Last Saturday saw a frustrating league defeat away at Chadderton, Dave McNabb’s Shakers took the lead through Andy Scarisbrick just before half-time, and then Oli Jepson doubled inside six second-half minutes.
Chadderton pulled it back to 2-1 just before the hour mark, before two late goals gave the side all three points.
We now move on to Saturday afternoon, as we look to set get a league double over Wythenshawe Town, after a dramatic win earlier in the season. Relive the game by clicking on the video below:
You can watch Dave McNabb’s post match interview following the Chadderton game 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 & Admission
General sale tickets are available online HERE, which includes hospitality tickets in the Main Stand. We recommend purchasing a ticket ahead of the game to allow us to plan appropriately in the ground.
AWAY SUPPORTERS: Wythenshawe Town supporters will be directed to enter the ground via the Cemetery End entrance (as shown below). Tickets purchased will be validated at these turnstiles, as well as a cash / card payments for pay on the day supporters.
Please follow requests from volunteers and stewards for directions if unsure.
Prices*: £10 adult, £5 16-18, £3 Under 16s & Free for Under 5s.
1885 Suite: £40* per ticket
* plus booking fees
Pay on the Gate: Whilst encouraging supporters to buy online ahead of the game, turnstiles will be available to take cash & card payments.
Season Ticket Holders: We have recognised the requests from some season ticket holders who wish to be sat in the Main Stand, instead of the currently allocated South Stand. General sale tickets for the Main Stand are not available on Tuesday evening and the first 250 season ticket holders who wish to watch from the Main Stand, can do so by admission of the turnstile.
Please arrive early to secure your seat, with allocations made on a first-come, first-served basis.
Click here to purchase online tickets. Read here on how to access your tickets digitally.
On the Day & In the Ground
Travel: Gigg Lane is accessible by car and is well served by public transport, please see our page on the TfGM website, which advises the best travel routes to the stadium. Directions can be sourced via Google Maps below.
SatNav Postcode: BL9 9HR
WhatThreeWords: ///issues.skins.span
Parking: Our new car-park policy for the upcoming season is now in force.
Due to the limited space within the car park at Gigg Lane, it is reserved for the following:
- Team Playing Staff and Management
- Match and Competition Officials
- Club Staff and volunteers transporting matchday equipment
- Members of the 1885 Suite
- Sponsors
- Blue Badge Holders
If you have a blue badge or mobility issues please email the club secretary at secretary@buryfc.co.uk at least TWO days before the game. Blue Badge holders shall be prioritised for a parking space.
Entrance to the car park is strictly controlled and includes the areas within and in front of the fenced area. Please contact the Club Secretary with any other related queries.
There is on-street parking in the residential areas surrounding Gigg Lane, with supporters reminded to be respectful and considerate of the local residents at all times, as well as being mindful of and adhering to the parking permit measures in place in close proximity to the ground.
Stadium Entry: Gates will open at 6:30pm.
Our matchday volunteers will be on hand, both outside the turnstiles and inside the ground, to guide supporters to where they need to be. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask those who are there to help the day.
Food / Drink: Our new catering partner, Quirky Catering, will be operating the kiosks this weekend and throughout the season, and are accessible for supporters under the stands. A selection of hot and cold snacks will be available. Alcohol will be sold, and can be consumed anywhere in the stand. Please respect the advice from stewards on managing this process on the day.
Matchday Programme: You can purchase a programme online now, to collect at the merchandise stall tomorrow afternoon or head to the sellers in and around the ground ahead of the game at the price of £3.
Pound for the Ground: Our ‘Pound for the Ground’ half-time raffle tickets will be on sale in and around the ground, £1 per entry. Sellers accept cash or card, with 40% of the total pot going to the winning ticket with results announced over the PA system and on the scoreboard.
Keep #GiggGleaming: With so much work gone into Gigg Lane to get us to this point, we want to keep it that way and a lot of work goes into turning the ground around between games each weekend. We have a team of volunteers lined up to clean the stands following the game.
With this in mind, we urge all supporters to make sure any rubbish is processed in the correct manner, using the available bins where necessary, or if possible please take any rubbish away with you.
Designated Smoking Areas: Supporters are not allowed to smoke / vape anywhere within the stands at Gigg Lane. Designated areas are set aside to do this, follow guidance from stewards on this and only smoke / vape within these areas.
#NonLeagueDogs: For now, dogs are NOT permitted in the ground.
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 score-line 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!
