Key details

Saturday 24th November 2018
3pm
Brookburn Road, Chorlton, Manchester, M21 8FE
NWCFL Premier Division
£5 adults / £3 concessions / free for under-12s

Match preview

As West approach the halfway point of the league season, a glimpse at the Premier Division table should be enough to underline the importance of this final weekend home game before Christmas.

A West win and a five-goal swing would be enough to winch Steve Settle’s side out of the drop zone – but if Winsford take all three points back to Cheshire then the gap between West and safety becomes a chasm. The term ‘six-pointer’ has rarely been more apt.

West’s recent mini-revival was brought to a crashing halt on Tuesday night as they were hammered 5-0 at Ashton Athletic. There were few positives to take from that miserable trip to Wigan, but West do at least have a good recent record against this weekend’s visitors – they have won all five league fixtures since September 2015, though Winsford did knock West out of the League Cup last season.

Winsford also had an upturn in form snuffed out in midweek – they fell 3-0 at home to Congleton Town, although two of the Bears’ goals arrived in stoppage time. That defeat followed a significant 1-0 win against Whitchurch Alport last weekend, a result which was enough to exit the bottom two at West’s expense. Like West, the Blues have struggled for goals so far this season and have seen their top scorer move on. Peter Watling, an August signing from Abbey Hey, scored nine goals in 13 appearances but has since departed for New Mills.

At a glance

Recent meetings