2023/24 Non-League season preview

The Non-League season begins in full this weekend, with all six Tameside Clubs in action on Saturday.

A couple of our Tameside clubs have already begun their 2023/24 seasons, with Droylsden kicking off their campaign back in July, and Curzon Ashton’s curtain raiser taking place last Saturday, but the majority of our clubs play their first game this Saturday, with the return of the Northern Premier League.

Four teams are in action this weekend in Ashton United, Hyde United, Stalybridge Celtic and Mossley AFC.

Ashton United start their season with a potentially tricky tie, away to newly promoted Workington, who won the Northern Premier League West playoffs last year, to earn a place in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Steve Cunningham’s men should be full of confidence going into this one though, after what has been an impressive pre-season, where they were unbeaten across seven matches.

As for the other Premier Division side, Hyde United, they start the season at home against Yorkshire-based side Guiseley. Two familiar faces will be making their return to Ewen Fields but this time they’ll be playing for the opposition. Tom Pratt, who captained Hyde United last season, and Liam Tongue both made moves to Guiseley earlier this summer and will be looking to come back and haunt their former side on the opening day.

As for Stalybridge Celtic, they will play their football in the Northern Premier League West Division next season, following their relegation back in April. There has been a lot of change at the club over the past few months, with new owners coming in, a new manager with fresh ideas, and an entirely new squad, and things finally seem to be moving in the right direction for the Celts. Their first match sees them travel to Hanley Town, who narrowly escaped relegation from the division last season.

The fourth and final team kicking off their season this weekend is Mossley, who narrowly missed out on a playoff spot last season in the Northern Premier League West. The Lilywhites will be looking to build on what was a good season for them last campaign all things considered, despite the disappointing end. They are at home to Prescot Cables on the opening day and will be looking for a similar result to the one they had last campaign, where they were the victors.

As mentioned, there are two Tameside clubs whose seasons have already begun. One of those is Curzon Ashton, who began their season last Saturday, away at Darlington. The Nash made the perfect start to their National League North season with a 3-1 win over the men from the North East. They will look to build on this victory this weekend when they welcome Rushall Olympic to the Tameside Stadium.

Another team whose campaign has already begun is Droylsden, who made their return to non-league football on July 29, playing in their first competitive match for three years, when they faced off against Abbey Hulton, at the Butcher’s Arms. In front of a massive home crowd, the Bloods made the perfect start to the campaign with a 3-0 win. Things weren’t quite as rosy in their second game of the North West Counties season though, which they faced Ashville FC away from home, on the following Tuesday. It was a very disappointing night for Dave Pace’s men as they lost 6-1, but they’ll have the chance to bounce back this weekend when they welcome Cheadle Heath Nomads to the Butcher’s Arms.