Purple Reign and Ashes to Ashes

And so to the TDP Solicitors Stadium in Bootle for this afternoon's North West Counties clash between City of Liverpool and Ashton Athletic.

The first meeting that led to the formation of City of Liverpool FC was in October 2014, and the club was officially established in May 2015. The club chose to play in the colour purple, as it is the civic colour of the city....and a mix of Liverpool red and Everton blue - leading to their nickname 'The Purps'.

The Purps applied to join the NWCFL in early 2016 but their application was rejected by the FA and COL were instead placed in the Liverpool County Premier League. However they took up the option to appeal the decision, especially as vacancies arose due to Northwich Manchester Villa's resignation and Rochdale Town's expulsion from the league. At Wembley Stadium on 8 June 2016 the appeal was successful.

Groundsharing at Bootle's (then) Delta Taxis Stadium, it was an extraordinarily successful inaugural season. Leading the way for much of the campaign, the Purps eventually finished fourth and overcame Whitchurch Alport 1-0 to reach the play off final. Litherland REMYCA were beaten 3-0 on their own turf to secure promotion to the Premier Division.

Added to this, COL beat Sandbach United to lift the First Division Challenge Cup, their first ever piece of silverware. The Purps also won the League Challenge Cup Final at Highbury (Fleetwood rather than Arsenal) on penalties against Barnoldswick Town, in a match soured by crowd violence. No wonder City of Liverpool FC was awarded the title 'Non League Team of the Year' by sports bookmaker Coral.

This season the club have won the Champions Cup against Atherton Collieries and currently lie seventh. Furthermore in their quest for a stadium of their own the Purps have been granted a period of exclusivity on a site at Fazakerley Playing Fields.

Ashton Athletic was founded in 1968 playing in the Wigan Sunday League, winning every Division in consecutive seasons before switching to the Warrington League on Saturdays where similar success was achieved. 'The Ashes' or 'Ash' developed Brocstedes Park and joined the Lancashire Combination at the start of the 1978/79 season.

Initially they struggled and finished bottom, and this struggle continued for three more seasons before The Ashes became founder members of the North West Counties in 1982 - and finished bottom. Having finished in last place twice more, Ash left the league in 1986 after failing a ground grading.

The club joined the Manchester League for the 1988/89 season and, after finding their place towards the bottom of the table, started to gradually improve. In 2006 they finished 4th and, following a two year campaign to reach the required ground standards, the Ashes rejoined the second tier of the North West Counties. A season later the club achieved third place and was promoted to the Premier Division.

This season their home FA Cup Third Round Qualifying tie with Chorley was televised live on the BBC, in front of a record crowd of 610. Currently the Ashes really are midtable, sitting 12th out of 23, but with 17 league games to fit into the final 6 weeks of the season - not a patch on 1874 Northwich who have 22 (half their entire league programme) to play in the same period !!

Through the outskirts of Altrincham, past a plethora of Indian restaurants (Delhi Alley anyone ?) to virtually the same route as last week's trek to watch AFC Liverpool. M56 then M6 via Thelwall, M62 adjacent to Sutton Manor, Griffin Wood and the Dream sculpture (below) and finally the M57 with an upturned armchair in the central reservation and a flatbed truck on fire...

The end of the motorway, PIES graffiti and Switch Island in chaos after an accident. Avoiding the signs for nearby Aintree racecourse, past Copy Lane police station then a left on to Park Lane, right into Bridle Street and left into Vesty Business Park. I park at Crazy Town, the only industrial unit open, and with some crazy parking to match......

This brings me to the TDP Solicitors Stadium, a football ground with its own wind turbine - much in keeping with the spinning wheels on the roofs of the other industrial units. £5 in and a very impressive match ticket which also allows me to claim a free shot at The Slaughter House pub. The vociferous Purps support is much in evidence with their banners 'Hated. Adored. Never Ignored.' 'Halfway Line Head Cases' and 'We Wear The Purple Jersey For The City By The Mersey'. Defiantly a single AAFC flag is hoisted in the opposite corner....

Inside to my left are two balcony areas, bisected by the entrance to a busy clubhouse. To the right is a refreshment bar, Frankie Andys, next to the Dodge Kop, a two step covered concrete terrace. On the opposite side are the dugouts and two mini all weather pitches while the far end holds two small covered stands in either corner.

The Purps are naturally in all purple, Ash in yellow and blue as the match gets underway in hazy sunshine but with an eye stinging wind. There follows a fairly forgettable opening save for an Ashton overhead kick which lands just wide of the post.

Then on 19 minutes Ashes' centre forward Dale Korie-Butler is played in down the left, and with no Purps' defender willing to close him down, advances to calmly pass the ball into the far corner of the net. The same player makes space for himself minutes later but his shot is hacked off the line.

Just before the half hour the Purps win a contentious free kick on the left. The ball is whipped in superbly at pace and Joe Camozzi heads in the equaliser past a motionless Matthew Pearson. 1-1 it stays until the interval.

The second half is a niggly, scrappy affair but the Purps are more up for the fight, and in Jack Hazlehurst, their 'Purple Messi', they have the game's stand out player. Pearson turns one of his efforts past the goalframe, shortly after pushing wide Tom Peterson's curling shot which seemed destined to give COL the lead.

Then with a quarter of an hour left, and with the home crowd still baying for a penalty, Hazlehurst picks up the loose ball on the edge of the penalty box and smashes it into the top corner. He then produces a gem of a cross that substitute John Connolly nods just the wrong side of the post.

A late Ash flurry produces one smart save and, after an inordinate amount of injury time, the Purps emerge victorious to the delight of the vast majority of the crowd of 447 – I count 3 Ashes supporters and, I assume, left back Bram Johnston’s parents….