Fresh from Wednesday night’s excellent win at Avro, Paul McNally’s side begin a busy Bank Holiday weekend by hosting Leek Town at the Berry Street Garage Stadium this afternoon.
It’s been a busy week at Purple Towers despite not having a game last weekend.
The First Team trained on Saturday and Monday ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Avro, and we announce a triple signing as we welcomed Harry Cannon-Noren, Nivaldo and Tom Fagan to the club.
Wednesday night saw a wondergoal from Callum Schorah seal a 1-0 win as Paul McNally’s men put a real shift in to secure our first three points of the campaign.
This will be the second time we have welcomed Neil Baker’s side to Bootle after our previous NPL West Division encounter in October 2022.
We’ve also hosted Leek at Vauxhall Sports Club in 2021 when a debut brace from Josh Quarless saw the Purps grab all three points.
THE TALE OF THE TAPE SO FAR:
Neil Baker’s Blues have made a solid start to their league season so far with two wins and a loss to their name from the first three fixtures.
Today’s opposition picked up a 1-0 home win against Michael Ellison’s Widnes on the opening day of the season, but felt the taste of defeat three days later with a 2-1 reverse at Chasetown.
Last time out they picked up a convincing 3-0 victory at home to Trafford and currently sit 4th in the table, whilst they have also progressed in the FA Cup.
ONES TO WATCH:
Jake Avery is a recent signing for Leek Town having joined from Belper Town in the off-season and currently sits top of their goalscoring charts with four to his name (2 league, 2 FA Cup).
Avery represented Hanley Town last season prior to his move to Belper and featured against the Purps as we picked up a 3-2 win at Potteries Park.
Last season’s home fixture with Leek saw Town legend Tim Grice – a man with over 240 goal for the club – bag a brace and typically stand out as a dangerman, whilst former Liverpool, Crewe and England youth international forward Dan Trickett-Smith was a constant threat.
The reverse fixture at Harrison Park saw forward Aaron Opoku bag a brace in a man of the match performance as the hosts picked up all three points.
Supporters may also be familiar with Nelson Digbeu who impressed at the back for Widnes last season, whilst Liam Buckley joined from 1874 Northwich in the summer on the back of winning their Player of the Season award.
Scouse midfielder Tom Scully is also a product of Liverpool Academy and has also represented Everton, Norwich City, Accrington Stanley and Nantwich Town.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS:
This will be the fifth time we have faced Leek Town and all previous fixtures have also been in the Northern Premier League.
Our first two encounters saw debut goals for Josh Quarless (2) in a win at Vauxhall and Zimbabwean forward Tinashe Chakwana in an entertaining draw at Harrison Park during the 2021-22 campaign.
Purps midfield maestro Max Allen also made his debut off the bench in this match.
Last season saw Leek take 6 points off the Purps starting at the Berry Street Garage Stadium.
Following this, an entertaining game at Harrison Park saw a heavy defeat which didn’t tell the full story, as we had a couple of goals disallowed and penalties denied in a fixture which was far closer than the final scoreline suggested.
GET ME TO THE MATCH:
Supporters can pick up their tickets via the Fanbase Club app, or via the link below.
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=3893
You can also purchase a “Pay It Forward” ticket using this link for those less fortunate, and we will distribute them to local good causes and community organisations.
Please make every effort to attend and give Macca and the boys your support as we look to build upon Wednesday’s excellent result at Avro.
Our media team will be on hand from 12:30 with build up, team news from 2pm and match commentary from 2:55pm on Twitter, Fanbase and PurpsFM.
Be sure to download the Fanbase Club app, set your club to City of Liverpool FC and check out our feed as we’ll bring you all the relevant news, post match reaction and an interview with manager Paul McNally following full time.
