Saturday 4 January 2025
NWCFL Premier Division
Matchday 29
West Didsbury & Chorlton 4
Lazenbury 11
Briggs 21
Billingsley 66
Abadaki 80
Bury 0
Attendance: 1320
West line-up:
1 Martin, 2 Kenny, 3 McConnell, 4 Moore (c), 5 Riley, 6 Rowney, 7 Banister (12 Dass, 82), 8 Murray, 9 Briggs, 10 Lazenbury (17 Abadaki, 71), 11 Billingsley (15 Matthews, 71). Not used: 14 Jones, 16 Hughes.
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West kicked off 2025 in style by making light work of league-leaders Bury and recording a resounding 4-0 win.
Manager Paul Marshall made three changes from the West side that tore through third-place Chadderton the previous Saturday, with Jimmy Moore and Paul Riley replacing the hugely impressive centre-back pairing of Finlay Holyoak and Adam Jones. Jack Banister also came in for Billy Matthews to complete another West XI that had real quality in every position.
Much of the talk in the days leading up to the game was about whether it could go ahead at all after a week of flooding and sub-zero temperatures across South Manchester. Whilst the match was thankfully given the green light at an early-morning pitch inspection, the weather-beaten pitch did make it difficult for both sides to string passes together in the early stages. It was West who seemed to adapt better though, and they broke the deadlock in the 11th minute. The goal came courtesy of a Jordan Lazenbury free kick from 25 yards which bounced awkwardly in front of the visiting goalkeeper and was only pushed upwards into the roof of the net.
West made excellent use of the momentum that the goal gave them, and ten minutes later their lead was doubled. This time it was Andy Briggs who got himself on the scoresheet against his old club, and he did so by picking up a through ball and placing his shot beyond the onrushing goalkeeper and in off the far post. That goal put West in the driving seat, and they kept that two-goal lead in tact going into the half-time break.
The visitors undoubtedly came out stronger in the opening stages of the second half and West were restricted to very little of the ball immediately after the restart. Bury failed to carve out any clear-cut opportunities though, and West eventually sprang back into life to counter a relentless spell of pressure from the league leaders. Jordan Lazenbury very nearly added a third from close range, and Lewis Billingsley had a curling effort tipped over by Bury goalkeeper Mitchell Allen.
Despite this, there was still a lingering sense among West supporters that the game hadn't quite been put beyond reach. Those concerns were smashed to pieces in the 66th minute. West won a corner in front of a boistrous Shed end, and the cross was flicked towards the back post before Lewis Billingsley was on hand to tap in the goal that took any remaining tension out of the game.
The final nail in Bury's coffin was then emphatically hammered in by Victor Abadaki with ten minutes remaining. His was the pick of the day's goals, and it came when he received the ball on the left and somehow wriggled past a handful of Bury defenders before lifting the ball over the goalkeeper to round off a scintilating West performance.
The final ten minutes were a formality and the faultless West defence became the first of any club to deny Bury in a league game this season. It was an afternoon to remember for everyone associated with the club, and the result was undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching in West's recent history. It kept the club comfortably inside the playoff places going into a quarter-final of the Manchester Premier Cup and an opportunity to reach the last 16 of the FA Vase.
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We spoke to West manager Paul Marshall after the match:
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Today’s @burtonrdbrewing Supporter of the Match is Luke and he chose Tom Murray as Player of the Match
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— West Didsbury & Chorlton (@wdcfc.bsky.social) January 4, 2025 at 6:10 PM
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Browse through our wonderful match galleries, from club photographers:
Nathan Ashmall, Chris Michell, Jack Todd and Christina Bowett.
