Category: Club News

PREVIEW: AFC Fylde (A)

Ramsbottom United travel to the Fylde coast for this the latest instalment of “The biggest game in the club’s history”!

The two sides battled the conditions at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium last Tuesday and produced a magnificent game of football that will long live in the memory of the 743 supporters who turned out on a miserable night.

They were certainly rewarded as the Rams twice came from two goals down to eventually take the lead before a late equaliser from the visitors saw the game end 5-5, with much attention around the footballing world focussed on it.

The Rams have now scored sixteen goals in their last three matches, although the momentum was thwarted on Saturday when their home game in the League against Newcastle Town was postponed due to the state of the pitch.

AFC Fylde, meanwhile, undertook the long trip to Maidstone United and returned with a point as the log-jam at the top of the National League shows no sign of evaporating.

So both teams will regard this Trophy replay as something they could have done without, as promotion remains the main aim, but the prestige of a run in the FA’s biggest non-league knock-out tournament has certainly raised the stakes with the possibility of a home match against either Carshalton Athletic or recent Football League side Barnet awaiting the winner in the Quarter-Final.

Whatever the result tomorrow, this Ramsbottom United team deserves all the plaudits for smashing through the club’s records, and a healthy following is expected at Mill Farm for a game that, should it be half as good as the one last week, will be well worth watching.

Category: Club News

PREVIEW: AFC Fylde (H)

After the disappointing postponement due to snow and ice on Saturday, it’s fingers crossed that the game can go ahead although concerns over the state of the pitch mean that there will be an inspection on Tuesday lunch-time.

The winners of the tie will host the winners of the Carshalton Athletic v Barnet replay in the quarter final of non-league’s most prestigious knock-out competition.

The Rams are in fine form. Having famously knocked out higher league opposition Weymouth on the south coast in the last round, the two subsequent league games have seen the team victorious by the high margins of 5-0 and 6-0, and although the opponents are from the top tier of non-league football, the team will be relishing the challenge.

And quite a challenge it will be. AFC Fylde are currently riding high in the National League as they chase the target set by owner David Haythornthwaite when he took over the then-named Kirkham and Wesham in 2007, of reaching the Football League by 2022.

Many scoffed at the suggestion, but they now have three years to gain that final promotion to lead them into the EFL, after racing through the leagues from the early days of the West Lancs League.

The odds are very much in favour of the visitors to the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, but cup football has a habit of producing shock results.

Can this be one of them?

We’ll have to wait and see and hope that the town of Ramsbottom gets behind it’s local side.

If the tie is level after 90 minutes, there will be a replay at AFC Fylde the following Tuesday.

Category: Club News

PHOTOS: GNE 0 Rams 5

Photos from yesterday's 5-0 win vs Glossop North End, taken by Frank Crook



Category: Club News

MATCH OFF (Sat 9/2)

Today's match vs Newcastle Town has been called off due to a Waterlogged pitch
Category: Club News

THE RAMS – POETRY IN MOTION!

It would seem that Ramsbottom United’s record-breaking run in the FA Trophy has registered in some unlikely places.

Reaching the Third Round proper (last 16) has really caught the imagination, as the east Lancashire club is the only representative of the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League still in contention for a trip to Wembley should a place in the final be realised.

Before that, there is the little matter of a game against AFC Fylde, three divisions higher and chasing a place in the Football League.

So the game at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium on Saturday (2nd February) really is a David v Goliath contest, with the Rams hoping to produce a cup shock and gain a place in the quarter-finals.

The previous round (the furthest the club had ever reached) saw Southern League big boys Weymouth make the long journey north. Expecting to return home triumphant, the Dorset side were stung by a last gasp equaliser by the Rams which necessitated a 550 mile round trip to Weymouth the following Tuesday for the replay.

More in hope than expectation, a fearless band of seventeen supporters made the arduous trip to support the team, and returned joyfully with a 3-1 victory under their belts, much to the disapproval of the frustrated home fans. Hence the game against AFC Fylde.

Inspired by the progress made by “Little ol’ Rammy”, a local poet promised that should the team win on the south coast, he would pen a special tribute in the form of a poem dedicated to the club.

Following the fine win, that’s exactly what PAUL JENKINS did.

Here's what Paul said regarding writing the poem: “Sometimes my job is just BRILLIANT and Saturday was no exception. To big up the club in anticipation of what’s arguably one of Ramsbottom United’s biggest ever games (vs AFC Fylde FA Trophy 3rd round - it’s a BIG deal) I was invited down to the Riverside to scribe a new piece. Such an honour to be asked to write for something right at the very centre of our town's community.

“Here’s the result - a tribute to those who brave the cold each week to watch people who aren’t earning millions and surprisingly don’t spend 90 minutes rolling around on the floor.

“If you’re local to Rammy - come on down and show your support next Saturday 2nd Feb at 3pm. Let’s pack the place out!”



Have you not heard the poem? Find it below



Category: Club News

PREVIEW: Glossop North End (a)

After the euphoria of the tremendous FA Trophy victory away at Weymouth on Tuesday night, it’s a swift return back to the bread-and-butter of League action as the Rams face another away trip, this time a little closer to home, with a visit to Glossop North End.

Unusually the Hillmen find themselves in a relegation battle, sitting third from bottom with just three league wins all season, and just one of them at Surrey Street.

For Rams boss Chris Willcock, it’s a return to the club he not only took to Wembley in the FA Vase Final, but for whom he oversaw promotion from the North West Counties League to the Evo-Stik during his successful stint there.

Any old friendships will be cast aside as the Rams prepare to shed any feelings of complacency as they will face a side fighting for their lives and looking to bring the Rams down a peg or two after that win on Tuesday.

Under Willcock, the Rams have yet to lose on their travels, but this will be quite a tester and it’s hoped that a large number of Rammy supporters will make the short journey down to the edge of Derbyshire to cheer the team on. The brave seventeen who made the long 550 mile round trip to the south coast would certainly appreciate a much bigger following this time round, and this is a game vital to both clubs as the home side battle to escape the drop whilst the Rams look towards regaining a place in the play-offs.

It has all the potential to be a real cracker!



Category: Club News

PREVIEW: Colwyn Bay (H)

Well what an entertaining ride the FA Trophy proved to be.

12 matches and over 1500 miles covered saw the Rams break all club records by reaching the last 16 (or 10 if you prefer coming into the replay) of the nationwide competition before bravely bowing out at EFL-chasing AFC Fylde on Tuesday night.

It’s been a great and profitable venture which will live in the memory for many years to come. But now, it’s a case of re-focussing back to the competition we all strived to win as we began the current campaign last August – The Evo-Stik West League.

This is the bread-and-butter, and minds now need to concentrate on making up the ground lost through the cup games.

Now lying in 8th position, games in hand could mean the Rams shooting into the play-off places, and a return to league action starts at the HWRS on Saturday when mid-table Colwyn Bay come to town.

Sitting below the Rams in tenth place, the Welshmen have played four games more, and, unusually, have a better away record than home. Five wins on their own soil compare to six on their travels, so they are obviously unaffected by the lengthy trips they have to make.

For the Rams, it’s a case of rolling up the sleeves and taking their recent fine league run further.

Amazingly, the Rams last league games have seen them win 6-0 against Skelmersdale and 5-0 away at Glossop, which is exactly the same score-line that the Bay won by at Glossop last Saturday.

Let’s hope for a bumper crowd as the players certainly deserve the backing of the town, and a three point haul will be most welcome as we look to an entertaining and possibly nail-biting last ten weeks of the season.

Category: Club News

GAME ON TONIGHT vs AFC FYLDE!

GAME ON! The pitch has passed its preliminary inspection but with rain forecast this afternoon the match referee will do a further inspection about 5pm to confirm that the pitch is still fit.
Category: Club News

PREVIEW: Skelmersdale United (H)

Ahead of the much-anticipated FA Trophy game at home to AFC Fylde, there’s a little matter of league action as the Rams welcome Skelmersdale United to the HWRS.

The top of the table is becoming rather congested, which is making for a fascinating campaign. Atherton Collieries currently sit aloft with up to nine clubs chasing them. One of course, is Ramsbottom United in amongst the challenging bunch, and currently sitting in eighth place but with games in hand over most of the sides.

On paper, this is a home banker, for old foes Skem, are experiencing troubled times.

Kicked out of their ground and sharing with Prescot Cables, events on the pitch are just as depressing. The famous old club have won just one league game all season, and sit adrift of the pack on bottom spot with just nine points, looking almost inevitably like relegation certainties.

However, these are the “banana-skin” games, where complacency can often come back to bite.

Such could have been the case at struggling Glossop North End last weekend, but manager Chris Willcock ensured that no such downfall would become the team, and they returned from Derbyshire on the back of an impressive, and well-deserved 5-0 win.

Such a performance at home would be welcomed as the battle for promotion looks like extending to the very last day of the season. Goal difference may well come into the equation, and Ruben Jerome will be available again having served the last of his three match suspension last Saturday.

The Rams enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture in November, and a similar outcome this Saturday would do no harm to the team’s confidence ahead of the Trophy game.

Category: Club News

RAMS THROUGH TO the LAST 16 of FA TROPHY

The full time whistle has just blown at the Bob Lucas Stadium and the Rams have beaten Weymouth 3-1, Goals from Eddie Moran & Jason Carey sealed the win for the Rams in the second half

The Rams will now face AFC Fylde in the Last 16 on Feburary 2nd!

Match Report from Richard Issacs & Match Photos from Frank Crook will be online tomorrow

And on behalf of everyone at Ramsbottom United Football Club we'd like to thank the football world for your support this evening