MATCHDAY
PROGRAMME
AVRO vs STALYBRIDGE CELTIC
SATURDAY, 2ND MAY, KICK OFF 3PM
Pitching In NPL Division One West
HISTORY
CONTACT US/ GENERAL INFORMATION
CLUB PERSONNEL (under development)
MEDIA (under development)
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon and welcome to The Vestacare Stadium for our Northern Premier League West Play-Off Final fixture against Stalybridge Celtic. Well after 42 legaue games and an intense Semi-Final, it all comes down to this where either ourselves or Stalybridge Celtic will join Bury in The Northern Premier League next season. We are no strangers to Play-Off drama after our promotion to the NPL West was achieved this way. This is set to be a historic afternoon for The Ro as a victory would see another massive step forwards for the club, all thanks to the hard work of Grant Shenton and his squad.
As many of you may have seen, it was some game on Tuesday evening as we secured our place in the final this afternoon. After taking the lead early in the second half, The Ro were dealt a bitter blow after Breck equalised in the 92nd minute and then turned the game around completely as they took the lead in extra time. However, we continued to show our fighting spirit as, right at the end of extra time, Kieran Molloy was there to fire Avro level. Then came the roll of the dice that is a penalty shootout. Avro showed their cool throughout as, bar one, they converted the rest of their penalties confidently and two vital misses from the visitors confirmed our place in the Play-Off Final. We will definitely be hoping for a less eventful fixture here this afternoon but we all know how unpredictable Play-Off football can be.
Our visitors this afternoon, Stalybridge Celtic, arrive at The Vestacare having made the short journey over from Bower Fold for this crucial fixture. Having finished third in the regular league season, they were awarded a home fixture in the Semi-Final as they faced Runcorn Linnets in what looked to be an intriguing fixture between two heavily fancied sides at the start of the season. After going ahead early on, they showed their quality and resilience to hold onto the lead and secure a 1-0 victory to book their place in the final. We welcome them back to The Vestacare for the second time this season and hope for a similar outcome to last time as The Ro claimed a 1-0 win thanks to a late Sam Davidson strike.
After two incredible attendances in our last two fixtures here at The Vestacare against Darlaston Town and Lower Breck, we need your support one final time as we look to achieve the ultimate goal of promotion. Your support throughout this time has been fantastic so I’m sure that Grant Shenton and his playing squad would appreciate that little bit extra for one last time this season as it is set to be a tough encounter against a strong Stalybridge Celtic side, a team that, like ourselves, will always fight until the very last whistle of the game.
We would like to extend a warm welcome to the visiting players, officials, and fans of Stalybridge Celtic who make the visit to The Vestacare this evening. Drinks are available in the Lancaster Suite with a new and refreshed food menu available just next door in The Hangar.
NOTE: As always, please be respectful of the stadium rules and staff. They are there for your safety, this includes no smoking or vaping in the ground. Avro FC maintain a zero-tolerance approach to discriminatory or abusive language and remain fully committed to ensuring all supporters can enjoy matches at The Vestacare Stadium in a safe and respectful environment.
Jamie Ross (Head of Media)
This seed of a club was probably the basis for the club we know today, which was formed in 1909 by Herber Rhodes, a local business man and philanthropist.
Mr Rhodes spent a chunk of his fortune on developing Bower Fold. He also played for the team and designed the strip (basing it on the colours used by his racehorses).
Celtic played for two seasons in the Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League, before turning professional and joining the Lancashire Combination become second division champion’s at the first attempt. Due to some local bureaucracy, Celtic’s ambition to join the Football League meant that they had to join the Southern League, and travel by train to every away match. Fortunately, finishing runners up (to Stoke) meant promotion.
There followed a short pause most people know as the First World War. In the aftermath (1920-21 to be exact) Celtic rejoined the Central League. At the end of the 1921 season, Celtic became one of the founder members of the Third Division (North).
Our first game in the third division was against Chesterfield, a home game that we won 6-0. However, winning this league was to prove too difficult, finishing 7th and 11th in the first two years. Lacking the support of local people, the funds were not available to press for a third campaign, forcing Celtic to voluntarily resign from the football league. Celtic rejoined the Cheshire County League (replacing the reserve squad) and stayed there for sixty years until the formation of the Bass NW Counties League. Peter Wragg took the helm and steered Celtic to Championship victory in 1980, eventually winning the Bass NW Championship in 1984 and 1987, and runners up in the NPL First division. During this time of league progress, there was a lot of work at Bower Fold, culminating in the ground gaining League grading.
Phil Wilson took over the reigns in 1989 when relegation threatened, eventually finishing second in the NPL. He followed this escaping act with promotion into the Conference in 1992. Our first season was a success, finishing 12th, but it was followed by disaster and relegation loomed again. Peter Wragg returned and saved the sinking ship by winning 9 of the last 12 games. Peter Wragg resigned at the start of the 1996/97 season, replaced by Brian Kettle, but it was not enough, and Celtic were relegated in 1998 back to the NPL after finishing bottom.
It was troubling times for the club, and there was a succession of managers including Stirling and Keelan before Phil Wilson came back. Phil Wilson was to prove an inspirational manager. Firstly in 1999 he brought us the League Cup, then, in 2001, we won the Cheshire Senior Cup (something we’d not won for nearly 50 years). Demolishing a strong Stockport County team 5-1 at Ewen Fields. In the same season, we went on to beat Blyth Spartans in the President’s Cup, before going on to win the league title after an impressive victory against closest rivals Emley at their ground.
The title was won away at local side Droylsden thanks to an injury time Stuart Locke penalty. We finished up with over 100 points and scored nearly 100 goals. The foray into the Conference was short lived though. Phil Wilson joined Southport, taking several of the squad with him, and the assistant coach. With scant time before the start of the new season, Paul Futcher took over the reigns. With a series of disastrous runs, Celtic replaced Paul with Dave Miller. He almost, but not quite, kept us in the Conference before sensationally sacking nearly the entire team. Miller won the President’s Cup at the first attempt, and we finished 4th in the NPL.
During this time, a new stand was built, upping the seated capacity to over 1200. With the formation of the Conference North in 2004/05, Celtic had to finish 2003/04 in 13th or higher – we only just did it. A sensational win at champions Hucknall Town saw us finish 13th. Our first season in the Conference North was almost our last, and with half the season gone, Miller was sacked and replaced by John Reed. John pulled off the great escape, clawing back an 18 point deficit to finish a place above the relegation zone, following it up by missing out on the play offs on the last day of the 2005/06 season. A poor couple of seasons saw John Reed replaced with Steve Burr, who took Celtic to the play off final at his first attempt in the 2007/08 season, losing by one goal to Barrow. Steve Burr’s second season saw him come within a whisker of the play offs, and after a storming start to his third season in charge, he left to join Kidderminster in the Conference National, and was replaced first by Benny Phillips and then by Jim Harvey. With the finances at Celtic unable to allow them to compete with the top finances sides in the division, Celtic took the brave option of going full time with a youth set up to allow them to compete in a different way. After a good first season, finishing 6th just outside the play offs, Harvey’s second full season was less successful, finishing midtable. A bad start to season13/14 saw Harvey replaced by former player Keith Briggs.
Keith continued the full time experiement, but resigned in December 2015 with Celtic looking doomed to relegation. Liam Watson came in and oversaw a turn around in Celtic’s form that saw them safe on the last day of the season with a thrilling 4-4 draw with Gainsborough Trinity. 2016 was to prove a disasterous season, Liam Watson was replaced by co-managers Steve Halford and Paul Phillips, but Celtic looked certain relegation candidates, so the club replaced them with Steve Burr who was unable to save Celtic from relegation, sending one of the last remaining founders of the Conference North into the Northern Premier League. 2017 was also a poor season, with Celtic finishing in the bottom four, though due to a league restructuring, with only one going down, Celtic remained in the division for the 2018 season. Simon Haworth came in after another poor season, in his first full season, Celtic finished in the bottom five, but then the season after Covid hit, curtailing both that season and the next. When football finally came home, Celtic finished bottom three and Chris Wilcock stepped into the manager hotseat ahead of the 2022/23 season.
Cetlic were demoted in 2023 into the Northern Premier League First Division West. To halt the slide, Rob Gorski sold the club to Nigel Jones who brought in James Kinsey. A lot of teams suffered a double demotion in the Northwen Premier League, but James Kinsey kept Celtic mid-table whilst off the field the ground got a make-over, reclaiming the old Greys Nightclub building, creating three support bars, with a fourth planned.
Celtic have made numerous appearances in the FA cup beyond the qualifying stages, starting in 1922, when we forced a replay from West Brom, at West Brom. Since then, there have been 12 other appearances. We have even been to the second round twice: 1993, when Carlisle beat us 3-1 at Brunton Park, and again in 1999, when Chester got the rub of the referee and beat us 2-1 at home.
Our best FA Trophy performance was in 2001, when we lost to Stevenage Borough.
