And so to Staly Vegas, the mill town of Stalybridge, the place that held 2 Guinness Book of Records entries - the longest and shortest pub names in the UK ! The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn and The Q Inn still flourish in the town centre, but I'm off to Bower Fold for Stalybridge Celtic against Mickleover Sports in the Evo Stik Northern Premier.
The home side was formed in 1909 by Herber Rhodes, a local businessman and philanthropist, although an amateur club 'Celtic' was established in 1906. Rhodes spent a chunk of his fortune on developing Bower Fold; he also played for the team and designed the strip, basing it on the colours used by his racehorses.
The Celts played for two seasons in the Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League and turned professional before joining the Lancashire Combination, where they were 2nd Division champions. After a year in the Central League Celtic's ambition of Football League status forced them to join the Southern League (!), travelling by train to every away match.
There followed a pause commonly known as the First World War. In the aftermath 'Bridge rejoined the Central League, becoming founder members of The Football League Third Division (North) at the end of the 1920/21 campaign. The club resigned after 2 seasons, citing the 'fact' that they could not attract sufficient support to justify a League side - despite an average attendance of 5,480 !! Today's crowd is 258......
Celtic reverted to the Cheshire County League, remaining members for 60 years but only winning the title once in 1980. Founder members of the North West Counties Football League in 1982, the Celts were champions in 1984 and 1987 - which took them to the Northern Premier League.
After winning the league title in 1992 Stalybridge spent 6 seasons in the Conference and were promoted back in 2001, but lasted a solitary campaign. The restructure of Step 2 in non league saw Celtic join the Conference North in 2004 where they stayed, after two last day escapes in 2015 and 2016, until relegation last time out.
Mickleover Sports FC, from the Don Amott Arena (Don Amott
is the current club chairman) was founded in 1948 as Mickleover Old Boys. They
played in the Derby & District Senior League for 44 years, making them the
longest serving club in the league.
Following development of new facilities, Sports successfully applied to join the Central Midlands Football League in 1993 and two years later they gained promotion to the Supreme Division. They were crowned as CMFL champions in 1998/99, in a season that saw their first venture into the FA Vase. Winning 3-0 at eventual finalists Bedlington Terriers with 14 minutes left, the home side's floodlights suspiciously failed. Sports lost 2-0 in a replay after an FA inquiry.
Mickleover were promoted to the Northern Counties East League, which was won in 2003, and then became Premier Division champions in 2008/09. The step up to the Northern Premier Division 1 South was significant but a run of 16 consecutive wins catapulted Sports to the top of the table and the title.
Their first season in the Premier was all about consolidation despite a tendency to gift points to opposing clubs. This included an incredible 6-6 home draw with Nantwich Town, with Sports 6-3 up with 6 minutes to go. The following term saw Sports relegated for the first time, and a year later they narrowly avoided consecutive demotions after using 53 players during the season. Play off defeat to the Nailers, Belper Town, in 2014 was used as a springboard to winning the division as champions a year on. Sports have survived in the Premier the past two seasons....but only just first time around !!
And so it's past Scissorhand, Skullfades and Tan 'n'
Tonic to the now mercifully closed T & T Pound Plus. Presumably sold out of
'HOUSE HOLD. STATIONARY. TOILETORIES. ELCTRICAL' ..... Then onto the M60 where
the signs show a speed limit of 20 mph due to 'Oncoming Vehicle' - odd.... Past
the Co-op Pyramid and its Crystal Methodist and then off at Denton Rock.
The M67 to the end, then gridlock at a roundabout advertising Big Baps Butty Van, before I turn left into Mottram in Longdendale. Up then down the hill with Bower Fold on the left, next to the Hawthorn Gallery, fine art dealers. The ground is almost entirely surrounded by trees and nestles in the foothills.
Inside the ground has four covered stands. At the Town End is the Joe Jackson Stand - terracing with the Social Club at the rear. To the right is The Lord Tom Pendry Stand, all seated and opened in 2004. At the top end is the Lockwood & Greenwood Stand, again terracing and on the left the main all seater stand, which I will call the Alkie Stand after the advertising hoarding for Alkie Limited at the front…. The club mascot Bower Badger makes a brief appearance in a ground befitting a club higher up the non league pyramid.
Celtic are in blue and white, Sports in all red. Sports,
kicking down the slope towards the Town End, start well in the bright sun. On 5
minutes a raking pass inside the full back lets in Andy Dales and he is wiped
out by hesitant Celtic keeper Joe Slinn. Player manager John McGrath takes the
penalty and sends Slinn the wrong way from the spot.
Rain and a biting wind take over, as do Celtic as they try to break down a resolute and well organised Sports back line. Liam Dickinson's deft sidefoot grazes the post and Matty Wolfenden's header drifts just wide.
Connor Hughes' long range strike is smothered weakly by Sports' keeper Lewis King, and Dickinson's close range rebound is deflected over. King then touches another Hughes shot on to the top of the bar. Sports are content to hold and counter attack, which they do to devastating effect just before the interval. A swift break down the right sees the ball played in to lone frontman Evan Garnett whose shot hits the inside of the post, but Dales mops up. Sports lead 2-0 at the break in a half where Celtic had all the chances.
The second period sees the Lockwood & Greenwood stand housing two spectators - and one steward. Celtic substitute Greg Wilkinson tries an audacious 40 yard lob which is tipped over by a backpedalling King, and Wolfenden's outrageous turn is not matched by a snatched shot wide.
Another Sports counter attack and another goal. Wonderful wing wizardry and pace takes Garnett down the flank and to the by line where he cuts the ball across, and Wilkinson slides in for an own goal. There is more Celtic pressure, more defensive blocks and King saves and an open goal miss from Dickinson.
Twenty minutes from the end Garnett gets in front of his man by the corner flag and dinks the ball to McGrath. He plays in Dales who slots home through Slinn's legs to make it 4-0 for the away side. King makes two more decent stops before a long ball causes confusion between Ross Killock and Slinn. Killock diverts the ball wide of Slinn, and Garnett walks the ball into an empty net for a richly deserved goal.
Oli Roberts hits the Sports' bar in injury time - and leaves the word 'surreal' on the home spectators' lips as they leave the ground. Celtic, having created more than a dozen good chances, beaten 5-0 by a side that had 4 attempts on goal.... ☺
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