Saturday 5th August 2023, the day that the world’s oldest national football competition, The FA Cup, returned to Gigg Lane. With The Shakers as the away side! In a turn of events that saw the match being moved to Bury we welcomed Uttoxeter to town as the hosts.
Being the away team didn’t seem to dampen the spirits with a phenomenal 2,903 turning up to cheer The Shakers on to a resounding 4-1 victory. Goals from Benito Lowe, Sean Higgins and a calmly slotted-home penalty from Connor Comber in added-time at the end of the game ensured the Shakers passage into the Preliminary Round and an away trip to Charnock Richard on the 19th August. You can watch the highlights form Saturday’s match below.
The games come thick and fast, and focus returns back to the league this Tuesday night, as we head to Ericstan Park to face one of last season’s top teams, Wythenshawe Town. Bury will see a much changed side from the previous season following the departure of manager, James Kinsey to Stalybridge, the appointment of new manager, Rory Fallon and a raft of changes in the playing squad.
Town have had a mixed start, with one win and one loss in the league so far, departing the FA Cup at the weekend following a 1-0 loss away at Congleton Town. We are set for a nice summer’s evening in South Manchester, so get all your pre-match information below.
In Opposition – Wythenshawe Town
Early Days: The club was founded in 1946 as the North Withington Amateur Football Club and was the idea of some young men who attended St. Crispin’s Church on Hart Road in Fallowfield. The club first played in the South Manchester & Wythenshawe League (1946 – 1958) and were subsequently transferred to the Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur league (1958 – 1972).
Manchester League & Timpson Road: It was in 1972 the club applied and were accepted into the Manchester League, when up until 1974 all games of football were played at Hough End Field, Princess Road, Withington.
In June 1974, under the helm of Chairman Billy Moore, the club’s headquarters were moved from the Princess Hotel in Withington to the newly acquired ground at Timpson Road, Baguley, M23 9LL where three pre-fabricated houses were purchased and turned into a clubhouse with a bar, kitchen and changing facilities. After numerous discussions, it was decided to name the ground after the residing Chairman (Stan Hahn) and the Club Secretary (Eric Renard) out of respect, honouring them as founding members, hence the name Ericstan Park. And it was at this point, the club decided to design a new badge incorporating a cockerel and a fox; the cockerel related to founding member Stanley Hahn (the German for cockerel is Hähnchen) and the fox to founding member Eric Renard (the French for fox is Renard), to forever recognise the club’s founding members.
Cheshire League & The Invincibles: In 2014 and under new Chairman Kenny Hope, the club transferred to the Cheshire League Division 2 and went on to become history-makers, making national headlines as they won every single league and Cup game, 39 games in total, earning the side the title, ‘The Invincibles.’ Back to back promotions on their debut in the Cheshire League, and with a working partnership in place with professional football club Fleetwood Town, the club set their sights firmly on bringing semi-professional football to the club for the first time in history.
The North-West Counties Football League & Semi-Pro Football: That ambition came to realisation at the end of the 2017/18 season after two seasons in the Cheshire Premier League when the club secured promotion to Step 6 and the Hallmark Security North West Counties League South Division, heralding a new era at the club. There were further changes at the beginning of 2019 when Chris Eaton took over as Chairman with a promise to put the club on a sound business footing. Promotion was narrowly missed at the end of the season but with Manager James Kinsey and his coaching team in charge, the club looked forward to the new campaign with optimism. The optimism proved well-founded as the club showed its confidence in the players and management team was justified with some remarkable highlights and a run in the league that left them in third place and looking forward to a future in the next level. Their greatest run of success was in the FA Vase where a series of victories against Goole Town, Nostell Miners Welfare, Skelmersdale United, and Northwich Victoria saw them matched against competition favourites big-spending Consett Town. A draw at home saw Wythenshawe visit the North-East for the replay but the FA’s experimental rule-change for the competition saw the team short of six players while their opponents had a full squad to choose from. Even so it was a narrow one-nil defeat that saw their visions of Wembley come to an end. The highlight of the season was a remarkable two-one away victory over high flying National League North stars Curzon Ashton in the Frank Hannah Manchester Senior Cup and their last game before the season was ended by COVID-19 was in the semi-final of the Division One Cup against Sandbach United. The decision to declare the season null and void robbed the club of what looked to be a certain promotion.
Seven out of Seven and then COVID: Season 2020-21 saw a remarkable start to the campaign with seven straight wins and 29 goals scored against just 3 in return. Once again, the season was ended by COVID, and it looked as if once again frustration was the order of the day. However, the club got the news it so richly deserved when the FA made the decision to base promotion on the records of the two curtailed seasons and Wythenshawe Town found themselves starting the new campaign in the Premier Division. There was progress off the field as well at the beginning of 2021, when Chairman Chris Eaton, with the unanimous backing of the members, turned the club into a limited company with a promise of great things to come.
Success and Reward: The 2021-22 season proved to be an outstanding campaign with a run in the FA Vase and a close finish in the League. Victories against Litherland REMYCA, Bacup Borough, Seaham Red Star, Holker OB, Billingham Synthonia, red-hot favourites Consett AFC and Anstey Nomads saw them reach the dizzy heights of an FA Vase Quarter Final at Loughborough Students. However, it proved one hurdle too far and the visions of Wembley were dashed. After the first few weeks Town were never out of the top three places in the league and it went right up to the final day when they were pipped by just a single point. Wythenshawe Town’s achievements didn’t go unrecognised, and they received two great honours at the League Presentation Evening. Manager James Kinsey was rewarded for three years of hard work and dedication when he received the Manager of The Year Award for the Premier Division and the club’s attitude to discipline on the field saw them received the Fair Play Award.
The Summer of 2023 saw Manager James Kinsey depart for Stalybridge Celtic and a new regime at Ericstan Park was announced with the appointment of Rory Fallon and his Management Team.
Tickets
Pay on the gate ONLY for this fixture.
Prices: ADULT £6.00, CONCESSION £4.00 (Over 65s, Disabled) Under 16s £2 UNDER 12s £1
Programme Price: £2.00
On the Day & In the Ground
Travel by Metrolink: Nearest stop – Moor Road (10 minutes’ walk, 0.5 miles)
Travel by train: Nearest Stop – Baguley (9 minutes’ walk, 0.4 miles)
Travel by public bus: For all buses, the best stop to get off at is on Altrincham Road near Tesco Baguley. The ground is around 3-5 minutes walk from there.
From Cheadle, Gatley & Stockport and in the opposite direction, Timperley and Altrincham, take the 11 or 11a and get off anywhere near Tesco Baguley or Baguley Retail Park. If you’re travelling from anywhere in Wythenshawe, the 11 or 109 is the easiest bus to get.
If you are travelling from Manchester City Centre take the 109.
Driving: From the M56 Junction 3, follow the sign for Wythenshawe Hospital. After 1 mile, after passing the Shell garage, turn left at the traffic lights then right at the next set of traffic lights. The ground is at the end of this road.
From the M60 (Counterclockwise), come off at Junction 5 and join the M56. Come off at the first exit which is Junction 3 and follow signs as above.
From the M60 (Clockwise), head towards the M56 at Junction 4 and come off at the first exit, Junction 2 towards Wythenshawe. At the roundabout go straight ahead towards Altrincham, and at the second roundabout take the second exit, again towards Altrincham. This will bring you to M56 Junction 3, go straight ahead at the roundabout and follow the directions above.
SatNav Postcode: M23 9LL
WhatThreeWords: ///dome.rang.battle
Parking: Avoid travelling down Timpson Road to access parking, the club car park is accessed from here and only reserves spaces for players, club and match day officials. Travelling supporters are encouraged to park at Tesco near the ground or around the ground where possible in residential areas.
Please park considerately and think of local residents.
Food / Drink: Bars and the Cafe will be open inside the ground from 6pm.
Matchday Programme: Printed copies available on the turnstiles for £2.
#NonLeagueDogs: Dogs are welcome but please keep them on a lead and take into account that it will be very busy.
Match Coverage & Live Stream
If you are unable to make it to the action at Gigg Lane, 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. Join the team from the press box at Gigg Lane. 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!
