THE VICS COLUMN - By Pete Tonge

WELL, it’s coming up to the Christmas period, always a busy time in non-league football.

Vics’ appetiser for the festive period is a home match on December 14 when they take on fourth place Longridge Town at Wincham Park.

This is sure to be a tasty affair as the corresponding match earlier this season was one of the best of the campaign so far, when Vics were unlucky to come away with nothing after an “equalising” goal in the closing minutes was disallowed for a dubious offside.

The first course of the Christmas menu is an away fixture at Padiham on the 21st which hopefully will set us up nicely for the main dish, an absolute cracker on Boxing Day when we host the Northwich derby at Wincham Park against 1874 Northwich.

Boxing day matches are always special and this promises to be no exception with a large crowd expected and a great atmosphere to be had. Get there early!

Dessert on the festive menu is served up by another attractive looking home match, this time against fifth placed Bootle on Saturday the 28th.

Bootle, of course, have a couple of ex-Vics’ favourites in their squad, namely John Connolly and Rob Doran, but there will definitely be no Christmas presents waiting for them (I hope).

If your appetite hasn’t been fully satisfied by the menu so far, then there’s always the ‘cheese and crackers’ of the menu to be served up in the new year as Vics have an away day at Hanley Town on January 4.

Full details on all these matches will be at northwichvictoriafc.com as they approach.

If this has whetted your appetite, why not get a Vics half-season ticket which is now available?

This would give you a saving of £1 per home league match. There are nine home league matches left this season and prices are £54 adult, £36 concessions and just £9 for 12-16 year olds. Under 12s are free of charge as usual. Contact Dave Thomas at dave.thomas@northwichvics.co.uk if you’re interested.

A season ticket would make a great Christmas present for your loved ones and of course there are plenty of other Vics related gifts that could be great for that Vics fan in your life, ranging from simple Vics’ badges to Vics’ cuff links. All these can be seen at the Vics web shop on etsy which can be accessed through the general merchandise link at the top of our website, while, if you’re interested in replica kit and clothing, just click the replica kit link instead .

Next Match: Saturday, December 14 v Longridge Town at Wincham Park, kick off 3pm. Come down and support “the club that wouldn’t die”.