Admirals Sunk As Nelson Meet Their Trafalgar...

And so to the magic of the FA Cup, and fittingly to Little Wembley, otherwise known as Victoria Park, the home of Nelson FC. The Admirals (it couldn't be anything else !!) welcome the Bishops, Bishop Auckland FC, in the FA Cup Preliminary Round.

Nelson FC was founded in 1881, joining the Lancashire League in 1889 and becoming champions in 1896. The club folded during the 1898/99 season and was expelled by the Lancashire FA. Having rejoined the League in 1900, the club again closed down in 1916 with bailiffs called in.

 

Having reformed in 1918 and entered the Central League, the Admirals became founder members of the Football League Division 3 North in 1921. Promotion to Division 2 followed in 1923, and the side embarked on a Spanish preseason tour which saw them beat Real Madrid 4-2 !

 

Sadly the club was relegated after only one season, and against a backdrop of struggling form, falling attendances and growing debt (even a fund raising carnival lost £20 !) the team finished bottom of the League in 1931. They failed to win re-election and were replaced by Chester City. Having dropped into the Lancashire Combination the Admirals folded once more in August 1936 due to crippling debts.

 

Hastily reformed as Nelson Town the new club entered the local Nelson & Colne League in which they played up to the start of World War II. After a further reformation in 1946 and rejoining the Lancashire Combination, the Admirals were crowned champions in 1950 and again in 1952, the latter under the stewardship of Joe Fagan, who went on to manage Liverpool.

 

In 1971 the football club moved from its Seedhill base, home since 1905 and which also hosted the Nelson Admirals speedway team, to Victoria Park. Seedhill became a stock car racing venue, but was all but demolished when the M65 was built.

 

Nelson FC became a founder member of the North West Counties Football League in 1982 but was evicted in 1988 due to ground grading requirement failures. A four year sojourn in the West Lancashire League ended with readmittance to the NWCFL as Victoria Park, or Little Wembley as the locals christened it, was upgraded. The Admirals resigned from the league in 2010 but after a 12 month 'sabbatical' returned and were promoted to the Premier Division in 2014.

For Bishop Auckland it all started when theological students from Oxford and Cambridge Universities, whilst studying at Auckland Castle (the home of the Bishop of Durham in Bishop Auckland) formed a team known as Bishop Auckland Church Institute in 1882.

 

A later dispute caused a breakaway team to be formed - Auckland Town - in 1886/87. It was from this upheaval that Bishop Auckland FC was born. The club chose the light and dark blue colours of the original Church Institute, representing the colours of Oxbridge - and giving rise to their alternative nickname 'The Two Blues'.

 

Auckland Town was a founder member of the Northern League in 1889 but left after one season, returning in 1893 as Bishop Auckland. Between 1893 and 1988 the Bishops won the league championship a record 19 times and reached the old FA Amateur Cup 18 times, winning the Cup on 10 occasions. There was a famous double in 1938/39 with future Liverpool player and manager Bob Paisley playing at right back in the team. When the FA Amateur Cup competition ceased in 1974 the club was presented with a replica of the trophy in recognition of its outstanding record.

 

The Bishops entered the Northern Premier League in 1988, staying for 18 seasons, before reverting back to the Northern League. This was mainly due to ground issues, as the team moved from its spiritual home at Kingsway, and following groundshares at Shildon, Spennymoor and West Auckland, moved to the purpose built Heritage Park in October 2010 thus befitting the club motto 'Tempori Parendum' (One must move with the times).

Onto Washway Road, past WAGS (that's Wash And Groom Salon for dogs - insert your own joke !) and then to Barton Bridge and inevitable queues for the Trafford Centre and Chill Factore. Smart motorway but the signs inform us that '27 vehicles ran out of fuel in July' - not so smart !!

 

The M66 sees the landscape a mass of wind turbines under leaden grey skies as I pass a trundling van proclaiming itself 'The Cafe at the End of the Universe'...... Off the M65 and past the Thatch & Thistle, the old ground at Seedhill and down into a curious industrial estate on the outskirts of Nelson which also features terraced housing.

 

Little Wembley - well to be honest I'm not seeing the resemblance...... Victoria Park is bordered by trees on two sides in surrounding parkland. Along one side there is a tidy low roofed wooden stand, with its green seats, although the multitude of wooden supports makes viewing difficult. Opposite are the dugouts behind which are the back gardens of the houses on Holme Terrace and a chimney rising out of the industrial units. The clubhouse and changing rooms are behind the goal at the top end of the ground whilst the Admirals Executive Lounge is a rusting portacabin....

Despite the gloomy weather predictions of heavy rain, the black clouds race past leaving the tie to kick off in blustery but sunny conditions. The Admirals are in blue with white sleeves, and their goalkeeper in salmon, whilst the Bishops are in change lurid fluorescent lime - truly shocking !!

 

Within two minutes the Admirals lead as centre back Richard Cowan heads home from a corner. Thereafter the Bishops are sloppy, enjoying plenty of possession but with no incision and frequently caught offside. Obdurate home defending limits the away side to a routine save from Andrew Johnson whilst Chris Winn shoots narrowly over from distance, and Michael Hoganson's free kick is just wide.

 

Little has been seen from the home team, content to frustrate, until Zak Dale's mesmerising run takes him beyond three defenders, rounding the keeper before his shot is hacked off the line. And then the Bishops' prayers are answered as just before the break a diagonal ball finds Hoganson who lays the ball onto Johnson, and his low shot finds the corner of the net for the equaliser.

 

The second half is one of total dominance for the roused visitors. Within ten minutes the tie is as good as over as Hoganson is given another opportunity from a free kick and finds the top corner this time. Shortly after a corner is played to the edge of the box and Jeff Smith volleys home magnificently.

 

One more goal seals the deal for the Bishops - a penalty area shambles featuring a mishit shot, pinball defending and Andre Bennett has three bites of the cherry before smashing the ball home for a 4-1 victory for Bishop Auckland. Little Wembley’s Wembley dream over for another year….. J