Ending season on a high could bring big lift

Newcastle Town v Runcorn Linnets

Pitching In Northern Premier League West

Saturday, April 25th 2026

GRG Stadium,

Buckmaster Ave, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent ST5 3BX

We complete our regular campaign with a second successive trip to Staffordshire, our destination this time being Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The final day of the 42-game season will be less stressful than it might have been had we not already qualified for the play-offs.

Third place and home advantsge in the semi-final against Stalybridge Celtic remain possible after last week's 2-2 draw between the promotion-chasing rivals.

We want to finish on a high as indeed will the hosts, who are clear of the relegation zone and have been on a roll in the last few games, winning on Saturday at play-off hopefuls Lower Breck.

GRG Stadium is one of the most distinctive venues in the division.

Its playing area is surrounded by a cycle track with viewing areas being raised in a bowled  arena - meaning that fans are further away from the action than normal.

Happily, Newcastle's manager Neil Baker, one of the most popular and highly-regarded bosses in the league,  is back at the helm after recovering from a heart attack.

His assistant Paul Wright was in charge when we met at APEC Taxis Stadium in late November, triumphing 3-1. Unusually, all our goals came from substitutes.

With Linnets dominating possession yet struggling to create chances, Tim Grice had put the visitors in front after 63 minutes.

But Eden Gumbs struck back in the 82nd before stoppage-time efforts from Marcus Cusani and Lewis Crane completing the turnaround.

Castle's average home crowd this season is 261, the highest being 762 agaist Bury and the lowest 100 for the visit of Bootle.

Two of the Linnets squad are former Newcastle Town players.

James Steele was with them before beginning his first spell at Widnes in 2019.

Isaac Graham played 25 games for Saturday's hosts in 2023-24 and a further 12 at the start of last season prior to signing for Witton Albion.

Past visits

Our association with Newcastle Town goes back to North West Counties League days, when our visits to what was then Lyme Valley Parkway Stadium were very forgettable in terms of results.

We lost all three NWC Premier Division games there, conceding 11 goals without troubling the scorers ourselves.

Castle were promoted to the Step 4 for 2010-11 as champions after winning 37 of their 42 games with only three losses.

They scored 121 league goals while conceding only 21 so our 3-0 defeat in Staffordshire that season doesn't seem quite so bad.

Newcastle had eight seasons in the Northern Premier League's former South Division until their lateral movement into the West saw our paths cross again in 2018-19, our first at the level.

They spent both Covid-curtailed campaigns  in the old South East Division, while we were in the North West, before reorganisation brought us together again on formation of the West in 2021-22.

In contrast to NWCL times, our record on Newcastle's ground as an NPL club is good with five visits yielding four wins, the lone blemish being a single-goal defeat.

Last season's 1-0 victory was under the caretaker management of players Ryan Brooke, Karl Clair and James Short, the first of their two matches in temporary charge before Brad Cooke was appointed as boss.

Karl set up the winning goal for Brookey while injured skipper Shorty watched from the dugout.

Our biggest victory at Newcastle was in October 2022 when Brookey, on his return debut after a short sojourn at Warrington Rylands, was joined on the scoresheet in a 2-0 success by the then player/assistant manager Jamie Rainford.

There has been no more than one goal between the teams in all other Step 4 away meetings with Castle.

Form guide

Newcastle have finished in the bottom half of the division in the last five completed seasons.

That will again be the case as they go into Saturday's last-day encounter in 14th place.

The teams immediately above them, Shifnal Town and Atherton Collieries, are three points better off with a superior goal difference.

But Newcastle have won five on the spin.

Castle have had eight victories, eight defeats and four draws at home in the league this season and 15 NPL West wins all told.

The biggest was 4-0 against Stourport Swifts in the FA Cup on August 2nd and the heaviest defeat 0-5 to Stalybridge Celtic on March 14th.

The highest-scoring home match was October 4th's 4-3 success against Witton Albion.

Linnets will be bidding for our 11th away victory of the season having drawn five and lost five out of 20 so far.

We have averaged just above 1.5 goals per game on our league travels while conceding less than one per game.

How to get there

By car - Leave the M6 at Junction 15 and at the 1st roundabout take the A519 towards Newcastle. At the second roundabout turn right into Stafford Avenue and then first left into Tittensor Road (signposted Newcastle Town) to the ground.

By train - From Runcorn Railway Station change at Crewe for Stoke-on-Trent. Either take a taxi from the rank or the No.25 bus to the Royal Stoke University Hospital and walk across to the ground.

Parking

A car park next to the ground holds approx 110 vehicles. The Pay and Display requirement doesn't apply at weekends and it is free to use but tends to get full on matchdays.

There is street arking above the ground on the main road but fans are urged to respect local residents when parking.

Admission

Adults £11

Concessions £7

Under 16s £3

Under 12s Free