Eccleshall FC vs New Mills FC by Wayupna Media

The Eagles 1971

Eccleshall vs New Mills FC

Eccleshall FC Matchday Programme 2022/23 NWCFL Division One South Fixture

SATURDAY 15TH APRIL KICKOFF 3:00 PM Issue 24 - Final issue of the 2022/23 season

Eccleshall Football Club - Season 2022/23 Pershall Park, Chester Road, Eccleshall, Staffordshire. ST21 6NE

Telephone 01785 851351 (match days only) 1971

Legal Entity: Company limited by shares - Eccleshall Football Club Limited (c/n 13365015). Subsidiary of Eccleshall FC Sports Foundation Limited (c/n 13359263) - company limited by guarantee.

Club Officials:

Chairman: Neil Washington Vice-Chairman: Antony Johnson Secretary: Jim Tunney Treasurer: David Heelis Programme Editor: Shaun Rogers Clubhouse Management: Bill Grinham Club Welfare Officer: Jim Tunney Commercial Manager: Media Officer: Shaun Rogers

Directors

Neil Washington, Antony Johnson, Paul Cox, David Heelis, Bill Grinham, Richard Marsh, Jim Tunney.

Committee

John Martin, Colin Leese, Sid Kelly, Ernie Jackson, Diane Washington, Harvey Collins, Liz Leese, Andy Gough, Ben Gamble, Julie Clews, Barry Blenheim, Laura Sharratt, Tony Woolrich Fundraising Sub-Committee Neil Washington, Antony Johnson, John Martin, Jim Tunney, Colin Leese First Team Management: Liam Kelly, Nathan Wilkes, Russell Rowley, Colin Carruthers, Harry Pickering, Laura Machin Junior Section Chairman: Andy Gough Secretary: Gareth Davies U10s Kieron Healey U13s Dave Hislop, Gaz Davis U14s John Edensor, Nick Mobley U16s Paul Heler, Mark Croxton, Henry Taylor Members of the North West Counties League, Midland Junior Premier League, North Staffs Junior Youth League, Mid Staffs Junior League.

Affiliated to Staffordshire FA Eccleshall FC is an England Accredited Club

Chairman's Season Review Hello everyone, and welcome to our last game of the 2022/23 North West Counties football league season. I am an immensely proud Chairman of Eccleshall Football Club. It is an honour to have been part of this season in which we end in the highest position in our league for many years, and for achieving impressive results in the FA Vase. I would like to thank the First team management for never giving up, always striving for improvement, and for their commitment and professionalism throughout the season. My personal congratulations and thanks to each player for their dedication to the club. I do hope that you will all remain at Eccleshall Football Club, to enable our progress to continue into the next season. For those of you who wish to leave us this season, I thank you and wish you only the best. My special thanks go as always to our resolute volunteers and supporters who strive tirelessly to keep our club going. We have become a family, and it is often commented on by other teams and their supporters what a lovely club Eccleshall football club is. The Junior section of our club has also grown in strength, I hope they continue their path to attaining great results. My thanks to the Junior teams Chairman, management, players, family, and supporters. I have the pleasure in welcoming a ladies’ team to the club and wish them well for next season. During the closed season, the club will continue our pathway to achieve the vision set out in the club’s five-year plan. I look forward to seeing everyone next season and hope that you have a fantastic summer.

Neil Washington

Neil Washington Chairman Eccleshall Football Club 1971

THE DUGOUT VIEW Good afternoon and welcome to everyone for the final game of the season at home to New Mills. It’s been a long season (49 games to be exact) and we will be looking to finish on a high. We were excellent in the reverse fixture up in Derbyshire against one of the best sides in the division, so will be looking for more of the same today. The lads come into the game on the back of a superb Bank Holiday Monday win away at Ellesmere Rangers. To manage the windy conditions and the poor quality pitch the way we did is a credit to the lads and shows the maturity that has grown in the group as the season has gone on. Their willingness to do the tougher side of football has paid off yet again and our quality showed in key moments. As the season draws to an end I can only sing the highest praises of this year's squad. The highest points total in the club's history since being part of the North West Counties setup as well as the club's furthest run in the FA Vase since 1992 is a remarkable achievement as well as the opportunity to get the club's first top 10 finish since the 2010/2011 season. I’m sure myself and the rest of the management staff will receive plaudits for these achievements but I want every bit of the praise to go to my players. There have been bumps along the way but in 18 months we have risen from second bottom (looking certain for relegation) to a team daring to dream of bigger and better things than just a top-10 finish. This season was always going to be about improving standards on and off the pitch and we are already ahead of where I asked them to be at this point. If we can keep the boys together I’m confident we can be even more competitive next season. As the season comes to an end it’s time to thank the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make mine and the player's jobs so much easier. Thank you to our chairman Neil whose faith and belief in what I’m trying to do has been a joy to work with. Jim whom I have no doubt is the best secretary in the league (I don’t make his life easy.) The rest of our wonderful committee and volunteers who all play an important role at the club, your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Not forgetting our sponsors who in the current financial climate are appreciated more than ever. My last and most important thank you goes to our supporters who I’m sure have enjoyed this season as much as any in recent times. I promised you a hard working and committed young side when I came in and I’m sure you’ll all agree that it’s something we’ve produced. Thank you for your wonderful support and I hope to see you all in the clubhouse after the game for a final beer of the season.

Liam Kelly www.eccleshallfc.co.uk

#Eccy #FlyWithUs

Eccleshall FC Club History

There has been football in the town of Eccleshall for over 100 years but very little archive material is available from those early years. However, we do know that Eccleshall Football Club was reformed in 1971 with the team being made up of locals and staff from the Eccleshall Secondary School which also provided training and playing facilities. At that time the club was called Eccleshall Old Boys Football Club. In 1974, the team won their first trophies; the Mid-Staffs 3rd Division Cup and were also runners-up in that division, gaining promotion to Division 2. Old Boys was dropped from the club’s name and in 1979 the first team joined the Staffordshire County League (North) and a third team was formed. In 1981, with the help of grants, fund raising and a loan, a four-acre field was purchased at Pershall. Manager Ted Dickinson was the driving force behind the fund raising. In the same year, the first team moved into the Premier Division of the Staffordshire County League (North). Work began converting the field into a football ground. In 1982, a building was purchased from British Telecom and, with a lot of hard work over the next couple of years on the building, car park and pitch, Pershall Park, as it was christened, was ready. In the 1983-84 season, the first team won the Staffordshire County League Premier Division Championship, the Premier Division Cup and the May Bank Cup. During the 1989-90 season, the first team won the Staffordshire Senior League title and the 1990-91 season saw the club entering the FA Vase for the first time. In 1991-92, the club reached the FA Vase 2nd round having gone through all the preliminary stages but lost at home to Wisbech Town 2-0 in front of a then record crowd of 368. The first team fared well in the league in the mid to late 90’s, finishing 3rd (97-98), 6th (98-99), 2nd (99-00) and 3rd (00-01). Eccleshall reserves won the Staffordshire County League (North) in 1999-2000 moving to the West Midlands (Regional) League Division One (North) for the start of the following season. In the 2001-2002 season, the first team won the Springbank Vending Midland League Championship.

In 2002-2003 Eccleshall’s first team joined the North West Counties Football League after securing both the Springbank Vending Midland League title and Staffordshire FA Vase. In probably the most successful season in the club’s history, our second team were also Staffordshire County League champions and our Under 18s won the Sentinel Cup. For good measure, our Under 16s won the Staffordshire FA County Cup, the Mid-Staffordshire League Cup and the Sentinel Shield. Regarding the Sentinel competitions, the last time a club had won both trophies in the same season had been some twenty five years previously – a great achievement. The 2012-13 season marked the completion of 10 years in the North West Counties League and saw the club achieve its highest ever placing of sixth in Division 1. In the 2017- 18 season our Under17s had a very successful season, winning the Potteries Junior Youth League Cup, Staffordshire FA Youth Cup and finishing runners up in the league. Over the years since 1981-82, significant work has been undertaken to develop both the ground and the facilities to the standard which the club now enjoys. This includes enclosing the ground, the installation of floodlights, building a covered seated stand and pitch levelling. In 2017/18, the clubhouse was refurbished and upgraded with the addition of a treatment room and a security system. Prior to the 2018/19 season, a new kitchen and refreshments bar was added. In 2019, a new toilet block was installed and, prior to the 2021/22 season, the team dugouts were replaced and more spectator improvements made. In readiness for the 2022/23 season and thanks to grant funding, all the existing 78 seats have been replaced with new ones in blue which compliment the club colours. Further developments are planned for the future. All of this has been achieved by a strong committee management team behind the scenes, a number of which have given many years of service to Eccleshall FC together with the addition of new members who are helping to take the club forward. The club has now added a number of junior teams as we look to develop a junior section. Our second pitch has been upgraded and improved to accommodate this. Again, thanks to grant funding, land behind the ground has been developed to allow for a further junior pitch to be added to our facilities. 2021 saw Eccleshall Football Club celebrate its 50th anniversary and, as can be seen from the above, much has been achieved over that time. We look forward to seeing what the future brings. We consider Eccleshall FC to be a friendly club and we look forward to welcoming you to Pershall Park in the future and hope you will enjoy the facilities and the football.

Eccleshall FC Club Honours

1973-74 Mid Staffs Div.3 Cup Winners 1973-74 Mid Staffs Div.3 Runners-up 1975-76 Mid Staffs Div.2 Cup Winners 1980-81 Staffs County (N) League Div.2 Champions 1981-82 Staffs County League (N) Premier Division Champions 1981-82 May Bank Cup Finalists 1982-82 May Bank Cup Winners 1982-83 Mid Staffs Div.2 Cup Winners 1983-84 Staffs County League (N) Premier Division Champions 1983-84 May Bank Cup Winners 1983-84 Staffs FA Vase Finalists 1984-85 Staffs FA Vase Finalists 1986-87 May Bank Cup Finalists 1987-88 Mid Staffs Borough Cup Finalists 1989-90 Staffs Senior League Champions 1999-00 Springbank Vending Midland League Runners-up 1999-00 Staffs County League Champions 2001-02 Springbank Vending Midland League Champions 2002-03 Springbank Vending Midland League Champions 2002-03 Staffs FA Vase Winners 2002-03 Staffs County League Champions 2002-03 Sentinel Cup Winners (under 18s) 2002-03 Sentinel Shield Winners (u/16’s) 2002-03 Leek Cup Finalists 2005-06 Staffs FA Vase Finalists 2017-18 Staffs FA Youth Cup Winners (Under 18s) 2017-18 Potteries Junior Youth Cup Winners (under 18s)

1971

Reformed 1971 Nickname The Eagles Ground Pershall Park Chester Road Eccleshall ST21 6NE Telephone 01785 851351 (Matchdays Only)

Record Attendances: League - 2,011 vs FC United 5.11.05 Cup - 475 vs Stoke City - Staffs FA Senior Cup 16/10/2019 Previous Leagues Mid Staffs League Staffs County League (N) North Staffs Alliance Midland League (formerly known as Staffs Senior league, Refuge Assurance Springbank Vending)

Proud members of

C F S L L I M NEW New Mills FC, based in the High Peak of Derbyshire, have continually been at the forefront of organised football in the area. The Club's home ground is regarded as one of the most picturesque in non-league football. Football has been played in New Mills since 1886. The Club first played in friendlies before joining The North Cheshire League and The Manchester League. The Club moved to their present home of Church Lane in 1922. After moving to The Cheshire League in 1974 the club struggled and by the early 1980's were forced to cease football activity. Local side Birch Vale and Thornsett FC were looking for a ground and soon they adopted the name of New Mills AFC and started progression via The Lancashire and Cheshire League and the Manchester League. New Mills re-joined The North West Counties League in 2004 (they were founding members in 1982). Under Tony Hancock the club enjoyed success, beginning with the NWCFL Second Division Trophy in 2007. The following season they won Division Two by ten points. 2008/09 saw them win the League Challenge Cup, but after a twenty one game winning run, promotion to The Evo-Stik League was denied by a last day defeat at AFC Fylde. 2009/10 saw The Millers finish runners-up to Newcastle Town who gained promotion to the Evo-Stik League after which Hancock resigned, former Mossley boss Ally Pickering taking over as caretaker. Pickering became full-time manager and 2010/11 proved third time lucky as New Mills achieved promotion to The Evo-Stik League The debut season in The Evo-Stik Northern Premier League was tough after being placed in Division One South, but the eventual position of ninth represented a respectable finish. After a mixed start to the 2012/13 campaign, Pickering was replaced by assistant Roy Soule, who guided them to a play-off position, losing to Trafford in the play-off semi-final. 2013/14 was a difficult season with a wet winter producing the inevitable March/April fixture backlog. The Club eventually ended in a mid-table position in Division One North.

2014/2015 proved tough for New Mills AFC. They finished in a relegation position but gained a reprieve. Soule resigned in the summer and was replaced by Keith Briggs who left the Club three weeks later replaced by his Assistant Andy Fearn. Fearn remained for seven games before resigning, being replaced by Garry Brown and assistant Paul Williams. Despite their previous success at Wythenshawe Town, they were unable to make the step up and the club mustered just three draws in the season gaining national media attention. The club found themselves back in the North West Counties League for the 2016/17 season but despite improvement Brown resigned early in the season, with Williams taking over. Williams was unsuccessful in making the step up from Assistant Manager and he was to leave the club before Christmas in 2016. Calum Sykes was appointed the new Manager and clinched the signings of a number of players that he had worked with at previous clubs giving the club solid foundations to build from moving forwards. Home form was good at the end of 2016/17 but away form remained disappointing and the club were relegated. Callum Sykes resigned in mid-November of the 2017/18 season to be replaced by his assistants, Gareth Cross and Nick Dowse and the club finished in 14th position. After another disappointing season which only saw the club mathematically safe from relegation after the penultimate match of the 2018/19 season, Paul Riley was appointed as Manager along with Darren McConnell and Nehru McKenzie as his management team for the 2019/20 season. Seven straight defeats at the start of the season saw Paul Riley’s team replaced by Mike Norton and David Birch in early September 2019. Both non-league legends in the Manchester area, Birch and Norton bought an immediate improvement in results and performances, and the club began to move up the table. Indeed by the time the season was curtailed by the Covid-19 outbreak The Millers were one of the form sides in the division and supporters were left to wonder how things may have gone had their side avoided the awful start to the campaign. A fine run in the Derbyshire Senior Cup saw Norton and Birch’s side reach the semi-finals knocking out Ilkeston Town and Derby County along the way, before they were narrowly edged out by Belper Town away from home. Following a further curtailed 2020-21 season, the Millers management team have retained the majority of their 2019/2020 players with a few exciting additions and with a young vibrant squad in place it is hoped that 2021-22 will see their side challenging at the top end of the table once again. In March 2020 New Mills AFC became New Mills Football Club, as the club changed entity to become a Company Limited by Guarantee and changed its name to New Mills FC.

Today's Opponents LEAGUE SEASON SO FAR P

PTS

+ 20

LEAGUE POSITION

CLEAN SHEETS

7 th

DISTANCE FROM PERSHALL PARK : 45.6 MILES IMAGE VIA NEWMILLSFC.COM / FRYERPIX

TOP SCORER 15 KYLE HAWLEY

Player Name

Appearances

Goals

Cards

Mom

Sub

Start

Sub

Red

Yellow

Vandis Akukwe

Joel Ankers

David Birch

Adam Blakeley

Lewis Bradley

Jake Brooks

Thomas Clare

Elliot Cooke

Chris Cordara-Soanes

Zachary Dearnley

Marcus Dibble

Tawab Djankpata

Aderemi Efunnuga

Michael Fish

Dylan Forth (GK)

Liam Greenwood

Raheem Hanley

Kyle Hawley

James Heatley

George Howarth

Pa Jenkins

James Kalu

Bradley Kay

Albern Kilgour

Reece Lyndon

Jordan Milne

Adam Muir

Michael Norton

Kyle Oakes

Aaron Opoku

Teddy Osipitan

Jack Parker

Oliver Parker

Finlay Phillips

Alexander Phillipson

Christopher Rogers

Ben Steer

Adam Stuart

Enoch Takpe

Richard Tindall

Emmanuel Udjor Omorogbe

Jack Wray

Jake Wright

NEW MILLS FC | PLAYER STATS 2022/23

Start

UNIT J BOONS INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, DERRINGTON LANE, ST18 9NQ

The definitive podcast covering the North West Counties Football League!

THE GAFFER

with

LIAM KELLY

We are here at the end of the season but let's take you back to pre-season last year when you and the squad returned, what were the goals you set and looking at the squad you had then to what will finish the season how much do you feel it has changed dynamically.

It was always about improving standards on and off the pitch if I’m honest. This club has been in too many relegation battles in recent seasons so our first target was to reach 40 points which we knew would keep us safe. I think with the quality of the side we’ve assembled as the seasons have gone on we had to set the bar higher and finishing in the top 12 soon became the target. I genuinely believe with the squad we’ve got now we would have enough to be a top 8 side. The start of the season I know you elude to it in your notes but it was a strong start unbeaten in 8 then we hit a few bumps and results dropped a little, do you think also that the number of games that got called off around the October-December period affected the teams results.

I’ve said many times that I think that the postponed games took a toll on us in the sense that we lost all momentum. We had lads in really good form then and the amount of missed games knocked the stuffing out of us. It also coincided with us finally losing in the FA Vase which perhaps we had a slight “hangover” from. It’s the price that consistent games suit us as we have now only lost 1 in 9 which shows what we are capable of when we do get momentum. The other side is that the backlog of fixtures playing catch up has caused more injury problems than I’ve ever incurred as a manager So before we look ahead, thinking back on this season one question I know we put to the players and I will put to you. What moment of this past season would you go back and change if you could and what moment this season had you saying, damn I made the right decision today.

Easy one for me to answer. The Stockport town game at home. I slightly changed how we set up and went with a different game plan to what we normally would do. Unfortunately, it was perhaps our worst performance and I was more than happy to take the blame for it. Looking back I should have had more faith in our usual setup. Thankfully the right decisions have outweighed the bad ones. I think the big one was at Hereford away in The FA Vase where I had a last minute change to the lineup literally 10 minutes before we arrived at the ground and I put Louis Downs into the 11. Louis went on to score a hat trick and we won the game on penalties.

THE GAFFER

with

As we chat, we still have one more game but have you and your management team already had an eye on looking ahead to the 23/24 pre season We certainly have. I’ve already planned a real good mix of friendlies with some tough tests against higher opposition. Recruitment wise we still think that there are 1/2 areas we can strengthen but we don’t need a big overhaul in the summer. The most important thing for me this summer is keeping the lads we have now together, then getting them fitter and stronger than they ever have been. I won’t lie, they’re in for a tough pre season this time.

Who from the current squad would you least like to attend an escape room with and why? Luke Lewis without a doubt. Not the smartest lad in the group and with too much energy he would drive me insane. Who is the worst dressed player? The worst dressed is Mitch Glover. Hoodie and baggie t-shirts on a night out but has the audacity to rip what I wear . If you are on a night out and miss your lift home which player would you call for a lift back home and why? Think I’d call Bento or Feeney, both Mr Reliable most likely Feeney as he’s not allowed to be out usually. Is there a player who you know will interrupt you during a team talk? It’s Mitch again, likes to think he knows best, but he doesn’t. Whats the best piece of help a player has offered this season to you from either the pitch or dugout? Feeney is often good for on field advice. Can’t think of any specifics but he’s usually my go to if I’m looking for reassurance about the game or tactics and whats the worst piece of help a player has offered this season to you? Luke Lewis is banned from giving advice or even thinking about decision making so anything that’s come out his mouth Is not good advice. Top player, but only when he doesn’t have to think.

0-2

MATCH 1971

REPORT

After their heavy defeat against Wythenshawe, Eccleshall travelled to Shropshire for their Easter Monday match against Ellesmere Rangers. Liam Kelly was forced into changes due to injury and unavailability, but Aidan Blaise returned to the starting line-up. Eagles were on the move very quickly and Ethan Stanton was tackled on the edge of the box. Rangers then had a spell on the attack in the first ten minutes. A neat Eagles move ended with Mitchell Glover heading over the bar. In reply, a powerful drive by William Evans was saved by Aaron Woolrich. Owen Lloyd then tried his luck, but his shot was well over. Both sides were cancelling each other out as the half moved on and, with the wind picking up, conditions were not helping the game. With half time approaching, Jordan Darlington put in a cross from the right which Rangers keeper Jack Boswell failed to collect and Jordan Flattley blazed over. It had been a half of few clear-cut chances.

HT: Ellesmere Rangers 0 Eccleshall 0 In an early move, Luke Lewis set up Glover and his shot was wide. In reply, Jordan Davies drove into the box and Woolrich made a good block with his legs to prevent a goal. Then, a break down the right by Lewis again found Glover but his shot was deflected for a corner which came to nothing. It was now Ellesmere’s turn to press forward, and they forced a couple of corners as both sides looked for the opening goal. Eagles finally broke the deadlock on 59 minutes when a pass through the middle found Josh Waite running on, and he slipped the ball past the advancing Boswell towards the net. With a defender running in, Lewis applied the finishing touch to force the ball over the line. The game now went up a notch and Eagles were taking more control. However, the home side pushed forward and a through ball went over Callum Feeney and Evans volleyed over when well-placed. Woolrich was then forced into a decent double-save to prevent an equaliser. Eagles increased their lead on 78 minutes when they were awarded a free kick outside the box. Glover stepped up and curled the kick around the wall past the diving Boswell to find the bottom corner of the net – a trademark effort worked several times over the season. Eccleshall had now taken control of the game and, on the balance of play, were worth their lead. Kelly brought George Woodroffe on for Glover and he was quickly involved on the flank. An Ellesmere free kick by Callum Greybrook was headed wide by Steven Hole before Dan Taylor was brought on for Darlington and James Sutton for Waite. The eagles played out the remaining time to pick up another valuable three points on the road.

FT: Ellesmere Rangers 0 Eccleshall 2 The win moved Eccleshall up to ninth place in the league and supporters will be wondering what might have been, had this level of consistency been applied earlier in the season. They will bring the curtain down on the campaign on Saturday when New Mills are the visitors to Pershall Park (3.00pm). Eagles: Woolrich, Darlington (Taylor), Dunn, Pickup, Blaise, Feeney, Glover (Woodroffe), Flattley, Waite (Sutton), Stanton, Lewis. Unused sub: Atton Referee: Mr Connor Thomson Attendance: 72

1971

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP Aaron Woolrich

22/23 Aiden Blaise

sponsored by Tony Woolrich & Andy Withey

Alexander Atton

Luke Lewis