There is no respite for the Shakers and the games keep coming! We follow our cracking 3-0 Emirates FA Cup victory at Blyth Spartans on Saturday by taking on local rivals Ramsbottom United at the Harry Williams Stadium in Rammy on Tuesday evening (kick-off 7.45pm).
At Blyth, second-half goals from Alex Cherera, Bebeto Gomes and Connor Pye saw off a team who have previously enjoyed many Cup successes and laid to rest a nearly 30-year-old ghost, by avenging Spartans two-nil victory at Gigg Lane in the same competition in 1995.
Highlights and post-match review is available on our YouTube channel (links below)
The victory extends our unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions. We are currently sixth in the North-West Counties Premier Division, having won six out of nine matches and drawn three.
The fact that we have played only nine games puts us at a short-term disadvantage compared with the clubs above us when it comes to the table – including The Rams, who are currently top with 26 points from 13 games.
We played Ramsbottom twice last season in the final flurry of matches which saw us narrowly miss promotion. We won 2-1 at home and drew 0-0 away, having earlier knocked them out of the Macron Cup with a win on penalties at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium in November.
It’s an early season top of the table clash and a derby at that! Full information is available below.
In Opposition – Ramsbottom United
Last season, the Rams finished 18th in the table, with 50 points from 46 matches. But they come into the game against Bury not only top-of-the-league with eight wins already, but also fresh from a 6-0 win at Burscough on Saturday.
Manager Steve Wilkes has seen a turnaround in fortunes at the club following that disappointing season last time out. They go into this first local derby with the Shakers in fine form and will be looking to come out on top in the league for the first time, after a defeat and draw last season.
Oumar Camara and Luke Sephton look to be the ones to watch, both with six-goals each so far this term. As well as Saturday’s heavy scoreline at Burscough, they have also dispatched the same team 4-0 earlier in the season, as well as defeating early pace-setters, FC St Helens and more recently, Padiham at the Ruby Civil Arena.
We head to the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium named after their owner, Harry Williams, who was on the committee which set up the club in 1966. They started life in the Bury Amateur League with Harry as manager – a position he held for 19 years. They later played in the Bolton Combination and the Manchester League before becoming a part-time professional club in the North-West Counties League in 1996.
Progression through into the Northern Premier League followed under the tutelage of joint-managers Bernard Morley and Anthony Johnson from 2009, something that Chris Wilcock continued when in position from 2017 with chances to progress further slipping through the fingers in sometimes unfortunate circumstances.
Wilcock left for rivals at the time, Workington Town, in 2021 and the club was then relegated back into the NWCFL for the start of the 2023-24 season.
Tickets
This game is ALL TICKET for AWAY Supporters – click HERE to purchase.
Travel & Parking
Address: Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Acre Bottom, Ramsbottom, Bury. The club doesn’t have a postcode, nearest being BL0 0BS. (WhatThreeWords – ///meanest.spouse.putty
Public Transport: Services 472, 474 and B1 depart from Bury Interchange and offer frequent reliable service. X41 express service runs from Manchester to Accrington, stopping in Ramsbottom.
Nearest train: The East Lancs Railway station is adjacent to the ground, but no services will be running during the lead up to the game.
Driving:
From South: M66 (North) to J1. Take A56 towards Ramsbottom. After 1 mile, turn left at traffic lights down Bury New Road. Follow road into town centre, and turn left immediately before railway level crossing. Ground at end of road.
From North: Leave the A56 (Edenfield by-pass) at start of M66. Follow signs for Ramsbottom into town centre. Turn left at traffic lights onto Bridge Street. Turn right immediately after railway level crossing. Ground at end of road.
Parking: The car-park will be strictly limited to players, management, match officials & club officials. All spectators will need to park either in the town centre or on neighbouring streets.
Ground Facilities: Inside the stadium is a Tea Bar serving pie and peas, confectionery and hot and cold drinks, with proper mugs! Cans of Beer, Lager and Cider are also available inside the stadium.
Freedom of movement around the stadium offers standing both open air and under cover, and covered seating, with no restrictions of movement.
Match Coverage & Live Stream
If you are unable to make the game, we’ll have all the live coverage across our media platforms.
Live Stream: For this game, we will have no live stream. Keep up-to-date with all our video content via the club’s YouTube Channel. Click to subscribe and never miss highlights and match reaction across the season.
Audio Commentary: Roch Valley Radio will be providing commentary for this game. Click here ahead of kick-off to listen live. Audio commentary will be provided for every game of the season, so you will never miss a piece of the action.
Social Media: Our team will also bring you in-depth text commentary via the club ‘MatchDay Live‘ Twitter feed, with team news and half time and full time updates available also on Facebook and feel like you are there with our match galleries and imagery available over on Instagram.
Whatever the weather, wherever you are across the globe, we have you covered.
Up the Shakers!
