Teams 2 | 1874 Northwich F.C.

Matt’s thoughts ahead of Saturday’s fixture

1874 Northwich’s Matt Woolley is hoping for a slice of luck this weekend, as the greens entertain Avro at Townfield this weekend.

Coming off the back of a narrow 1-0 defeat to Runcorn Linnets last weekend, Matt was quick to praise the effort of the players, despite the result.

“Last weekend showed how cruel football can be, when you are in a bit of bad form often you don’t get that little bit of luck.”

“I thought a draw would have been a fair result but I thought the attitude and commitment was the best we have seen for a while.”

“The lads have now showed what they are capable of and the levels they can reach so for us to improve and start getting some results that has to be the benchmark.”

Avro have impressed in the early stages of the season, and find themselves in a play off position before kick off on Saturday. Woolley spoke about the importance of setting high standards from the off in order to stand a chance of forcing a positive result.

“Mark and I went to watch them (Avro) during mid week. They are a strong well organised side and very good defensively.”

“It will be important we show the same levels of attitude and discipline from last week, this weekend and will need everyone to perform to the best of their ability.”

“I would like to think we have all seen a difference in the players these last couple of weeks. I think the performances have deserved a little more than what we have got.”

“I would like to thank everyone for their support over these last 2 weeks. We believe we are heading in the right direction and aren’t far away from getting an important win. Once again we will give our all this weekend, we hope you can do from the terraces!”

1874 will be without Michael Ibeto who is ruled out with a broken foot, whilst the fitness of caretaker manager Mark Jones will be assessed ahead of kickoff. 1874 have however bolstered the squad with the addition of Elliot Coleman from Alsager Town, who has been brought in to provide cover.

Matt’s thoughts ahead of the weekend match

Ahead of their first game in caretaker charge, Matt Woolley has issued a rallying call to 1874 Northwich fans.

For the first time since 2017, 1874 will start with two new men in the dugout, after Wayne Goodison and Paul Bowyers departure earlier this week. Woolley was quick to praise the outgoing duo, before turning his attention to the weekends fixture against Bootle.

“They have both been huge for our club and we’ve all had some amazing times under the tenure.”

“I think if you look at social media and the statement that was released you see supporters, players, other coaches from many different clubs recognising not only their work on the pitch but how they conducted themselves off it. So for Mark and I, we believe that honesty and integrity is a must.”

1874 sit two points above the relegation zone before entertaining Bootle, and Matt is keen for a response after the 4-0 defeat to Clitheroe last weekend.

“A response is required, and there will be one.”

“I was very critical of the lack of energy and desire to stop them playing on Saturday but you do have to put it in to perspective, Clitheroe are a good side who will towards the top of the table at the end of the season.”

“We want to put a team on a pitch that the fans can relate to and get behind. We will expect the basics of work rate, effort & passion to be a minimum but give you something to shout about, we want to be exciting and attack with purpose.”

In what will be another tough fixture, Woolley hopes the side can draw on the home support tomorrow.

“This is a new chapter for 74 and needs all of you (the fans).”

“Be loud, proud & really get behind the lads on Saturday!”

1874 on the road to Clitheroe

Another tough test awaits 1874 on Saturday, and co-manager Wayne is hoping to pose a threat againat Clitheroe, on a ground that has seen positive results for 1874 in recent seasons.

Reflecting on the previous weekend, Wayne shared the collective disappointment in the squad regarding the manner in which the goals were conceded.

“Last Saturday we were very good for the first 15/20 minutes but once we conceded needed to keep doing what we were doing.”

“Ultimately the goals against were very avoidable, but we won’t be the only team that Leek beat at home.”

This weekends opponants sit in 3rd ahead of the weekends fixtures, and have collected 11 points in their last 6 games. Wayne spoke about the recent change in management at Clitheroe, and what he thinks 1874 can expect on Saturday.

” I know Danny well and he will be really keen to take them on a level.”

“As always we will look at their threats and try to counter those with our own, the pitch generally there lends itself to our players being able to play to their strengths, if we can do that we know we can perform well.”

1874 will be well backed on the road with a supporters coach yet again sold out for the trip, and hope to return home with 3 points before Tuesday nights outing in the Mid Cheshire Cup.

Wayne’s thoughts ahead of the weekend fixture against Widnes

Ahead of the weekend’s fixture against Widnes, Wayne Goodison is hoping for more consistency throughout the 90 minutes, after a quickfire double from Hanley Town last week saw 1874 fall to a 4-2 defeat.

“Overall we were generally pleased with what we saw for most aspects of the game. We were better in possession and looked more creative going forward.”

“Ultimately we got out of shape for a 15 minute spell that cost us and the lesson learnt was that if we stop being as competitive out of possession, at this level it will cost you, and it did.”

Looking ahead to Saturday, and Wayne expects another tough test against a much improved Widnes side, but hailed the players attitudes as competition for places remains strong after a recent strong showing from Michael Ibeto on debut.

“As always with Widnes, they will be hard to play against and we expect a competitive fixture.”

“He (Michael) did okay on his full debut, but we expected that having seen him in training, though he is not the only one who is pushing to play.”

Reflecting on the season as a whole, Wayne hopes to show further improvement in the run up to Christmas.

“I would say we are slightly behind where we thought we could be at this stage, but we have seen some progress in individuals that we hope will see us improve further over the next quarter of the season.”

Paul’s thoughts ahead of the weekend match against Vauxhall Motors

1874 co-manager Paul Bowyer has praised the players ability to switch to a new system, and hopes to see a more sustained attacking threat when 1874 host Vauxhall this weekend.

“Overall I think they’ve done really well with adapting to a new system. We’ve certainly had a more attacking threat and created a number of good chances.”

“I thought our first half performances in both games were decent. Against Mossley was probably some of the best we’ve played in an attacking sense.”

Despite the change in system, 1874 fell to a 3-1 defeat on Tuesday, and Bowyer spoke about the importance of balance in the lead up to the game this Saturday.

“We now need to get the balance right and as players continue to understand the system and their expectations we should get better.”

“However given the changes we’ve made, full credit to how the players went about approaching both games and it’s given us something to build on.”

“In many of the matches we’ve threatened our opponents and seen positive signs but we can’t keep saying, we need to continue to improve and learn with each game.”

Vauxhall occupy 16th position in the division, and with a recent change in management, Bowyer spoke about the potential for the visitors to look to respond positively to the change.

“In some respects it’s an unknown on Saturday. We’ve seen it lots of times where a team respond well to a change of management and as long as we’re on our game and play on the front foot we’ll have a good chance of coming away with the three points.”

1874 will be without Jack Marrow again on Saturday, whilst Elliott Williams and Matty Fenton await decisions on their fitness ahead of the game.

Wayne’s thoughts as football returns

After a 3 week break, 1874 return to league action on Saturday, and Co-manager Wayne expects another stern test against a CoL side that got the better of the Greens earlier in the month.

“We expect another strong performance from CoL, and from our point of view we expect a more coherent performance.” Wayne said.

“We go into every game looking for the three points, this week will be no different. We have spoken amongst ourselves about ensuring first and foremost that the performance is at the level we know we need and are capable of tomorrow.”

“We have several absentees due to injury, suspension, and holiday but the players who are available have all responded well in the last couple of weeks.”

Last time out saw 1874 exit the FA Trophy at the first hurdle, but one positive from the defeat was the goal on debut by Max Chimenes, and Wayne has relished the chance for Max to work on the training ground in recent weeks with the rest of the squad.

“It’s always nice for a forward to score, debut or otherwise, and he has now had time to work with us at training so hopefully he can continue in the same vein as he did in his first game.”

After the visit to CoL on Saturday, 1874 are quickly back in action where we entertain Mossley on Tuesday night. Ahead of the busy schedule, Wayne has called on the fans to continue their support for the players.

“I am sure like us, you are looking forward to a Saturday of football again. I’ll reiterate what I have asked before, be as supportive as you always are but also be a little patient at times with the players.”

Paul shares us his thoughts on the early season and looking ahead

After a difficult August, 1874 start September’s action away at Newcastle Town this Saturday. With the bank holiday providing no rewards for two defensively solid performances, co-manager Paul Bowyer is hoping to see some improvements in 1874’s attacking fortunes at the weekend.

“We both can’t remember a game where we’ve given the ball back to the opposition as much as we did at Prescot and although slightly better on Monday against Nantwich, we’re making too many errors in possession and haven’t found our rhythm. “

“When our standards drop in possession, we’re unable to get up the pitch and the balls keep coming back.”

“We should have scored more against Stalybridge and Chasetown, missing some clear chances and the pleasing thing in these games is we were getting into good positions. We’ve not created as much in the past couple of games and this is something we need to work on and improve.”

“I’ve read a lot about our centre forward situation and you could have all the forwards you want but we need to be better with the ball or we won’t find them.”

Despite 74 struggling to find the net in recent games, Bowyer was pleased with the defensive efforts, showing huge improvements from the beginning of the season.

“As a team we’ve looked solid and Ellis has had a minimal amount to do in both games. He’s made a couple of good saves and we’ve got bodies in the way and looked dogged, combatting the threats of Both Nantwich and Prescot.”

Looking ahead to Newcastle Town, Bowyer spoke about the strength of teams in the division, and expects another tough test on Saturday in search of 74’s first 3 points of the season.

“As last season I think anyone can beat anyone in the league. There’s no excuse over who we’ve played- there’s no easy games and we need to be better to win games. It’s too early to say who the top and bottom teams will be in the league this season but we do need to capitalise on others not playing this weekend.”

“They’ve (Newcastle) made a number of good signings this season and obviously had a couple of great wins over the weekend. It’s always been a tough place to go with it being so open and I’d expect them to put the ball on us as much as possible and make us defend. They’re strong on set plays and tough to break down so we need to be at it from the start on Saturday and play on the front foot.”

Nicholson, one of 74’s forward minded players, missed the bank holiday fixture against Nantwich, but looks set to return at the weekend.

“Siyam will be unavailable for a couple of weeks while he’s away. We may have an additional player onboard in the next week. Jack Irlam is still feeling his groin so we’ll assess him ahead of Saturday game. Jamie Nicholson is feeling better after resting a slight knee injury so should be in contention for Newcastle.”

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