Little Devilment From The Red Devils As Port Weather No Storm

 And so to the Angel Telecom Stadium, the sponsor's name sounding much better (for once !) than the original Keighley Road Stadium. It's the home of the Cobbydalers, Silsden AFC, and the venue for today's North West Counties fixture against Whitchurch Alport.

The first ever Silsden AFC was formed at a meeting at Silsden Liberal Club in September 1904, adopting the blue and white playing kit that had been used by the recently defunct village rugby club. A field adjacent to the original rugby field on Keighley Road was hired – and that same field is used to this day.

The Cobbydalers played in a variety of local competitions, bouncing round the Keighley & District, Bradford & District, West Riding County Amateur, South Craven, Airedale & Craven, Bradford Amateur and Wharfedale (Saturday) Leagues. When Keighley Cup holders Keighley Shamrocks withdrew from local football due to ground problems in the summer of (19)69, the club's players moved en masse to Silsden and a period of success was to follow. Seven Keighley Cups were won and the West Riding County Amateur League title was lifted at the end of the 1971/72 season.

But the club were expelled from the league at the end of the following term for failing to raise a team for a league cup final against Lower Hopton - citing injuries, which coincided with six players travelling to Wembley to watch the Leeds United/ Sunderland FA Cup Final....

The club joined the West Yorkshire League, which they won in the 1975/76 season. The Cobbydalers were then promptly expelled from this league following incidents between Silsden and Fryston players at the league's end of season presentation evening.

Having been readmitted to the West Riding County Amateur League at Division 1 level, promotion to the Premier followed two seasons later. Almost inevitably the club was again thrown out of the league 'for violent and abusive conduct by players and officials both on and off the field'.

As if a third expulsion in six years wasn't enough, the club saw their facilities taken from them by the trustees of the ground. Sunday team Silsden United were installed as tenants and became the new Silsden AFC. Having rejoined the Craven League in 1980, the Cobbydalers were swiftly promoted but resigned from the league at Christmas 1988.

For seven years Silsden was without a Saturday team. Then Silsden Juniors took up the mantle in 1996 and, five successive promotions later, reached the West Riding County Amateur League Premier Division.

The Premier Division was won twice in 2003/04 and 2004/05 and after the second title the club was elected to the North West Counties, initially groundsharing with Keighley Cougars RLFC at Cougar Park. Having been promoted immediately to the Premier, the Cobbydalers moved back to Keighley Road for the start of the 2010/11 after the ground was extensively refurbished, and a £1.2m Sports Club erected. They were relegated back to the First Division at the end of last season.

The visiting side from Yockings Park, Whitchurch Alport FC, 'The Reds', was formed in 1946 and joined the Shrewsbury & District League. The club was named after Alport Farm on Alport Road, the home of local footballer Coley Maddocks, who was killed in action in the Second World War. As 1947/48 champions of the Shrewsbury & District League, the club was elected to the Birmingham League - but news of the proposed Mid Cheshire League reached the ears of the committee and this led to them becoming founder members.

Affectionately known as the 'Allbran Allstars', Alport were champions of the Mid Cheshire League in 1970, and are ten time winners of the Shropshire Cup. The Commander Ethelston Cup has also been won on numerous occasions, and the Reds became the last English club to win the Welsh Amateur Cup in 1974.

The club took the decision to move down to the Mercian Regional Football League in 2012, and, after squad strengthening and ground improvements, applied to join the North West Counties for the 2015/16 season. Initially denied by the FA, they were admitted on appeal. A torrid inaugural season ensued, with just two league victories and finishing bottom of the table.

And so onto Manchester Road and immediately the scene of some kamikaze and atrocious driving - a car stopped in no man's land at the traffic lights causing chaos, another car hits bus, and bus wins as the road is strewn with wreckage. Further on Indian restaurant Exotica has proved, well, too exotic for Sale and closed, but WAGS Grooming Salon next door is still flourishing.

Then Smart Motorway, with '32 vehicles running out of fuel in September' - so 32 not so smart drivers.... The average speed cameras prove no impediment for an Impulse Plants 'lorry-train' hurtling past me, as I join the M66 where hills are bathed in sunlight and I am (unfortunately) reacquainted with the blot on the landscape that is wind turbines.

Then Baxenden, the home of Holland's Pies, before turning onto the M65 and ignoring signs for Shuttlewoof Hall (a dog day care centre - what else !!). The motorway is brought to an abrupt end by Boundary Mill, and the bottleneck that is Colne....

Through the sprawling Cowling and then into Glusburn and Cross Hills, or Cross Hills and Glusburn if you approach it from the opposite direction.... Progress is halted by a huge freight train and two ambulances at the railway crossing, before a left turn and over the River Aire to the outskirts of Silsden, the home of the Ecology Building Society.

This brings me to Silsden Sports Club, where parking remains difficult after last year's floods, so, bearing in mind the marooned BMW in the mud trap at Eccleshall last season, I park on the main road.

Inside one end houses the impressive Sports Club and the 1904 Suite - an upgraded Portacabin - plus, new for this season, outside toilets. Two flags flutter side by side - SY13 Alport On Tour and Silsden AFC Keep The Faith.

The near side supports the McNulty Stand, an abandoned refreshment bar and a small covered shelter; opposite are two stone built dugouts and an advertising hoarding announcing 'Good Luck Silsden AFC From The Lost In Barrow Family'. Behind them the village of Silsden looks down on the ground and, nearer, the Leeds Liverpool Canal with barges chugging along, comfortably outpaced by the cyclists on the tow path.

But all around is breathtaking scenery, and after the announcer has sympathised with Alport's traffic problems in Colne 'But we have that for every away game', he comments on the picturesque surroundings 'And yes those are real cows – and sheep'.....

Silsden are in red and black, in keeping with their alternate nickname 'The Red Devils', whilst Alport are in change all blue. There is to be no repeat of last week's 'The Curious Incident of the Dog on the Pitch' - Whitchurch having a goal disallowed due to a stray mutt on the field of play - as the only dog inside the ground is safely leashed.

Alport start brightly, playing with confidence as befitting a team currently second in the league, but the Cobbydalers create the first real chance - player manager James Gill shooting over from a training ground move at a corner.

Whitchurch have played some lovely possession football without looking like scoring. So it's a surprise when a hopeful hoof from the back finds captain Si Everall bisecting the two home centre halves, and he comfortably rounds home keeper Callum Jakovlevs to sweep the ball home.

The home side fail to learn their lesson and Everall is put through again, but this time is forced wide. Fellow strike partner Matt Ashbrook hits the side netting, whilst for Silsden Ross Wilson goes close twice and Kyle Hancock volleys over - but in truth away stopper Danny Read is barely troubled.

The second half sees the Red Devils press without really threatening, aside from one unorthodox Read save. Midway through, with Alport playing on the break, Ashbrook is tripped by left back Josh McNulty for a soft penalty. Mike Blundell calmly slots home to double Alport's advantage.

The Cobbydalers go to three at the back, which just leaves them even more horribly exposed. With ten minutes to play the game is put to bed; a two on one , and Everall superbly finds Blundell and his deft chip over Jakovlevs sneaks in, just. The Alport ultras go wild....

Silsden have one cleared off the line and Read makes a decent stop from a quickly taken free kick but that's it. 3-0 to Alport, a ninth successive away win and top of the league, a complete transformation from last year's shambles.

On the way out, the one man public information service that is the stadium announcer thanks us for our support. And then, ahead of next Saturday's Macron Cup tie at New Mills (an equally idyllic panorama) tells us, tongue in cheek, 'And if you fancy following us next weekend, we're in Derbyshire - that's near London'..........

 

Villagers Soar As Eagles Have Their Wings Clipped - Eccy Thumped !!

And so to Mossie Park, and a village more renowned for its motorway service station than its football team - Charnock Richard. The visitors from the Adverc Stadium at Pershall Park, are 'The Eagles' of Eccleshall FC - 'We Play For The Badge & The Oat Cakes - We Are Eccy !!!' for today's North West Counties Division One fixture.

In 1933 the Chorley Sunday League became the Chorley Alliance League and a Charnock Richard village team was entered, competing until the outbreak of the Second World War. The club was reformed at the end of the War, winning the league title in 1947/48 but then ran into difficulties and closed down at the end of the following season.

 

The present club was reborn in 1955, playing in the Chorley Alliance League then the Preston & District League, with a brief flirtation with the Bolton Combination. In 1993 the Villagers joined the West Lancashire League and after winning the Premier Championship seven times, including four consecutive seasons from 2012 to 2015, moved up to the North West Counties this summer.

Eccleshall Town FC was established in 1908 but the most successful local team of that era was Eccleshall Comrades, set up in 1918. The Comrades' most famous player was the FA Cup Final scorer and winner (for Wolves), and England amateur and full international, The Reverend KRG Hunt. The club also featured in a curious incident when Stone Christ Church were defeated 5-0. The game ended 10 minutes early when first one ball burst, then another and there were no more available.......

 

Both clubs became defunct and the current club was founded in 1971 as Eccleshall Town Old Boys, the team made up of locals and staff from Eccleshall Secondary School, where they played their home games.

 

The Eagles joined the Staffordshire County League (North) in 1979, moved to Pershall Park in 1982 and ascended to the Staffordshire Senior League - now the Springbank Vending Midland League - in 1984. As Eccleshall FC championships were won in 1990 and then consecutively in 2001/02 and 2002/03. With work complete on the stadium the club moved up to the North West Counties Football League in 2003, but several seasons of inconsistency have followed, and last term's 16th place finish owed much to the ineptitude of the two clubs below them - Atherton Laburnum Rovers and Whitchurch Alport.

So on a bright October afternoon it's onto Washway Road, past a white van seemingly held together by gaffer tape and drawing up at the lights where Maidments are ludicrously championing themselves as 'Serious Crime Solicitors'; amusingly there is a To Let sign above the office.

 

Phil Novak and the Rat Pack are on at Garvey's, and then it's just another gridlock day at the Trafford Centre and Barton Bridge. Onto the M61 and that 'Incontinence Supplies At Internet Prices' sign and then off at Botany Bay. Through Euxton and into Charnock Richard, with Mossie Park down Charter Lane, just beyond Bevonair Hair Salon and Dignity Wigs, and just before you reach the village centre.

 

The ground is on the opposite side of Charter Lane to the old Mossie Close ground where the club were based from 1968, after playing elsewhere in the village. £4 in at the gate but you can watch the game for free from the car park....

 

Immediately inside is the entrance to the changing rooms, then the refreshment bar and, curiously, a converted garage. The small main covered seated stand is situated midway down the popular side, with a walkway and barriers that appear to be made from roller shutters surrounding the pitch. Two sides are tree lined and the far side is adjoined by the village cricket pitch.

The Villagers are in white and green (club colours have always contained green since the 1955 reformation) and the Eagles, who can only name two substitutes to the home side's five, are in change all red. One linesman has a paunch whilst the other is just plain obese, and they are joined by (we soon discover) a cantankerous referee.

 

The visitors' tactics of one up front, flood the midfield, contain and frustrate works well for the first three minutes. Then Spencer Bibby's cross finds an unmarked Carl Grimshaw and he sidefoots home. With second playing next to bottom the home crowd awaits a lorry load of goals, but surprisingly the Eagles swoop to equalise on ten minutes - some shambolic defending allowing Tom Wakefield the freedom of Mossie Park and he dinks over the keeper to level.

 

The rest of the half sees the Villagers in the ascendancy with the vast majority of possession, plenty of passing but unconvincing in the final third. Nonetheless they come close three times - Ollie Evans' horror air shot, Bibby's fierce strike well saved by the Eagles' stopper Stuart Robertson, and a deflected shot that just swirls wide.

 

The second period sees Charnock Richard, laboriously, dominate proceedings and the Eagles offer no attacking threat whatsoever, giving some respite to the heavily perspiring fat assistant referee. Grimshaw blazes over when he should have done much better, Robertson makes two fine saves, two shots are cleared off the line and two strong penalty shouts are waved away.

 

Finally, at the midpoint of the half, Robertson's goal is breached - a glorious scissor kick executed by Mark Adams from a cushioned header back, and a piece of skill quite out of keeping with the overall quality of the game.

 

With just under a quarter of an hour left the ball is played into Grimshaw, who appears to be crowded out by three defenders. To a plaintive cry from the crowd 'Don't shoot Carl, you'll never score from there', he rockets the ball home, via a stanchion, from a seemingly impossible angle.......

 

The 3-1 win takes the Villagers top, and leaves the Eagles flying low in 21st with 5 points from 13 games.

Nomads' Home Run Continues As They Strike Old Gold...

And so, because of a family wedding (cheers Lindsey and Pete !), to Sunday football and a trip just over the border to the Deeside Stadium for a Welsh Premier League game between Connah's Quay Nomads and Carmarthen Town.

Before the Nomads, Connah's Quay FC was founded in 1890 and disbanded after a second Welsh Cup final loss in 1911. Connah's Quay & Shotton was then formed in 1920 and beat Cardiff, featuring several players in the team that beat Arsenal in the 1927 FA Cup Final, in the 1929 Welsh Cup Final. Six months later the club went bust....

 

The existing club was formed in July 1946 as Connah's Quay Juniors, and a senior team was formed and joined the Flintshire League in 1948. Prior to the 1952/53 season the club's suffix changed to Nomads; the Nomads joined the Welsh League (North) and, despite returning to local leagues for 7 years, rejoined it in 1966. In 1974 the club joined the newly formed Clwyd League and, following 3 successful seasons in the Welsh Alliance, became founder members of the Cymru Alliance in 1990 then the League of Wales two seasons later.

 

The Nomads, an odd name for a club that had spent 51 seasons at the Halfway Ground, moved after a season of groundsharing at Rhyl to its current home, the Deeside Stadium in 1998. After bereavements and retirements the club was taken over by gap personnel in June 2008 to become gap Connah's Quay Nomads.

 

2010 saw the club narrowly miss out on the cut off for the Super 12 League - thus the club began the 2010/11 season in the Cymru Alliance which they won the following season but were deprived of promotion after failing to gain a domestic license. Notwithstanding this setback the Nomads were again crowned Cymru Alliance champions in 2013 and this time the ascent to the Welsh Premier League was granted.

 

Last season saw the Nomads qualify for the Europa League - and a giant-killing as the club beat Norwegian team Stabaek over two legs before bowing out to Vojvodina from Serbia.

The first attempt to form a Carmarthen Town team came in 1920 through Jack Harding, a Geordie who settled in the town, but it lasted only three years. Harding went on to play for the St Peter's and Quay Rovers clubs, both of which folded in 1939.

 

Undaunted he founded a Carmarthen Athletic team after the Second World War, but the players were not fully committed. Indeed one match was called off as most of the side were engaged in bell ringing on a Saturday.....

 

Finally he established Carmarthen Town FC in 1950 at Penllwyn Park, moving to the newly created (and current home) Richmond Park in 1952. Election to the Welsh League followed in 1953, with thereafter intermittent promotion and relegation.

 

1976 saw the 'Old Gold' nearly fold and it was the disbanded reserve team's committee that came to the fore and took over the running of the club. Twenty years later the Welsh League Championship was won and the Old Gold were into the League of Wales.

 

Subsequent years produced a Welsh Cup win in 2006/07, and European football via first the Intertoto and then UEFA Cups. These included matches against AIK Solna, FC Kobenhavn and most recently SK Brann of Norway - with Carmarthen (narrowly !) losing 3-14 on aggregate..... The Welsh Premier League restructure in 2010 saw Old Gold just scrape into the top 12.

So it's past the fire ravaged Bayer building no more - torn down for a new housing development - then the Bridgewater Retail Park, currently occupied by all of two stores, and no surprise that the chumps who ran Champz Bar have seen it fail. Then, in radiant sunshine, to the M56 before it becomes the A494.

 

Off at the A548 and into Deeside Enterprise Park, with its massive solar farm and signs warning of 'Steam Clouds'. Then over the magnificent cable-stayed Flintshire Bridge (no Oresund but impressive nonetheless !), past the gas fired Connah's Quay Power Station to the Deeside.

Parking is alongside the stadium at Coleg Cambria which also houses Toy Box Day Nursery and the North Wales Indoor Athletics Centre. £7 in - still great value for top flight Welsh football - sees one side with the main covered grandstand and a flat standing area in front. Opposite is the press box and dug outs, with the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight pub behind.

 

Both ends are open circling the athletics track that surrounds the pitch with the Flintshire Bridge backdropping the near end. There's also a covered disabled area, with one wooden bench, in the corner and, strangely, a children's play area contributed by Forest School.

I don't profess to understand how this season's Welsh Premier League fixtures have been compiled but it's definitely, er, unusual.... Bangor City started the season with 5 straight home league games then 4 away, The New Saints played Bala home and away in four days and today's Nomads game is the fourth of six consecutive home league fixtures followed by five away - bonkers !!

 

The teams enter the fray to the sound of AC DC's Hell's Bells, with the Nomads in red with white trim, and Carmarthen in old gold and blue. Lee Idzi, the Carmarthen keeper, wears all white with one red and one green sleeve - a strip more appropriate to a Tour de France rider than a goalkeeper....

 

From the start it's end to end - Nomads' John Disney heads just wide from Nathan Woolfe's cross, whilst Old Gold's Liam Thomas breaks free and forces an excellent save from home custodian John Danby. Les Davies' free towering header drifts just past the post, Disney has one cleared off the line and Matty Williams hesitates in a one in one allowing Idzi to parry, as the Nomads dominate without troubling the scorers.

The second half sees Williams and Thomas both go close for their respective sides before a double substitution for the home side has an immediate impact as Nomads’ Nick Rushton nips in front of Idzi to head home a Woolfe centre.

The match threatens to boil over with increasingly physical challenges before Old Gold’s captain Lee Surman is sent off for a reckless challenge on Davies. Old Gold bring on target man Mark Jones and he provides an aerial threat to the makeshift home centre back pairing. His presence produces the away side’s best opportunity with Danby flapping at a cross and Ceri Morgan shooting miserably over. Nomads’ manager Andy Morrison’s vehement exhortations serve only to confuse his players and the match splutters to its conclusion and a 1-0 home victory.