Report by Phil Bennett

This Saturday we travel to Buxton. Travelling there in September means that there will be a good chance of no snow, but who knows. Buxton lays claim to be the highest market town in England, with most of the town at around 1,000ft above sea level with the Market Place at 1,030ft, which is 314metres in new money. So, does playing at the high altitude have any effects on the matches.?

Last season they won more games on their travels in attaining 64 points to finish 8th, which included our 1-1 draw at Silverlands and the oh to be forgotten 4-1 they inflicted on us at Marston Road. Perhaps that is why they have invested in a new artificial playing surface which so far appears to be paying dividends.

Due to the new pitch being laid there were some delays which saw them reversing their early home games, to the extent that this Saturday is their first Saturday home game. There 2 home games to date have seen 1-0 wins against Hyde on Bank Holiday Monday with a crowd of 712, but a crowd of 402 for the midweek win over Mickleover. Their 5 away games have seen them amass 6 points with a win and three draws. They are 3 places and one point above Stafford Rangers in 6th place.

The league table therefore suggests a close encounter, as like us they are on a good run of results. Their last two fixtures saw an emphatic 5-2 FA Cup win at Barwell and in midweek they were leading 2-0 at Bamber Bridge but succumbed to two late penalties.

All in all, another tricky away fixture for the Rangers and if you at a loose end then take the scenic route over the Roaches to see Rangers take on Buxton.

Buxton Football Club website

As both ourselves and Witton won our respective FA Cup games on Saturday we now have this home fixture with our Cheshire rivals Witton Albion. The start to their season closely mirrors ours as their first two away games were distance fixtures at South Shields and Whitby. The similarity stays as you look at current league positions. We have identical records of 1 home win, 2 draws and no defeats, and away results of 1 win, no draws and 2 defeats. The only thing to separate us is that our goals scored of 7 is better than Witton’s 5 and “S” comes before “W” in the alphabet. Therefore, this makes for an interesting fixture between the two teams.

People often ask about the name of Witton considering they play in Northwich. History tends to show that the district of Witton, situated in the mid-Cheshire salt town of Northwich, had several different teams using the name ‘Witton’ as a prefix. The name Witton Albion itself can be traced back to a match played on October 26th, 1887 and is thought to be due to a group of Northwich Victoria players, officials and supporters who chose to break away from the Vic’s in protest of the clubs’ decision to become a ‘professional’ side.
Witton Albion claim to be the only non-league football club with its own museum. Built and maintained by volunteers, the museum traces the history of Witton Albion back to the nineteenth century. Famous players, matches and successes are remembered through a series of photographs, memorabilia, old programmes and press cuttings.

A notable Stafford Rangers game played at their old Central Ground was on 4th May 1985 when, in front of a crowd of 1,013, no doubt swelled by the travelling fans, they witnessed a 1-0 win from a Martin Hanchard penalty, and at full time Kevin Mooney was presented with the Northern Premier League Trophy. In 1989 Witton sold their ground to Sainsbury’s and moved to Wincham on the outskirts of the town building a new modern Stadium. One of the first games on the new ground was our visit in a pre-season friendly and our striker Terry Knight scored the first goal at their new ground.

So, get yourself down to Stafford Rangers this Tuesday, for what should be an evenly contested fixture.

Preview report by Phil Bennett