Charnock Richard (A) \\\ Match Information

• Monday 11th March 2024 
• 7:45pm kickoff
• NWCFL Premier Division, Matchday 39
• Mossie Park, Charter Lane, Charnock Richard, Chorley, PR7 5LZ
• Food and drink available in the clubhouse from 7pm
• Pay on the gate, cash or card:
  • £6 adults
  • £4 concessions
  • Free under 16s

Live text commentary on Twitter @wd_cfc

Preview

West travel to Charnock Richard on Monday night, a fourth away game in ten days.

Held to a draw at bottom-side Skelmersdale United on Saturday, West will look to make amends for an insipid performance when they travel to Chorley on Monday. The trip is West's fourth consecutive away match, a period that has seen the kind of ups and down that have characterised West’s season.

Monday’s hosts sit in 10th spot, one point ahead of West in 14th. They have, however, played eight fewer games so their league position is perhaps a false reflection of how they have fared so far. While the race for the final two playoff spots looks at first glance to be one that involves only a small number of teams who are currently in and around the top five, Charnock will still consider themselves to be in that conversation. If they can manage their significant fixture backlog and win the games they have in hand over the likes of Chadderton, Kendal Town and Padiham, they may well find themselves with something to play for come the end of April.

To do so would realistically require the Greens to recover their early season form, which saw them go unbeaten in all competitions from mid-September 2023 to early-January 2024. Their recent form has also been good, albeit not as consistent as they would hope. Over the last two weekends Charnock have enjoyed 7-1 and 6-1 wins against Skelmersdale United and Squires Gate respectively, but in between those demolitions came a 4-2 reverse at home to strugglers Cheadle Town.

As those results indicate, the Greens have an extremely potent attack, with forwards Nathan Nikeas and Rustam Stepans firing 21 goals apiece this season. They have scored more goals at home than any other side in the division - despite playing fewer games - and their average of 3.2 goals per home game is far better than even those who are competing for the NWCFL Premier Division title.

It's difficult to predict how West will set up in light of the quick turnaround from Saturday’s trip to Skelmersdale. With no obvious new injury concerns, the main question marks are over who plays in the centre of midfield, with two games in 72 hours a big ask for those who started on Saturday, and doubts over Rhain Davis and Charlie Whiteoak as they recover from recent injuries.

Charnock's fixture backlog mean they have sixteen games remaining to West's eight and, starting this week, face five double-midweek fixtures. The heavy rain seen in recent weeks has been a big factor, resulting in a number of postponements - including the original date for this meeting, Manager Chris Rowley may consequently take a similar tactical approach to the win at Litherland last Wednesday, should he expect a similarly weather-affected surface.

Meet our opponents

Charnock Richard were originally formed in 1933 as a village team, entering the Chorley Alliance League. However, he club closed after WW2 and was reformed as a Preston & District League club in 1955. 

They joined the West Lancashire League in 1993, and progressed through three divisions in little over a decade, joining the North West Counties Football League in 2016/17. The Greens won promotion from Division 1 to the Premier Division at the first attempt and have remained at step 5 ever since.

The club started playing at Mossie Close in 1968, since moving to a site on the other side of the same road. The club broke its all-time attendance record earlier this season when 979 turned out to see them play Bury.

Form Guide

Charnock Richard
Position: 10th
Form position: 5th
Last six overall: WLWLWW
Last six home: WLWWWW

West Didsbury & Chorlton
Position: 14th
Form position: 13th
Last six overall: DWLDLW
Last six away: DWLLWL

Last Meeting

Saturday 25th Novembert 2023
NWCFL Premier Divison
West 0 Charnock Richard 0
Attendance: 701

Recent Meetings

The sides shared a goalless draw in the reverse fixture at Brookburn Road in late November. That one was a particularly uneventful afternoon where neither side could have convincingly claimed to have deserved more than the point they walked away with. The best chance of the match fell to Rhain Davis in the first half when Ollie Ford squared the ball to him in front of goal, but Davis didn’t have time to adjust his body and shot over from six yards.

The scores were also level at Brookburn Road last season, a 2-2 draw on Boxing Day that saw the visitors opening and closing the scoring with goals in the 1st and 90th minutes.

The sides met again on a Bank Holiday later in the season, with Charnock running out comfortable 5-1 winners at Mossie Park on Easter Monday. It was a forgettable day for West, who saw Darren McKnight miss a first-half penalty, go in at half-time 4-0 down, then saw Rhain Davis and Callum Jones sent off in the second half. Ben Elliott's 79th minute goal was little consolation as West struggled for form after exiting the FA Vase.

Overall, Charnock have won four of the last six meetings with West’s last victory coming on the final day of the 2017/18 season.

Head to Head

Overall:
P8 W2 D2 L4 F11 A16

At Mossie Park:
P3 W1 D0 L2 F3 A7

Quick Info

Travelling distance: 28 miles
West away 2023/24 round trip: 1,408 miles
Last season's position: 11th, NWCFL Premier
Last season's average attendance: 185
Pitch: Grass
Home colours: All green
Change colours: All sky blue

Other midweek fixtures
NWCFL Premier Division
Tuesday 12th March 2024
Bury (1st) v Barnoldswick Town (16th)
Chadderton (5th) v Wythenshawe (3rd)
Colne (9th) v Cheadle Town (17th)
Irlam (11th) v Skelmersdale United (24th)
Ramsbottom United (18th) v Prestwich Heys (7th)
Wednesday 13th March
Charnock Richard (10th) v FC Isle of Man (12th)

Pictures by Simon Cook & Chris Michell