Key details

? West v Wythenshawe Town
? Tuesday 6th August 2019, 7.45pm
? Brookburn Road, Chorlton, M21 8FE
? NWCFL First Division South
? £5 adults / £3 concessions / free for under-12s

West v Wythenshawe Town is a fixture that leaps off the page – not just as West’s first home game of the season, but also as a Manchester derby (just two and a half miles separate Brookburn Road and Ericstan Park as the crow flies) and a meeting between two teams with serious designs on promotion from the First Division South.

It may be too early to label Brad Cooke’s competitive home bow as a six-pointer, but both teams will be looking to make a significant early statement. And added spice, if it were needed, is provided by a frequent exchange of players in recent seasons.

The season so far

West made a perfect start to life in the First Division South with a 4-0 rout of Eccleshall, but Town endured a far more difficult opening day as they went down 2-1 at home to Sandbach United, conceding an 89th minute winner in front of the division’s highest crowd of the day (153).

Connections

Ben Steer boomeranged back to Brookburn Road after spending the 2018-19 season in Baguley, while Ashley Leather made the opposite journey, making 17 appearances in a memorable West spell before finishing the season back at Town.

Meanwhile, defender Nia Bayunu played 26 times for West prior to his move to Ericstan Park, and played alongside Chris Middleton in 2018-19 before Middleton returned to M21 at the start of this campaign.

Last time we met

This will be the first competitive meeting between the sides in the NWCFL era, although we did travel to Ericstan Park for a July 2018 friendly – Steer and an own goal securing a 2-1 win for the visitors.

Prior to that, you have to go all the way back to April 2011 for the last time we faced Town – a 3-1 win at Brookburn Road as the home side marched towards the Manchester League Division One title.

Other fixtures

Monday 5th August
Maine Road v Abbey Hey
Stockport Town v Cheadle Town

Tuesday 6th August
Alsager Town v Sandbach United
New Mills P-P Cheadle Heath Nomads
St Martins v Ellesmere Rangers
Vauxhall Motors v Barnton
Wythenshawe Amateurs v Cammell Laird

Wednesday 7th August
Eccleshall v Oswestry Town
Stone Old Alleynians v Abbey Hulton United