Tuesday 23rd October 2018 (7.45pm), NWCFL Premier Division
West v Irlam
Brookburn Road, Chorlton, M21 8FE
£5 adults / £3 concessions / free for under-12s

A run of three home games in eight days begins with a fixture that, even at this early juncture, could be described as a six-pointer.

Near-neighbours West and Irlam have had more than geography in common this season – just one place and three points separates the teams on the fringes of the Premier Division relegation zone, and both suffered defeat against lower-division opposition in the Macron Cup at the weekend.

West’s defeat on penalties to Oswestry Town was their fifth loss in a row and with the visit of City of Liverpool looming large next Saturday, three points against Irlam is of the upmost importance. West won 6-0 at Silver Street in September 2016, but Irlam have claimed the spoils in all three of the following fixtures including a 5-3 win at Brookburn Road last November.

Irlam have faltered following a promising start to the season – they only lost one of their opening ten games in all competitions and beat higher-division Prescot Cables in the FA Cup, but an exit to Dunston UTS in the next round on 22 September was followed by a further five-game winless streak.

At a glance

Previous meetings

10/11/2017 – West 3 (Bailey 2, Tinker) Irlam 5
1/9/2017 – Irlam 3 West 0
7/10/2016 – West 1 (A. Woods) Irlam 2