The North West Counties Football League has confirmed that the draw for the Edward Case Cup semi finals will be made alongside the draw for the Macron Cup semi finals following the conclusion of the latter competitions quarter final ties on Saturday afternoon.
The draw will be made from Mossie Park, the home ground of NWCFL Premier Division side Charnock Richard, who host First Division North outfit Maghull in the Macron Cup quarter finals.
Our focus is on the Edward Case Cup however with Villa into the semi finals following 3 home wins in the tournament to date with 2-1 wins against Eccleshall and Barnton before defeating Euxton Villa on penalties a fortnight ago in the quarter finals. The semi final lineup features some familiar faces in the guise of divisional rivals Stafford Town and an opponent from last season’s Isuzu FA Vase campaign in Holker Old Boys. The semi final lineup is completed by Atherton Laburnum Rovers.
Stafford Town are certainly no strangers to Ashville having been divisional opponents since we joined the NWCFL. We have already faced the Evans Park outfit twice this season with Stafford coming out on top on both occasions. A narrow 2-1 home defeat in August was followed up by a 3-0 loss at Evans Park in the Macron Cup first round back in October. Should Villa draw Stafford we will be hoping third times the charm against a side that has been in impressive form this season. Stafford currently sit in 2nd place in NWCFL First Division South and are aiming for a treble with the Staffordshire outfit also reaching the quarter finals of the Macron Cup where they will travel to high flying Ramsbottom United who sit 2nd in the Premier Division. Stafford have reached the semi finals following a 3-0 home win over Wolverhampton Sporting Community which was followed by a nervy penalty shootout victory over Stockport Georgians in round 2 before defeating another all too familiar name for Villa in Maine Road in a quarter final goal fest which swung 7-4 in Stafford’s favour. Regardless of the draw we will still face Stafford one more time before the seasons end with the return league fixture at Evans Park scheduled for Saturday 8th March.
Holker Old Boys are another somewhat familiar face for Ashville following our eventual tie against the team from Cumbria in last season’s Isuzu FA Vase run. Following two postponements at Ray Parker Stadium the tie was reversed and a midweek trip to The Handmark Engineering Stadium was rewarded with a 3-0 victory. Holker’s road to the semi finals has seen them defeat Darwen 1-0 at home, a 2-1 away win at Daisy Hill before dispatching Abbey Hulton United 3-1 away from home in the quarter finals. Holker currently sit in fourth place in the North Division and like Villa will be hoping to secure a play off spot alongside a cup victory this season.
The final team to make up the semi finals is Atherton Laburnum Rovers (LR). Atherton are having an impressive season with a well publicised deep run in the Isuzu FA Vase being the highlight. Atherton have been firing on all fronts and currently sit only 1 point behind leaders Nelson at the top of the North Division. An emphatic 4-1 victory over Steeton at Crilly Park in round 1 was succeeded by a 2-1 win at Route One Rovers. The Lancashire outfit then thrashed Cheadle Heath Nomads away from home in the quarter finals to set them up in the semi finals. Should we draw Atherton LR it will be the first ever tie between the two clubs and an exciting one at that.
Our next stop on the road to the final will be revealed once we have received confirmation of the draw from the league tomorrow evening
The draw will be made from Mossie Park, the home ground of NWCFL Premier Division side Charnock Richard, who host First Division North outfit Maghull in the Macron Cup quarter finals.
Our focus is on the Edward Case Cup however with Villa into the semi finals following 3 home wins in the tournament to date with 2-1 wins against Eccleshall and Barnton before defeating Euxton Villa on penalties a fortnight ago in the quarter finals. The semi final lineup features some familiar faces in the guise of divisional rivals Stafford Town and an opponent from last season’s Isuzu FA Vase campaign in Holker Old Boys. The semi final lineup is completed by Atherton Laburnum Rovers.
Stafford Town are certainly no strangers to Ashville having been divisional opponents since we joined the NWCFL. We have already faced the Evans Park outfit twice this season with Stafford coming out on top on both occasions. A narrow 2-1 home defeat in August was followed up by a 3-0 loss at Evans Park in the Macron Cup first round back in October. Should Villa draw Stafford we will be hoping third times the charm against a side that has been in impressive form this season. Stafford currently sit in 2nd place in NWCFL First Division South and are aiming for a treble with the Staffordshire outfit also reaching the quarter finals of the Macron Cup where they will travel to high flying Ramsbottom United who sit 2nd in the Premier Division. Stafford have reached the semi finals following a 3-0 home win over Wolverhampton Sporting Community which was followed by a nervy penalty shootout victory over Stockport Georgians in round 2 before defeating another all too familiar name for Villa in Maine Road in a quarter final goal fest which swung 7-4 in Stafford’s favour. Regardless of the draw we will still face Stafford one more time before the seasons end with the return league fixture at Evans Park scheduled for Saturday 8th March.
Holker Old Boys are another somewhat familiar face for Ashville following our eventual tie against the team from Cumbria in last season’s Isuzu FA Vase run. Following two postponements at Ray Parker Stadium the tie was reversed and a midweek trip to The Handmark Engineering Stadium was rewarded with a 3-0 victory. Holker’s road to the semi finals has seen them defeat Darwen 1-0 at home, a 2-1 away win at Daisy Hill before dispatching Abbey Hulton United 3-1 away from home in the quarter finals. Holker currently sit in fourth place in the North Division and like Villa will be hoping to secure a play off spot alongside a cup victory this season.
The final team to make up the semi finals is Atherton Laburnum Rovers (LR). Atherton are having an impressive season with a well publicised deep run in the Isuzu FA Vase being the highlight. Atherton have been firing on all fronts and currently sit only 1 point behind leaders Nelson at the top of the North Division. An emphatic 4-1 victory over Steeton at Crilly Park in round 1 was succeeded by a 2-1 win at Route One Rovers. The Lancashire outfit then thrashed Cheadle Heath Nomads away from home in the quarter finals to set them up in the semi finals. Should we draw Atherton LR it will be the first ever tie between the two clubs and an exciting one at that.
Our next stop on the road to the final will be revealed once we have received confirmation of the draw from the league tomorrow evening
