No Angels Delight As It's Hats Off To Higham !

 And so to the Abzorbed Arena on Abbey Lane in Bucknall, Stoke on Trent to see the league leaders, Hanley Town. Today's visitors in the North West Counties First Division are 'The Angels', Rochdale Town FC.

Hanley Town's football roots go back as far as 1882 before the club folded in 1912. Whilst a Hanley Town side returned to local football in the late 1940s, the present club was formed in 1966 and is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. The resurrected club began life as a group of friends playing mainly friendly games on a Sunday based at the Trumpet Public House in Hanley, and who joined the local Longton Saturday League. Having won this in their first season, 'Town' moved up to the Staffordshire County League for the 1967/68 campaign.

The club lost its ground, a pitch rented from engineering firm Copestick & Farrell on Victoria Road, to developers in 1971. Having ground shared with the now defunct Eastwood Hanley until 1974 when the rent became unacceptable, they then played at Leek Town for two seasons.

Abbey Lane was acquired thereafter and the club moved across to the Mid Cheshire League and were champions in 1981/82. Town applied to become members of the North West Counties Football League in 1988, but failed, lost players as a consequence and very nearly folded.

In 1998 the club moved back to the Midland League (Staffordshire County Senior League) - a division they won in 2012/13 despite the tragic death of their manager Colin 'Codger' Stair at the age of 50 with four matches to go. Two weeks prior to his death Codger had seen his side beat Stone Dominoes 42-0 in a league match. The club was finally accepted into the North West Counties for the 2013/14 season.

The Angels were founded in Castleton as the church team of St Gabriel & The Angels in 1924 under the name of St Gabriels FC. Until the 1960s the club's players had to be Catholic and regularly attend Church and Sunday school.

When these restrictions were lifted the club began to win trophies playing in the Rochdale Alliance League and moved to their current ground, Butterworth Park (now Castleton Sports Centre) in 1979. The Angels then progressed to the Manchester Football League in 1984, changed their name to Castleton Gabriels in 1990 and became members of the North West Counties for the 1990/91 season.

After several seasons of midtable mediocrity two last place finishes in 2004 and 2005 and a ground falling into disrepair meant the club was threatened with expulsion from the league. However Rochdale Mayfield Rugby Club bought the Gabriels, who temporarily ground shared with Oldham Town, before moving back to the refurbished stadium in December 2005.

A third successive last place, 122 goals shipped, winning two games all season and finishing with one point after a points deduction for registration irregularities, represented the very nadir of the club's fortunes. Relegation was again avoided due to the league being under subscribed. Thankfully matters have improved and, after changing name to Rochdale Town in 2008, there has been an upturn in the side's final league standings.

Past the now depressingly frequent sight of abandoned wheelie bins on Manchester Road, then long tailbacks at Regent Roadworks it's on to the M6 after bypassing the Trucknology Roadshow at Knutsford. The M6 means Smart Motorway and 50mph average speed cameras but a solitary workman (well man in orange high-vis!) is spotted...... There's the enduring PIES graffiti and trailers in the adjoining fields, one promoting Price Drop Donkey ('He's One Smart Ass'), another simply stating 'Adverise Here' - and with spelling like that how can you fail ??

Off at junction 16 and onto the A500, through Talke then a right to the 'Cultural Quarter' of Stoke (Hanley ?) and then past Crank Music Studios and the New Finney Gardens - a strange name for a pub in Stanley Matthews territory....

The Abzorbed Arena is situated in a residential development just off the A50 in Bucknall and features an AstroTurf pitch and two car parks, one outside and one inside the ground. As with Eccleshall it's £4 to get in - you certainly get value for money in the Potteries !! £4 entrance, free car parking and the sun shining - but a biting cold wind and a sharp shower ensure that this is not exactly nirvana.....

Immediately inside is the Colin Stair Stand, a 75 seat covered stand opened in April 2014 and with over 50 of the seats sponsored by life patrons. There is Codger's picture above the back row and the fitting tribute :
Codger A True Friend
A True Gentleman
You Will Never Be Forgotten

Beyond the stand the clubhouse sits in the corner whilst on the opposite side is a small two step covered terrace betwixt the two dugouts. One and a half sides are out of bounds and the whole ground is enclosed by metal railings.

Hanley are in all blue with a white slash for their shirt sponsor, Britania (High Level & Specialist Access Solutions - need you ask ?). Codger's son Theo is on the bench but his nephew, Joel, misses out today. The Angels are in change yellow shirts, fluorescent yellow shorts and yellow and black hooped socks, and with the keeper in all lilac - it is neither heavenly nor aesthetically pleasing.....

Match referee is ex pro Jason Jarrett on a, in parts, heavily sanded pitch. Rochdale start the brighter but it's not long before the Angels reveal they have a soft heart and a shambolic offside trap. Three times through the centre Hanley's centre forward John Higham is played in and three times he scores.

The first, on ten minutes, is via the post and has hints of offside which prompts a volley of abuse towards the rather portly linesman - very definitely not angelic behaviour from the visitors ! The other two, on 28 and 42 minutes, are more clear cut despite further (ridiculous) claims for offside - the former a calm sidefoot into the corner after excellent work from the skilful Lassana Sedebe, and the latter a chip over the keeper after a fine ball over the top from Olly Edwards. A rather wild strike into an adjacent garden is all Rochdale can muster.

The early hooking in the second half of Town's pacy front two, Sedebe and Higham (who missed a chance for his fourth), allows the Angels back into the game. Living up to their motto 'Numquam Dic Morere' (Never Say Die) they force two decent saves from Hanley keeper Joe Hemmings, before a recycled corner sees Liam Bennion deflect a shot in to make it 3-1.

But it's only a consolation, with all further attacks easily absorbed (Abzorbed ??), and the influential Edwards takes control of the game which finishes with Hanley hitting the post, having three goals disallowed and some really rather unnecessary handbags at the end. Town remain league leaders and need one win from their last five games to be promoted.

Finally good luck to the Angels for their Groundhopper initiative at next Saturday's home game with Widnes - tweet to let them know you're going and for a fiver you get match admission, a hot drink and a pie :)