Whitby Town V Stafford Rangers Saturday 13th April 2019.

Whitby will be doing their annual Pay What You Like at the gate.

Approach to the ground

On entering Whitby from both the A169 & A171 roads, take the first fork and follow signs for West Cliff, Then turn Left at the Spar Shop/Garage,Go along Love Lane to the Junction of the A174, Turn right and the ground is 600 yards on the Left.

Safe travels to all heading to this match. 

On Sunday 17th March 2019 March Craig Fellows took part in the Stafford half marathon, he very kindly donated his sponsorship money to Stafford Rangers. We are extremely grateful for this; we would also like to thank all the people who sponsored Craig for their support.

Thanks also go to Shaun Reynolds for his fundraising efforts this week, raising money to make up for the loss of income due to the sad demise of North Ferriby United, our thanks also go to all the fans who have supported Shaun’s fundraising ideas. We hope to see you all on Saturday.

Due to the demise of North Ferriby we have a blank Saturday, and therefore hope that our relegation threatened rivals draw a blank too.

Keep a look out for Bamber Bridge v Scarborough, Nantwich v Mickleover and Witton v Workington. Do not forget Workington v Mickleover on Tuesday 2nd. So, our next game is Tuesday 9th April when we travel to top of the table Farsley who lead South Shields by a point. Remember South Shields come to us on 20th April, so we could have a say in the promotion battle if we can repeat our heroic win at the then top of the table Warrington last month.

However, next Saturday Farsley travel to Buxton who are eyeing up a playoff spot themselves, while South Shields entertain Hednesford. It means we may not be playing the top of the league, but in either event expect a tough game as Farsley have only lost twice at home in the league this season to, Hednesford and Witton. If Hednesford can do it then why can’t we, especially if we replicate our second half performance against Hyde.

Sadly, a long midweek journey to Yorkshire may not see the 12th man in a strong position. Last Saturday Farsley had a crowd of 358 for their home game with Stalybridge in the “Celtic derby”. It may be jealousy but if the we were top of the league for this fixture, I would expect the 348 to be our travelling support. If Farsley do gain promotion they may need bigger gates to ensure they do not repeat the scene of 10 years ago,

We have come across Farsley Celtic before, but that side came to an unfortunate end as they entered Administration in June 2009 whilst in the Blue Square North, failing fulfill its fixtures and eventually being expelled from that league early in 2010. Our record with that team was a 0-1 away defeat on opening day 2007 and a home defeat 0-2 in the March. Both sides were relegated from the Conference and met again on the opening day in 2008 but we recorded a 1-0 win but lost 4-0 away in December. 2009/10 saw us draw 2-2 at home but on-going financial difficulties saw the Administrators appointed with the club’s results expunged in March 2010 when the Administrator prohibited the club from fulfilling its fixtures, one of them being our away fixture.

One funny anecdote from the old Farsley was that for the segregated away end at half time two guys lifted out the turnstile and allowed fans out to purchase cans of beer out of a car boot.

Farsley AFC were formed in June 2010 from the embers of Farsley Celtic F.C and were placed in the NCEL Premier Division for their first season which turned out to be highly successful with a league and cup double recorded, it appears mainly due to many of the former players remaining loyal to the club. Promotion to the Northern Premier League Division 1 in 2011/12 saw them secured 4th spot but they failed in the play offs. Consolidation at step 4 then continued until season 2016/17 when they finished runners up to Lancaster and promotion secured. Last season Farsley finished 4th and did the double over us. This season they came to Marston Road in October for the league game and went home with a 3-1 win. They also beat us in the Integro Cup to secure a final spot.

For the hardy traveller the Throstle Nest ground has a post code of LS28 5BE. For those going by train you may forget it as you not get home till Wednesday.

Games played on 9th April this century

2005       Worcester City    H             0-0          Conference North

2007       Aldershot             A             2-4          Conference North

2011       Workington          A             0-2          Conference North

2012       Nantwich             H             1-1          Northern Premier League

This Saturday the leagues draw specialists take our 13 drawn games into the tigers Den of Hyde who in their 18 home games have only drawn Two. Parity however sees them win 8 and 8 losses. Looks odds on for yet another draw, but you never know, so let’s get to Hyde and help the Rangers improve on our illustrious run.

Historically, Hyde FC will always be remembered for the record 26-0 FA Cup defeat suffered at the hands of Preston North End in 1887. Hyde are nicknamed the Tigers, a name adopted at the end of the 1960s when they were founder members of the Northern Premier League. In 1986, Hyde took the radical step of selling Ewen Fields to Tameside Council so that a synthetic Baspograss pitch could be laid. This was in the days of very hard synthetic pitches, nothing like todays examples so grass was reinstated in 1995. Hyde won the NPL title in 2004-05 giving them promotion to the National League North. In 2010, Hyde agreed a deal for Manchester City’s elite development squad to use Ewen Fields, the money secured the club’s immediate future but a decision to revert to the old name of Hyde FC, and to stop wearing red shirts, divided the fans. 2011-12 saw Hyde promoted to the top flight of non-league football beating clubs such as Wrexham, Hereford United, Luton Town and Grimsby Town. Unfortunately, Hyde were unable to continue competing at such a high level and suffered back-to-back relegations which have taken them back to the NPL, and eventually into Northern Premier League Division 1. Hyde secured funding from Tameside Council in March of 2016 with the investment used to help fund a programme to transform the ground and its connections with the local community by laying 3G pitch. The 2017/18 season was one of the best seasons the club has experienced in recent years, and with the restructure of the non-league Hyde gained an automatic promotion from 3rd place.

We will be looking to avenge our 3-1 defeat from October. That was our third successive 3-1 home defeat, but our recent transformation could be due to the fact that of that 16-man squad, only 9 remain.

Car travellers need to set sat naves to SK14 5PL with a journey time around 1.5 hours. Train journey times are about 1 hour 40 minutes with a return fare around £25. You change at Manchester Piccadilly and need Newton for Hyde station which is about half a mile from Ewan Fields.

Games played on 30th March this century

2002 Kings Lynn H 3-2 Southern League
2013 Witton Alb A 1-3 Northern Premier League

Due to a number of players making their own way to Hyde there are a few spaces on the team coach which we can offer to supporters.
If you would like to travel on the team coach to this match please contact Ken, Roy or Carol on 01785 602430.

Cost will be £12.00 per head.