/2016 season when all the efforts and sacrifices made came to fruition. Irlam manager Steve Nixon shaped a fantastic group of maturing young players as they put together a magnificent run of results to take second spot and gain automatic promotion to the Premier Division for the first time in their history. Season 2016/2017 proved to be the most successful in the Clubs long history, an eighth place finish in the Premier Division showed the growing strength of the Club, whilst a treble winning U21’s development side swept all before them in the Cheshire U21’s league. Point deductions for our U18’s were all that stood between them and a possible title win as they finished 4th, just six points adrift of Nelson FC. For season 2017/2018 a restructuring of positions at the Club has seen new faces take control of on the field matters. 1st team manager Steve Nixon and asst Chris Boardman have moved out of the hot seats in order to take over the commercial side of the Club, with Steve Nixon taking over from Ron Parker as chairman of the Club. New manager Michael Dodd, and asst Matty Kay, both part of the 1st team backroom staff last season were chosen to take control for the new campaign. They have assembled a strong backroom staff around them and we wish them well for future campaigns. The 2018/2019 season was arguably the most successful season the Club has embarked upon since its entry into the national league system in 2008/2009. Although league position remarkably remained the same as season 2017/2018 (13th), it was in the national competitions where the young Irlam squad gave a glimpse of things to come in the future. An unprecedented FA Cup, surpassed only by an even greater campaign in the FA Vase, saw the side mentioned in dispatches up and down the country. A three match winning streak in the FA Cup, including a 2-1 victory away at Prescot Cables set the side up for an away trip to Gateshead Club Dunston UTS, a match that saw Irlam’s campaign end with a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of the North East side who would go on to a famous victory over Chester FC in the next round. The FA Vase would capture the imagination of all at the Club as the team confidently pushed into the fifth round of the FA Vase, a five match winning run , beating Clubs from up and down the region as they saw of Burscough , Yorkshire sides Handsworth and Hemsworth, Hull based Winterton and Midlands based Cadbury’s Athletic. The fifth round however would prove to be a bridge too far for IRLAM. Welcoming Surrey based Chertsey Town FC to the Ambitek Stadium, a rearranged fixture after snow put paid to the original date, the Southern based side just had the edge on the day, a 2-0 victory moving the Curfews in to the quarter finals and ultimately into the Final itself where the eventually lifted the Famous Trophy at Wembley Stadium. An excellent season, built on solid foundations gives the Club renewed confidence going into the new season, and with manager Michael Dodd retained with his backroom staff, the omens are good for 2019/2020. 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 1-0 Beckford Sat 04/09/21 Macclesfield H 15:00 1-1 Beckford Tue 07/09/21 Runcorn Town H 19:45 2-4 Korie-Butler, Boyd Sat 11/09/21 Abbey Hey (The Buildbase FA Vase 1Q) A 15:00 0-1 Tue 14/09/21 AFC Liverpool A 19:45 2-2 Boyd, Korie-Butler Sat 18/09/21 Prestwich Heys H 15:00 3-4 Boyd, Nicholson, Beckford Sat 25/09/21 Squires Gate A 15:00 4-2 Beckford, Weaver, Nicholson, Korie-Butler Wed 29/09/21 Litherland REMYCA A 19:45 1-3 Beckford Sat 02/10/21 Skelmersdale United A 15:00 1=3 Beckford Sat 09/10/21 Avro H 15:00 4-0 Beckford (2), Boyd, McDermott Sat 16/10/21 Padiham H 15:00 3-2 Korie-Butler, Nicholson, Beckford Sat 30/10/21 Irlam H 15:00 Tue 02/11/21 Longridge Town H 19:45 Sat 06/11/21 Northwich Victoria A 15:00 Sat 13/11/21 Barnoldswick Town A 15:00 Sat 20/11/21 Burscough H 15:00 Sat 27/11/21 Squires Gate H 15:00 Sat 04/12/21 Longridge Town A 15:00 Sat 11/12/21 Northwich Victoria H 15:00 Sat 18/12/21 Avro A 15:00 Mon 27/12/21 Wythenshawe Town A 15:00 Sat 08/01/22 Charnock Richard H 15:00 Sat 15/01/22 AFC Liverpool H 15:00 Sat 22/01/22 Vauxhall Motors A 15:00 Tue 01/02/22 Litherland REMYCA H 19.45 Sat 05/02/22 Lower Breck A 15:00 Sat 12/02/22 Prestwich Heys A 15:00 Sat 19/02/22 Winsford United H 15:00 Sat 26/02/22 Congleton Town H 15:00 Sat 05/03/22 Padiham A 15:00 Tue 08/03/22 Skelmersdale United H 19.45 Sat 12/03/22 Runcorn Town A 15:00 Sat 19/03/22 Macclesfield A 15:00 Sat 26/03/22 Barnoldswick Town H 15:00 Sat 02/04/22 Irlam A 15:00 Fixtures and Results Appearances Goals Cards MOM Player Start Sub Start Sub Red Yellow Charles Akande 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 Ben Ascroft (GK) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 James Aspinall (GK) 11 0 0 0 0 0 4 Christopher Bandell 7 1 3 0 0 1 0 Ethan Beckford 9 3 9 0 0 0 3 Lewis Boyd 8 3 4 0 0 0 0 Ethan Brough 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 Millen Brown 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 Ben Cartwright * 12 1 0 0 0 1 0 Tom Douglas * 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jason Foulds (GK) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jamie Frost 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Declan Gallagher * 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brian Hatton 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Samuel Houghton 8 4 0 0 1 0 0 Ahmed Ibrahim 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bram Johnstone 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 Oredi Kibombo 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 Dale Korie-Butler 14 3 4 0 0 2 0 Andy Mandjoba 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 Cian McDermott 6 0 1 0 0 2 0 Charlie Middlemore 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 Niall Moran 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Joseph Nicholson 10 0 1 0 1 2 2 Joshua Nicholson 17 1 5 0 0 0 1 James OHara 8 2 0 0 0 3 0 Martin Pearson (GK) 1 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 6 1 0 0 1 1 0 Andrew Thomas 6 3 0 0 0 0 1 Neil Weaver 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 Nathan Whalley 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 Joe White 9 3 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 13 2 0 0 0 4 2 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 Ashton Athletic Manager: Jay Foulds Irlam Manager: John Main James Aspinall Ethan Brough Andrew Thomas Niall Moran Joe White Calum Wilson Joshua Nicholson Charlie Middlemore Ethan Beckford Cian McDermott Lewis Boyd Christopher Bandell Oredi Kibombo Samuel Houghton James O’Hara Dale Korie-Butler MATCH OFFICIALS REFEREE TBC ASSISTANT TBC ASSISTANT TBC NEXT UP AT BROCSTEDES PARK Tuesday 2 November 2021 Kick-off 7.45pm Longridge Town Lee White Marley Armstrong Logan Holroyd Ryan Ledson Jacob Holt Andrew Langford Caius Silcott-West Nicholas Taylor John Main Aaron Skinner Jordan Icely Alex Francis Connor Martin Ethan Cartwright Ethan Rhodes Mwiya Malumo