A season of thirds for positive Wigglesworth

They remain sixth in the Premier Division after a 1-1 at Cleator Moor Celtic on Saturday.

The hosts took the lead on 39 minutes through Dan Hill but Poulton equalised on the stroke of half time through Oscar Wright.

“I think it’s a very fair result,” Wigglesworth said about Saturday’s result. "We obviously know going up to teams like Cleator Moor and Whitehaven is going to be a tough task because naturally, the lads do work, there are some that aren’t available because they don’t finish in time.

“We had to set off at 10am in the morning to get there, and you expect them to have their strongest teams when you get up there so we knew what the task was going to be.

“They played good football, they were a good team and they frustrated us.

“They took the lead through what we thought was a dubious goal but it was a good finish by their lad, and soon we got ourselves back into it.

“We went at them in the second half, we were getting into the final third but it was just that end ball.

“By our standards, we will consider it two points dropped but it’s always tough going up there - last year we lost.“

He took over as first team manager in September 2024 after just over a year assisting Dale Azzopardi. In his first full season in charge, the club have high hopes.

“We’ve got a really young squad and we lost a few lads so the first thing we had to do was recruit and rebuild.

“The targets for the first team realistically was that we wanted to break into the top five and have two good cup runs.

“As for the reserves, we wanted them to get up there competing as well as developing young players and ensuring that a lot of them moving into the first team.”

Wigglesworth added: “Our chairman Steve Beesley spoke to me the other week and it hit home, he mapped out what a West Lancs season looks like.

“There’s almost three parts to the season: the nice summer months where you know every game will be played, the second part is what I’ve called the Mordor part of the season where it’s dark, dull, pitches aren’t great, and the last part where the weather calms down and you’re either in it or not.

“In the first part, we flew out of the traps, we had five games unbeaten at the start and we recovered after we lost to Blackpool Wren Rovers on groundhop day.

“We’re in the second part of the season now where the experience comes in, it’s old school football in that period and on reflection, that’s probably why we’ve dropped points where we shouldn’t have.

“The third part, which we’re going into, the task is to keep the lads motivated and keep the lads wanting to push as high as possible rather than being deflated and thinking the season is done."

Wigglesworth is delighted about where the club is at the moment and says there’s more to come.

“I think the club's in a very, very good place, possibly the most exciting place it's been for a long, long time.

“We’ve got a full first team, a full reserve team and we probably boast more youth players under the age of 21 than any other team on the Fylde coast.

“That’s going to be huge moving forward because obviously in a few years, these lads aren't going to be teenagers.

“They're going to be mid-20-year-olds with X amount of years experience in the West Lancs.

“We are a club that can demonstrate that they push youth players, they give young lads a chance and it's a good club to be part of.

“We are now exploring the opportunity of creating an under-23s team for next season so that’s something that both our junior and senior committee are working together on and I’m pushing massively for it.

“We don’t have an under-18s side so we are also looking at the under-16s and what do they do afterwards.

“There can now be bridges between teams, they can play in competitive leagues and alongside experienced players.

“We’ve now got a strong partnership with a sponsor at the club, a full club shop, and that goes all the way down to juniors so some really good things are happening off the pitch.”

Elsewhere in the Premier Division, Lostock St Gerards secured a 4-2 win over Burscough Richmond, helped massively by three first half goals from Reece Thompson and Charlie Markland (2).

Burscough Richmond fought back in the second, with strikes from Harry Avis and Billy Whittle coming either side of Isaac Loftus finding a fourth for LSG.

The eight-point gap between themselves and leaders Eagley remains after a 2-0 away win at Whitehaven with Kieran Sisson and Sam Rigby getting the goals.

Hurst Green earned their sixth away win of the season with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Astley and Buckshaw.

In an end-to-end game, away skipper Tom Divver twice denied the home side with last-ditch tackles before Jordan Rawcliffe spurned the best chance of the first half when he superbly brought down a left wing cross only to scuff his shot into the grateful hands of Astley keeper Adam Caunce.

Hurst Green thought they had taken the lead halfway through the second period when Sam Langford's powerful shot was cleared from bang on the goal-line.

But their pressure told on 68 minutes when Tom Yates volleyed home from the edge of the area.

Astley were inches from equalising when Ollie Vaulks headed across goal only for Ash Brierley's brilliant header denying an Astley attacker at the back post.

Scott Craven burst clear in injury time to make it 2-0 with a classy finish but Samir Sobeih made it a nervy ending when he slammed home from a long ball over the top.

Coppull United saw off CMB 4-2, Millom edged past Rossendale 3-2 and third placed Haslingden St Mary’s drew 1-1 with holders Tempest United.

In Division One, leaders Hesketh Bank grabbed a 95th-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over Ulverston Rangers, who have dropped to third.

Chris Wraighte gave Ulverston the lead on 49 minutes but the table-toppers equalised through league top scorer Kevin Edgar (23), before Matthew Lowe’s dramatic winner deep into stoppage time.

Hesketh Bank now have an eye-watering 20-point lead over the teams below them, but one team who can close that gap with games in hand is Carnforth Rangers, who won 2-1 at Croston Sports thanks to a Joe Wilkinson double.

Ben McMeeking scored a hat trick as Pause United returned to winning ways and climbed to second with a 4-1 win at Freckleton.

Last weekend’s opponents for Pause, Slyne with Hest, secured a second straight win as they closed the gap between themselves and safety to two points after a 5-2 win over Turton.

Two goals from new signing Tommy Varey helped Kendal United beat Askam United 5-1, with Steve Brown (2) and Caden Beckett also scoring.

The biggest win of the day came in Division Two as second placed Stoneclough defeated Galgate 11-0 to close the gap to just one point behind Fulwood Amateurs Reserves.

There were six different scorers and an own goal, with Jordan Wignall bagging four.

Langho also secured a huge home win in a 7-0 victory over Walney Island with Adam Bolton getting a hat trick.

Stoppage time goals from Ian Billington and Rocco Latona gave Charnock Richard Reserves a dramatic 5-3 win against Mill Hill.

Storeys climbed back up to fourth with a 5-1 victory at Caton United, Garstang Reserves got their first home win of the season as they saw off Hawcoat Park 3-0 and Dalton United beat Appley Bridge 3-2.

In Reserve Division One, Carnforth Rangers Reserves and Tempest United Reserves enjoyed 5-0 wins over Haslingden St Mary’s and Coppull United Reserves.

There was a dramatic score draw for Poulton Reserves, who fought back right at the end with Cory Williams and Iwo Gospodarczyk scoring in the 93rd and 94th minutes to draw 3-3 with Chipping Reserves.

Leaders Hesketh Bank Reserves were held to a 2-2 draw by Turton Reserves and Eagley Reserves beat CMB 2-0.

In Reserve Division Two, Finley Clarke scored three as Fulwood Amateurs A defeated Milnthorpe Corinthians 6-2.

Top of the table Hurst Green Reserves’ strong first half performance earned them a 4-1 win over Rossendale, while their closest challengers Thornton Cleveleys A edged out Lytham Town Reserves 3-2.

Croston Sports Reserves won 2-1 at Storeys Reserves while Pause United Reserves and Astley & Buckshaw Reserves played out a thrilling 3-3 draw.

In the fourth round of the Lancashire Amateur Cup, Bamber Bridge Reserves came out on top in a thrilling 6-4 win at Moston Brook Reserves.

Blackpool Wren Rovers Reserves and Fulwood Amateurs Reserves progressed on penalties after their ties with Village Club Culceth and Wigan Road went all the way, while Thornton Cleveleys Reserves bowed out after a narrow loss to Trawden Celtic Juniors.