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
