VS. CAMMELL LAIRD
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THE OFFICIAL BACUP BOROUGH FC MATCHDAY PROGRAMME
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SATURDAY 10TH OCTOBER | 15:00
CLUB INFO Club Manager: Brent Peters Technical Coach: Alan Taylor Fitness Coach: Ryan Russell Physio: Valerio Bango Head of Youth: Darren Reece Youth Administrator: Andrew Walker Welfare Officer: Nicola Walker Honorary Club President: Edwin Crook Club Secretary/ PA to Club Manager: Debra O'Connor Director: Brent Peters Directors: Natalie James Non Executive Special Project Director: Andrew Walker Non Executive Hospitality & PR Director: Debra O'Connor Head of Press & Media: Steve Brown Head of Business Development: David Smith-Markl Head of Community Engagement: Jane Pallister Official Photographer: Jacob Reader Match Day Secretary: Michael Carr Club Historian: Roger Hindle Official Club Partner: Boys Ltd Grade A Partner: Pierce Business Advisory & Accountancy Legal Entity Bacup Borough Football Club Limited Limited by: Shares Company Number: 5957213 Company Secretary: Natalie James Managing Director: Brent Peters Majority Shareholder: Brent Peters Registered Office: Bacup Borough Football Club Brian Boys Stadium, Cowtoot Lane, Bacup, OL13 8EE Club Honours North West Counties League Division Two champions 2002–03 Challenge Cup winners 2003–04, 2011–12, 2022-23 2023/24 Macron Cup Finalist: 2022-23 Lancashire Combination Champions 1946–47 Lancashire Junior Cup Winners 1910–11 Rossendale Charity Cup Winners 1883–84, 1884–85, 1886–87, 1887–88
Good afternoon and welcome to the Brian Boys Stadium for today's North West Counties Division One North fixture against Cammell Laird FC. And a special warm welcome for those joining us for the first time. It was a good win against Ashville, following on from a commanding performance away at Holker Old Boys. The players produced another solid, professional display, and I was delighted with the way they approached the game. Kyle Siddle took his goal brilliantly in the first half. We possibly should have gone into the break with a bigger lead, but we stepped things up after half-time and added two more goals through Kaiden Barlow. I’m absolutely delighted for Kaiden because he’s worked his socks off all season. He never stops running, always demands the ball and gives everything for the team. It was great to see him rewarded with two goals.
MANAGER'S THOUGHTS | BRENT PETERS
Aiden Lancaster continues to control things in midfield alongside Jay Luker, and I thought Paul Sholabi was brilliant at the back. In fact, the whole defence was resolute when called upon, showing great determination and organisation when we needed it. Today, we face another tough test against a strong Cammell Laird side who have enjoyed a good season so far. We know we’ll need to be on our game from the very first whistle and perform to our best if we’re going to get the result we want. Enjoy the game, and as always, get behind your team! Brent Peters
VISITORS
CAMMELL LAIRD
Cammell Laird 1907 FC can trace its history back to 1899 when a team from the Upper Boilers Shop of Laird Bros played in Birkenhead Park, before turning to the rugby code. It was not until June 1907 that the Cammell Laird Institute AFC was established, with its first fixture taking place on 2nd September 1907 against Tranmere Rovers. The Club finished 9th in the West Cheshire League in their inaugural season of 1907/08. In the early years, the Club played at a number of grounds and won their first trophy, the Shipley Cup, in April 1921, before in the summer of 1922 they moved to St Peters Road (which still remains their current home) as Kirklands FC. They disbanded in 1939 but reformed in 1946. The Club had their most successful period during the 1970s and 80s, winning the West Cheshire League on a regular basis. 1994/95 saw the Club reach the FA Vase quarter-finals before losing to Arlesey Town. The early part of the new millennium saw the Club reach new heights. They started the rise through the pyramid, making history by becoming the first Club to win the championship of the Second and First Divisions of the North West Counties League, which they achieved in 2004/05 and then 2005/06. In the same year as that First Division triumph, the Club reached the FA Vase semi-finals, losing to eventual winners Nantwich Town, and two years later, the Club gained promotion to the Unibond Premier League. However, they were relegated after just one season due to ground grading. Having fought relegation battles successfully, the Club finished bottom of the Evo-Stik Division One North in 2011/12, but were reprieved, and bounced back the following season by finishing league runners up before losing on penalties in the play-off final against Trafford. Season 2013/14 saw the Club finish 11th, but the decision was taken to resign from the Evo-Stik League due to ownership issues and form a new club: Cammell Laird 1907 FC.
The new Club was formed on 28th May 2014 and entered the NWCFL Division One for their debut campaign in 2014/15. In October, the Club lost manager Tony Sullivan to Witton Albion, and appointed Paul McNally in the same month. He ably guided the team to promotion, which was achieved on Saturday 4th April with a 5-0 win at Oldham Boro. In the end, Lairds finished 21 points clear of 3rd placed AFC Darwen. 2015/16 saw the Club finish 15th in its first season in the NWCFL Premier Division. Early on, Lairds drew or even lost games that they largely dominated, but they soon found their feet in the Premier Division. Undoubtedly their best result was an emphatic 4-0 victory against eventual champions Colne in October. In February, Tony Sullivan replaced Paul McNally as manager, and Lairds eventually secured a solid mid-table finish. At the end of the season, Sullivan departed and was replaced by former Prescot Cables and AFC Darwen manager Neil Prince. The new manager made an excellent start, two fine performances seeing off the challenge of AFC Darwen in the FA Cup. Despite an opening day 4-3 defeat at New Mills, a match in which the visitors led 2-0 and 3-2, Prince’s new-look side appeared to be gelling together with a three game unbeaten run at the end of August. However, September saw a series of tough fixtures against some of the top sides in the division, and Prince resigned on good terms with the Club after a 3-1 reverse against Squires Gate. Prince was replaced by former Lairds striker Mick McGraa, who had taken over the Reserve Team in the summer. McGraa worked tirelessly to assemble a very promising young side. Although Lairds struggled in terms of results, several performances perhaps deserved better and there was an acceptance that it was going to take time for such a youthful side to develop. Lairds’ displays improved significantly after the turn of the year, and everything finally came together on Saturday 18th March 2017 as they beat AFC Darwen 4-1 to record their first league win of the season. This was followed up three days later with a 2-1 victory against in-form Hanley Town. Ultimately, results elsewhere consigned Lairds to relegation by the end of March, but with a young, talented set of players and improvements off the pitch, the Club is now in a much stronger position ahead of the Division One campaign to follow in 2017/18.
PLAYER FOCUS | TYLER WILLIAMS
- Talk us through your football history before arriving at Bacup? I did a scholarship with Preston North End and not long after signed my first professional contract with Middlesbrough. I then took a small break from playing before moving into non-league and playing at Mossley, Altrincham, Stalybridge, Chadderton and New Mills before then joining Bacup. - How did the move to Bacup come about? Ryan Russell got in contact when I reached out on social media looking for a new challenge. He came back with a plan that aligned with mine and we took it from there. I was in a position where I wanted to enjoy my football again. Focusing on getting back up to levels I know that I can play at, Bacup has definitely been a step in the right direction. - How did you find last season? Last season was a bit up and down on a personal note. Struggling with injury, I was in and out of the squad. But I particularly enjoyed the back end of the season where I found a good spell of form. - What have you learnt from your time at Bacup? I’ve learnt that there’s more to my game than just being a centre half. Brent and the rest of the staff have trusted me to play in different positions, one being midfield where I’ve been playing and enjoying most of my football here. - What are you looking to achieve this season? This season I’m looking to get as much experience under my belt as possible. I’m also wanting to be one of the leaders in this group. But my main focus is to do my upmost to get us to where we need to be. Our squad have more than enough talent and ambition to be right up there. - How do you think the season has started so far? Individually and as a team On a personal note again it’s been an up and down start due to injury. I had a good run of games coming into the start of the season before unfortunately getting injured in the Daisy Hill game. I’ve worked hard to get back into a position where I’m feeling fully rested and recovered, ready to get back to it. As a collective, I think it’s been an overall good start. A fair mixture of results in correlation to our performances, with late September / early October being a good period of time for us. Scoring goals and conceding less, that’s how you win games.
- What do we need to improve on? I think we need to trust ourselves more in-possession and try and play around oppositions a little more, we have the technical ability to play teams off the park week in week out. It’s just about putting it into practice on game days and trusting each other on the ball. - What’s the one game you’re looking forward to most this season? Flixton away. Infamously I had my very own Peter Odemwingie moment last season there, will be nice to actually play rather than just be in the car park! Quick Fire: - Which team do you support? Chelsea - Worst trim you’ve had? Used to rock a pony tail at one point (terrible mistake) - Job? Sound Engineer - Hobbies away from football? Golf, gym, reading, track running to name a few - One thing people would be surprised to learn about you? I can play the drums, nobody expects that one - Biggest guilty pleasure? Sweets - you’ll always see me with a bag of sweets in the changing rooms - Initiation song? Kiss of Life - Sade Teammate Quiz: (Current Squad) - If you could swap lives with one teammate for a day, who would it be? And why? Paul Sholabi. I’d love to see what he gets up to when he’s not dancing in front of the camera for TikTok! - Who would you pick as your partner in a pub quiz? Who would be last pick? Brady Boardman. He’s a book smart lad, loves a random fun fact. My last pick would be Aiden Lancaster, he’s alright at football but there’s not much going on up there. Which person is….. - Funniest? I’d pick myself but I’ll be humble and say Paul - Biggest moaner? Kaiden Barlow - Always Late? Paul yet again - Biggest wind up? Jake Townsend - Most likely to get booked? Jay Luker, he’s took over from me last season - Longest in the shower? Again, Paul Sholabi, Brent’s water bill must be through the roof!
1. The last FA Cup domino falls It has been a valiant effort, but unfortunately, Trafford were beaten on Tuesday in their Third Qualifying Round replay away from home against higher-division Atherton Collieries. With that, there are no NWCFL teams left in English football’s oldest competition for the 2026/27 campaign. Tom Baker’s team got further than any other side from the NWCFL, knocking off Worsbrough Bridge Athletic, Runcorn Linnets, Bamber Bridge and Heaton Stannington before falling at the feat of their NPL Division One West opponents in midweek – don’t cry because it’s over, and all that. 2. The Edward Case Cup proper returns Since the weekend, there have been several matches in the Edward Case Cup first round proper, nearly two months removed from the preliminary fixtures held in early August. There have already been some headline-grabbing results in the early stages of this year’s competition, including… Flixton proving their mettle in an all-First Division North clash on home soil against Darwen, which they won 5-3; First Division South promotion chasers Thornton Cleveleys laying down the gauntlet in a 5-1 away drubbing of newly promoted Uppermill; and Barnton surprising the life out of First Division South play-off hopefuls Eccleshall with a 6-0 write-off. 3. Linnets with the longest loss-less streak It is a pretty great time to be a regular watcher of Burscough right now. Following their 3-2 victory over Glossop North End on Saturday, they are unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions, and have only dropped points once during that stretch of games – and even then, it was a game that took place halfway across the Irish Sea, at the Bowl, home of play-off candidates FC Isle of Man. Their weekend victory takes them to the top of the form table in the Premier Division and also sees them reclaim second place outright in the table from Droylsden, who were beaten in Saturday’s battle of the top two by Nelson. The Linnets are not letting go in the early stages of this title race. 4. Mechanics struggling with homesickness Only one side is keeping AFC Blackpool from propping up the First Division North, and that is winless Uppermill, on goal difference alone. The seaside outfit have had a tough go of things in the league from their opening 12 games, and nowhere is this better exemplified than in their away record in 2026/27. In two-thirds of their league games so far, they’ve been the visiting side, and they are yet to earn a point on the road as we move into October. Their match this past weekend was another away from the Mechanics Ground, and another that saw them return home empty-handed, having been beaten 4-0 by Ashton Town. With any luck this is a run that will end this coming Saturday, as they face their fellow members of the bottom-two club on away soil.
We go again this afternoon after a near perfect night here on Wednesday vs Ashville. It was another good, professional performance and highlights the progress from the game against them earlier in the season. Obviously really pleasing to score 3 goals, get another clean sheet and progress. However beyond that some really important minutes for Mason Fallon, Callum Hewitt and Toby Wright. The squad will be further tested this afternoon so having minutes in their legs and being able to rest others was a nice bonus on top of the result. Great to see Toby Wright back in action The aim this week as I discussed the other night was to progress in the cup and get 3 points in the league. We’re halfway there but today will be a real test for us. A test we have to approach with confidence but not complacency.
COACH TALK | RYAN RUSSELL
Cammell Laird will be a very good outfit, they’ve had a superb start to the season. Alan & I have done a little bit of homework as it’s another new side in the division but the most important thing is for us to continue doing what we have done well over the past couple of weeks. If we can build on that then we have a good chance of sending the supporters home happy once more. Brady Boardman coming back from injury The Shadow Squad will also be in action today away in Glossop and that should allow valuable minutes for both Owen Whitehead and Brady Boardman as they complete their final steps to return from injury. It was nice to see Tyler Williams complete the warm up on Wednesday after missing the past few games. Ben Thompson should also be back training next week so the squad should continue to go from strength to strength all going well. I hope you enjoy the game - UTB
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COLLECTION
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1. 1970: Which English club won the FA Cup by beating Chelsea 2–1 in the replay at Old Trafford? 2. 1977: Which club won the European Cup for the first time, beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 in the final? 3. 1981: Who scored the winning goal for Liverpool in the European Cup final against Real Madrid? 4. 1986: Which team did Liverpool beat to win the FA Cup, completing a league and cup double? 5. 1989: Who scored the famous last-minute winning goal for Arsenal against Liverpool at Anfield to win the league title? 6. 1992: Which club won the final First Division title before the Premier League began? 7. 1995: Which team won the Premier League title after Blackburn Rovers lost to Liverpool on the final day? 8. 1996: Who scored the winning goal for Manchester United in the FA Cup final against Liverpool? 9. 1999: Which two Manchester United players scored in stoppage time in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich? 10. 2003: Which Scottish club won the UEFA Cup, losing 3–2 to Porto in the final? 11. 2005: Which Liverpool captain lifted the Champions League trophy after the famous comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul? 12. 2008: Which English club won the Champions League final against Chelsea in Moscow after a penalty shootout? PICTURE QUIZ
Answers on the inner back page
JUST FOR FUN!
MATCHDAY QUIZ
1.Chelsea 2.Liverpool 3.Alan Kennedy 4.Everton 5.Michael Thomas 6.Leeds United 7.Blackburn Rovers 8.Eric Cantona 9.Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær 10.Celtic 11.Steven Gerrard 12.Manchester United PICTURE: 1. Danny Drinkwater 2. Eric Nixon 3. Russell Beardsmore 4. Thomas Brolin
OFFICIALS
Joshua Brooks (GK) Harry Broadbent (GK) Oladapo Bamiduro Joseph Downey Liam Driscoll Joseph Dulson James Fee Josh Henry Charlie Holland Ellis Jones Joel kelly Kieran Hamm Jamie Leyland Thomas Murray Liam Owen Leo Patten Liam Siddorn Adam Smith Stephen Thomas Joel Whalley Manager: Glyn Norman Coach: Phil Hayward GK Coach: Neil Mathieson First Aider: Richard Hawitt
BORO CAMMELL LAIRD FC
Billy Blake (GK) Ben Langley Brady Boardman Joey Fallon (C) Paul Sholabi Dominik Williams Tyler Williams Ben Thompson Josh Walne Kaiden Barlow Regan Jarrett Jake Townsend Toby Wright Kyle siddle Mason Fallon Connor Morris Alex Mellor Aidan Lancaster Callum Hewitt Charlie Cowin Jay Luker James Bartholomew Sheikh Sohna Oscar Rothwell Manager: Brent Peters Technical Coach: Alan Taylor Fitness Coach: Ryan Russell
Referee: Anthony Robinson Ass Ref: Dean Bottomley Ass Ref: Dale Markham
Finlay Williams Lewis Willingham Ben Wood Harry Price Caleb Murphy Jamie Eaton Ellis Bolton Fenton Cavanagh John Lyon Lucas Hagan Warren Leech Benjamin Graham