Longridge Town (A) \\\ Matchday Info
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Preview
West travel north to Longridge Town this Saturday with the aim of picking up a first league win in six matches. It comes after a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Irlam in the week that leaves West languishing in 20th place.
It will undoubtedly be West's toughest test so far this season as Longridge sit fourth in the table, having won six of their eight league games. Only Chadderton and Charnock Richard - both still unbeaten themselves - have defeated the Ridge and last weekend they beat league leaders Ramsbottom United 3-1.
If that wasn't enough cause for concern, they hit Pilkington for six in midweek, coming back from St Helens with a 6-3 win. Matthew Van Wyk scored four for the Ridge - all of coming in a 24 minute spell - and he's registered seven for the season in total. Incredibly, he's not the first Longridge player to score four goals in a match this season - Owen Watkinson achieved the same impressive feat in the 8-0 demolition of Colne last month. The departure of last season's top scorer Morgan Homson-Smith to Bury seems to have been quickly forgotten.
This will curiously be Longridge’s 10th home match of the season; they have only played away from home twice in all competitions. One positive for fans to be mindful of is that West are still unbeaten on the road this season - having drawn all league games away from Brookburn Road, and won at Glossop in the FA Cup.
West have doubts over a number of players - not helped by new injuries against Irlam - but one positive is that Victor Abadaki’s suspension following his late dismissal does not come into effect in time for the weekend, meaning he's eligible to make the trip on Saturday.
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Longridge Town At A Glance
Home colours: All red
Change colours: All blue
Pitch surface: Grass
2023/24 position: 19th, NWCFL Premier
2023/24 average attendance: 229
Travelling distance: 41 miles
West away season round trip: 196 miles
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Form Guide
Longridge Town
WWLLWL (11th)
West
LWDWDL (14th)
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Past Meetings
Prior to last season, West had won both their competitive trips to Longridge Town - 1-0 in the FA Cup followed by 8-0 in the league - in the space of a month in the early stages of the 2022/23 season.
That record came to an abrupt end in January as West were decimated by the hosts on a crisp January afternoon. West had already lost five on the bounce going into that match, but the 5-1 defeat suffered on that day set a new low and represented a real nadir of the season.
The game seemed over at 3-0 but a Billy Matthews goal gave West renewed hope, which ultimately backfired as the Ridge scored twice on the counter to seal an emphatic win, with West's season unravelled at an ever-increasing rate.
The two meetings at Brookburn Road were high-scoring too, with a goal from near the halfway line from Dean Ing giving Longridge a share of the points in a 2-2 draw in April 2023, while a Ben Elliott hat-trick snatched a 4-3 win for West this time last year.
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Head to Head
Overall:
P5 W3 D1 L1 F16 A10
At Inglewhite Road:
P3 W2 D0 L1 F10 A5
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Browse through our wonderful match galleries, from club photographers:
Nathan Ashmall, Chris Michell, Jack Todd and Christina Bowett.
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