We must play without fear, insists Buckley

CHADDERTON are aiming to spring a surprise when they take on Formby in the first qualifying round of the FA Vase tomorrow.

Manager Paul Buckley is looking forward to his first-division side tackling premier opposition from the Vodkat North-West Counties League.

“We have nothing to be frightened of and I shall be telling the players to go out and enjoy themselves,” said Buckley.

The Chadderton boss has selection problems with Daniel Shaw and John Jones on holiday, captain Mark Egerton and Dave Glynn working and Gareth Morris is injured.

“The absence of those players may give opportunities to a couple of lads who may otherwise not have played,” said Buckley, who has received a lift with Paul Socha returning to the club.

The left-sided Socha, last season’s joint top scorer, left in the summer for Ashton United, who are three divisions higher in the non-league pyramid.

Socha was recently loaned by Ashton to Rossendale but, after things failed to work out, he is back at Broadway.

Chadderton reserves are at home to Barnoldswick Town.


OLDHAM Town have had a major clear-out ahead of tomorrow’s home game against Holker Old Boys in the first division of the Vodkat NWCL.

Manager Tony Mills has released 10 players, the most senior being Lee Scanlan, Dave Bowker and Anthony Jones.

Mills is still left with an 18-strong pool of players which he believes is far more manageable, especially as Town no longer run a reserve side.

Town lost 2-1 in the league at Norton United last Saturday when they were once again punished for defensive mistakes.

Mill said: “We have spoken long and hard about what happened and it was largely down to our inexperience.

“We are in a period of transition and sometimes you need to take a step back to move forward long term.”


MOSSLEY are in action at Warrington Town in UniBond League, first division north tonight.

Warrington requested the switch from tomorrow as they experiment with Friday night fixtures to try to increase crowds and generate more income.

Mossley were without eight players for the 2-2 draw against Chorley on Monday.

But Danny Dignan, Danny Egan and Jordan Goodeve – who were all working on Monday – are available, while Nick Boothby has a 50-50 chance of returning following a knee injury.

Manager Chris Willcock, who has appointed former Leigh Genesis manager Lee Merricks as first-team coach, says he still needs four new players to strengthen his squad’s challenge for honours.