A DRAW with promotion-chasing Warrington Town on Boxing Day included plenty of talking points:

Witton wish it could be Christmas every day…

WELL, almost.

Albion have lost only once at home in a Boxing Day fixture since joining the Northern Premier League in 1979.

Since then they have hosted an opponent on December 26 on a dozen occasions with Leek Town, in 2006, the solitary guest to leave Northwich with maximum points.

Had they protected an interval lead against Warrington, Carl Macauley’s men would have won three successive league matches for the first time since March 2014.

 

A rare scorer

TOM Schofield’s goal on Saturday was his first in Witton's colours for almost four years.

The 25-year-old was previously on target for Albion in a 3-1 win at Prescot Cables on January 7, 2012, in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League’s Division One North.

Meanwhile his most recent strike in a league match before this weekend was for Trafford in a 2-1 victory at Worksop Town in January of last year.

The former Knutsford man’s latest goal is timely – he is the first player to score against Warrington in Division One North since Burscough’s Will Jones on October 20.

 

Giving youth a chance

CARL Macauley named three teenagers – Andy Firth, Ryan Ellison and Billy Reeves – in his starting line-up to face Warrington Town.

The average age of Albion’s XI for the Boxing Day contest was just 23 with only a single member, front man Rob Hopley, over 30.

The ex-Marine manager has a smaller weekly wage budget than either of his predecessors, so in part has been forced to use the loan market in search of value.

Indeed, the trio mentioned above are all at Wincham Park temporarily.

Macauley’s challenge will be how to replace them - and with who - when they return to their parent clubs.

 

Progress on the (training) pitch

WITTON’S supporters had not seen their side play a home match in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League since a 2-1 reverse against Prescot last month.

That was a sixth successive defeat in Division One North, but Albion have not been beaten by anybody since then.

A hat-trick of postponements gave boss Carl Macauley and his assistant Gary Martindale valuable time to work with their players on the training pitch.

And they’ve used it well.

Witton were prepared perfectly to deal with Warrington’s strengths, and did so flawlessly for more than an hour.

“The group is together – I hope everybody can see that,” said Macauley at full time.

“We’ve got good numbers turning up to train every week, and that’s a positive sign that these lads are enjoying what they do.”

 

Have Witton turned a corner?

IT is too early to tell, but there can be no doubt they would have lost to Warrington had the teams met six weeks earlier.

A sequence of three league games without defeat is Albion’s longest this term, though that is perhaps proof more of how poor their form was until the end of October.

They have lost only one of their past half-dozen matches in all competitions, which is reason to feel optimistic ahead of a return clash with table-toppers Northwich Victoria on Monday.

Rob Hopley’s arrival is significant, and when the former Colwyn Bay front man is fully fit he will complement the speed and movement of Alex Titchiner perfectly.

January promises home matches against two teams below them in the table; Harrogate Railway Athletic and Radcliffe.

Out-of-sorts Glossop visit Wincham too.

However a trip to in-form Burscough will be a formidable test.

A visit to Kendal completes the month, when a sample size to assess Albion’s apparent resurgence will be larger than it is now.