WARRINGTON RYLANDS VS STOCKTON PREVIEW
COMPETITION: Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division – Matchday 11
DATE: Saturday 12 October, 2024
KICK-OFF: 3:00pm
ENTRY: £15 Adult, £5 Junior
GROUND: The Hive Arena, Gorsey Lane, Warrington, WA2 7RZ
LIVE UPDATES: @stockton_townfc – Twitter/X
Stockton Town return to league action after a two cup victories in a row with a trip to Warrington Rylands.
The Anchors got the better of Northern League Crook Town in the Durham Challenge Cup on Wednesday evening, beating them 3-1, which followed a 2-0 victory in the FA Trophy at Blyth Spartans.
New signing Josh Scott will be available for selection after joining from West Auckland Town this week.
THE OPPOSITION
The Blues are currently in their third season in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, and lost out on a possible promotion last season, losing in the playoff semi-final to eventual playoff victors Marine.
But after losing some key players, such as forwards Adama Sidibeh who joined St Johnstone, and Momodou Touray, who joined Chorley in summer, the 2021 FA Vase winners have struggled to get going so far this season.
Neil Reynolds’ side currently find themselves second bottom of the standings, with only seven points to their name in their opening 10 matches. The Cheshire-based side did find success in the FA Trophy last weekend however, beating Stocksbridge Park Steels on penalties to advance.
Three new recruits were added to the squad before last weekend’s game, with midfielder Harrison Hopper, goalkeeper Josh Davies and winger Alex Kiwomya all being brought in to help booster the squad.
Striker Ntumba Massanka already has five goals to his name so far this season, three of which have came in the league, and the former Wrexham target man will be a threat for the Anchors to keep a close eye on.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The two sides met for the first ever time in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round last season, where the hosts managed to sneaked through thanks to a James Baillie goal.
2 Sep 2023 – Warrington Rylands 1-0 Stockton Town – FA Cup First Qualifying Round
FORM GUIDE
Stockton Town: D D L W W
Last Game: Stockton Town 3-1 Crook Town
Warrington Rylands: W L L D W*
Last Game: Stocksbridge Park Steels 1-1 Warrington Rylands – Rylands won 3-1 on penalties.
PRE-MATCH QUOTES
Looking ahead to the game, Michael Dunwell said:
“It’s a tough game, they (Warrington Rylands) have had a lot of changes since the start of the season.
“I think everybody expected them to be towards the top of the league, and unfortunately for them they are at the wrong end. They have had a change of manager and a lot of personnel has changed.
“They might be a bit of an unknown but we have just got to go there and concentrate on ourselves and play how we have which is nice and positive and make less mistakes.”
Words by Jordan Clarke
