New Years Day preview

North Staffs Football kicks off the New Year with a full fixture list.

Stoke City look to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat to Fulham with another match at the Britannia against Everton.

Britannia Stadium

Tony Pulis has called for Jermaine Pennant to keep focused after signing a two-and-a-half-year deal from Spanish side Real Zaragoza.

David Moyes’s side are the visitors and boast just two wins away from Goodison Park, but the Toffees could prove hard to break down, having drawn six on their travels.

In League Two, Port Vale will have to put aside worries over Micky Adams departure as they travel to Yorkshire side Rotherham.

Rotherham would leapfrog Vale with a win, as Adams’s men look to bounce back from a second successive defeat to Gillingham on Boxing Day.

Burton Albion welcome play-off contenders Shrewsbury Town to the Pirelli Stadium. The Brewers have slipped down to 14^th and are in need of a win to boost their own play-off chances.

The Shrews are poor travellers for their league position and have notched just three wins.

In the Blue Square North, Stafford Rangers face a tough test at AFC Telford as Tim Flowers searches for his first league win at the helm.

Rangers sit 20^th and are desperate for a win to lift themselves out of the relegation spots, but having netted only twice on their travels so far this campaign the odds are certainly stacked against them.

In the Evo Stik Division One South, Kidsgrove Athletic and Leek Town battle out a North Staffordshire derby at the Seddon Stadium.

Grove will be hoping to push home advantage as they look to challenge for a top two finish this season, whilst Leek’s prerogative is merely survival. The Blues haven’t kicked a ball in anger since November 23.

Elsewhere, Newcastle Town travel to Market Drayton Town.

NSF predictions

Stoke City 1 Everton 1

Burton Albion 1 Shrewsbury 2

Rotherham 2 Port Vale 2

AFC Telford 3 Stafford Rangers 0

Kidsgrove Athletic 2 Leek Town 1

Market Drayton 1 Newcastle Town 3

Let North Staffs Football know your score predictions!

More postponements in big freeze

Burton Albion and Stafford Rangers have been forced to postpone today’s Boxing Day fixtures due to frozen pitches.

In the Evo Stik First Division South all fixtures have been called off for Leek Town, Newcastle Town and Kidsgrove Athletic, scheduled to be played tomorrow (December 27).

Harrison Park Pic: Hampton Productions

Only Stoke City‘s trip to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn Rovers will go ahead.

Weather permitting, Vale travel to Gillingham and Burton take on Stevenage at the Pirelli on December 28, Stafford Rangers have a home tie against Worcester and Stoke entertain Fulham at the Britannia Stadium.

Leek, Newcastle and Kidsgrove will have to wait until New Years Day before they next attempt to play.

Leek and Kidsgrove clash at the Seddon Stadium whilst Newcastle make the short trip to Market Drayton Town.

North Staffs Football brings you the news about games that have been called off as soon as we get it. Let us know your score predictions.

Festive period kicks off

With all of our side’s itching to play after postponements, the festive period kicks off with a Boxing Day feast.

Stoke City travel to managerless Blackburn Rovers in search of a win to leapfrog the Lancashire outfit.

In League Two, Port Vale have a home tie against strugglers Lincoln City and Burton Albion travel to an in-form Northampton side.

In the Blue Square North, Stafford Rangers have a home match against Telford AFC.

The Evo Stik First Division South will play their matches on December 27 where Leek Town host their match with Belper (34 days since they last kicked a ball) and Newcastle host a derby clash with Kidsgrove Athletic.

North Staffs Football will keep you informed of any postponements, but let us know your score predictions from our games.

All North Staffs matches called off

With an artic blast returning to our county, North Staffs Football has ground to a halt with none of our side’s playing any football this weekend.

Stoke City’s trip to the Emirates to clash with Arsenal is one of the shock postponements. Emirates staff has been unable to keep the walkways around the ground safe with heavy snow.

In League Two, Burton Albion’s match away to Accrington Stanley has been called off due to a frozen pitch following an earlier inspection. Port Vale’s home match to Barnet was also postponed after a 9am inspection. A date for the replayed fixtures has yet to be decided.

Cold snap puts a freeze on matches

Stafford Rangers’s trip to Guiseley in the Blue Square North has been postponed following a 3.00pm pitch inspection. The ground temperature was recorded at minus 3C with no chance of play. The re-scheduled fixture will be announced at a later date.

Kidsgrove Athletic boss Peter Ward has said their match against Stamford is highly unlikely to be on. The Seddon Stadium is currently frozen with no thaw due over the next 24 hours. A full inspection will be carried out on Saturday morning.

Leek Town and Newcastle Town have their matches called off as well.

Stafford Rangers slump to 2-0 defeat to Cumbrians

Stafford Rangers relegation worries continue to mount as they slumped to their sixth-successive league defeat with a 2-0 defeat to Workington, writes Matthew Appleby.

Two first-half goals from the visitors dampened the Stafford spirit at Marston Road as Gareth Arnison slotted away a 13th minute penalty and Anthony Wright fired the ball home from close range to seal a comfortable win for Workington.

Tim Flowers handed debuts to Burton Albion duo James Ellison and Garyn Preen, with Robert Ambrusics in goal, on loan from Leicester City and Sean Kinsella on loan from Plymouth Argyle.

Marston Road

Ellison was involved early-on, as the forward collided with Workington goalkeeper Aaran Taylor in the seventh minute, resulting in appeals for a penalty from the home fans which referee Mick Bell dismissed.

The Rotherham-based official was called into action six minutes later when Workington winger Phil McLuckie burst into the box and was brought down by Rangers defender and Northampton loanee Seb Harris to give Workington a clear penalty.

Arnison stepped up for the visitors and sent Ambrusics the wrong way, nestling his spot-kick into the bottom left-hand corner.

Tim Flowers’s men got their first chance in the 21st minute, when Kinsella found himself in space 30 yards out but the midfielder fired over.

Kinsella did test Taylor seven minutes later; the Plymouth loanee played a smart one-two with Ben Mills, before drilling a low effort straight at the Workington goalkeeper.

The away side punished Rangers for their slow start and made it 2-0 in the 30th minute.  Skipper David Hewson had his effort blocked, only for the ball to fall to Anthony Wright, who made no mistake from four yards.

Ambrusics was fortunate to avoid further embarrassment when he took too much time to clear the ball, allowing Arnison to charge him down but the forward’s block fell to safety.

Stafford’s best chance of the half came in the 36th minute. Craig McAughtrie headed Darren Wrack’s cross agonisingly over the bar after the centre-half towered above the Workington defence.

There was more controversy six minutes from the break as Ellison appeared to be hacked down in the box but the offside flag was raised against the Rangers front man.

The visitors continued from where they had left off in the second half, Arnison threatened to extend their lead after being played in by Shaun Vipond but the forward shot straight at Ambrusics.

 

Tim Flowers (left)

Rangers could have hit back in the 50th minute, as Ellison ran onto an Andre Francis through ball, only for Taylor to bravely deny the forward to prevent him from rounding the goalkeeper.

The away side twice went close to extending their lead within minutes. First, Hewson shot straight at Ambrusics and then Arnison forced a save from the Rangers keeper from Hewson’s knock down.

A short free-kick almost created a goal for Rangers in the 81st minute as Reid collected the ball from Wrack’s pass and then curled an effort just over the crossbar.

The defeat leaves Tim Flowers’s men floundering in 20^th place with a trip to second-place Guiseley next Saturday (December 18).

Did you go to the match? Can Flowers turn Stafford Rangers season around? Let North Staffs Football know your thoughts.

Stafford Rangers to face Cumbrian test

Stafford Rangers will be hoping the cold snap break turns their season around when they host Workington tomorrow (December 11) at Marston Road, writes Matthew Appleby

The original fixture, due to be played on December 3rd, was postponed due to a frozen pitch but the match looks set to go ahead this time this weekend.

Rangers are currently second from bottom in the table but manager Tim Flowers boasts three new signings in Sean Kinsella, who is on loan until January 10^th and Burton Albion duo Garyn Preen and James Ellison.

Marston Road

Burton manager Paul Peschisolido has allowed both players to join Rangers on a one-month loan deal, giving them an opportunity to gain some much needed experience at a lower level.

Striker Danny Campbell has also arrived from Tipton Town to add strength to Rangers’ attacking options, while Liam McDonald has left for Kettering Town and Rod McDonald has returned to Oldham after completing his loan spell.

Flowers will be without the suspended Martyn Naylor after the defender was sent off in their 1-0 defeat to Blyth Spartans in the FA Trophy.

Both sides have endured a disappointing run of results, with Rangers mustering just one point from their last seven league games, while Workington have lost their last five league matches.

Workington remain ninth in the league and sit thirteen points above Flowers’s men in the Blue Square North.

Rangers will be relying on top scorer Christopher Sterling to lead from the front if they are to end their winless run, whilst dangerman for the visitors will come in the form of joint top-strike partners Shaun Vipond and Jonny Wright.

Stafford Rangers vs Workington – OFF

The first of our non-league sides have fallen foul of the weather.

Stafford Rangers vs Workington - OFF

Stafford Rangers fans were counting on a match at Marston Road against Workington tomorrow (Dec 4) but freezing weather prevailed as ground staff were unable to keep the ground playable following a 9.30am pitch inspection.

Tim Flowers’s men sit 20th and second bottom on the Blue Square North and will hope for warmer weather to climb their way back up the league.

The match will be replayed on Saturday, December 11

Cold snap puts freeze on football fixtures

Cold snap puts a freeze on matches

Overnight snow coupled with temperatures as low as minus 6C have resulted in three of our matches to fall foul of the conditions.

Leek Town‘s charity match against Glapwell has been postponed as freezing weather in Mansfield left officials with no choice but to call the game off.

Stafford Rangers ‘s match at Harrogate Town was cancelled following a pitch inspection at 8.30am due to a frozen pitch.

Newcastle Town‘s trip to Belper Town was cancelled after a 9.00am pitch inspection due to a frozen pitch.Belper’s ground was under four inches of snow.

Kidsgrove Athletic‘s match at Shepshed Dynamo has also been ruled out after a 10.30am pitch inspection.

Grove boss Peter Ward spoke to StaffsLive on his way to the game and said: “We expected the game to be off.

“The lads will be training this afternoon, but I can see us missing all next week’s games as well because this weather is set for at least ten days.”

Newcastle Town assistant manager Dorian Garner said their players will not be getting an easy afternoon though.

He added: “We’ve booked the hall at Newcastle College just in case this would happen and the players will have a bit of a sweat on when they finish later on.”

Burton Albion‘s second-round FA Cup match at the Pirelli Stadium against Chesterfield will go ahead and Stoke City’s clash with Manchester City is also expected to avoid any problems – both are a 3pm kick-off.

Stafford Rangers boss up for FA Trophy clash

Stafford Rangers boss Tim Flowers is adamant that his side aren’t going to ‘roll over’ on Saturday (Nov 20), writes Lewis Davies.

Rangers face a long 220-mile trip to the Northumberland coast as they take on Blyth Spartans in the third-qualifying round of the FA Trophy.

But the former-England keeper said that his side need to be wary of their top players.

He added: “Blyth are a good side and they have one of the league’s top goalscorers Paul Brayson in their team.

Tim Flowers (left)

“However, there is no chance that I’m making the four hour journey up north to see us roll over and get our tummies tickled.

“I thought we were the better team against Solihull a few weeks back, who are now flying high, and I expect us to make as many chances as we did against Hinckley where we created nine or ten clear cut opportunities and converted just one.

“I’m going there to win the game and we’ll give it everything.”

Defender Mark Dudley is expected to be fit having come back from a recent ankle injury but the occasion may have come too soon for forward Tyree Clarke.

Darren Wrack and Jermaine Johnson remain suspended and despite also missing out on Nantwich midfielder Michael Carr’s signature this week, Rangers boss Tim Flowers is adamant his team will perform nonetheless.

Kick-off is 3.00pm at Spartans Croft Park.

North Staffs Football predicts a 2-1 Blyth Spartans win.

Betting odds for North Staffs football this weekend

Fancy a flutter this weekend? Christopher Finch has a look at some of our sides as they shape up for tomorrow’s matches.

Stoke City travel to the Hawthorns to take on West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League, but find themselves second favourites at 13/5, with the Baggies available at 5/4. In a battle of two sides currently sitting mid-table, a 23/10 draw looks a tempting bet.

Will you be in for a good return?

Meanwhile down in League Two, Burton Albion entertain high-flying Bury on Friday night as 11/8 favourites, with the visitors best priced at 17/8. You can get 12/5 on this match finishing level.

Port Vale (6/4) are looking to close the gap on leaders Chesterfield, and welcome fourth-placed Wycombe Wanderers (21/10) to Vale Park. With the home team having drawn five of their last six league matches, that result here is available at 23/10.

Struggling Stafford Rangers are 4/1 outsiders as they take a break from league action with an FA Trophy trip to Blyth Spartans (4/6), with the draw at 3/1.

North Staffs Football encourages responsible betting.