And so to Great Sankey and Thornton Lane for a Cheshire League Premier Division fixture between Eagle Sports and Egerton.
Founded in 1928, Eagle Sports began life as a works team for Electro Hydraulics. After a company merger Sports relocated from Warrington to Great Sankey before competing in the Warrington & District League (W&DL) and in 1941 moved to Thornton Road soon after.
After a successful and lengthy stint in the W&DL, The Gulls moved up to the Mid Cheshire League in 2004, renaming as Penketh & Sankey Eagle and crowned as Division 2 champions in their first season. Relegated the year after, the club reverted to the Eagle Sports FC name and were promoted back to the now Cheshire League Division 1 in 2009.
Sports have won the JB Parker Cup twice, the Warrington Guardian Cup, the Cheshire League Memorial Cup and the Liverpool Cup. Promoted as runners up in 2014 Sports remain there, finishing third in 2015 and 2019, and currently sitting 7th this season.
Egerton FC was formed in 2002 and was named after its
founder, Maurice Egerton. After playing in local leagues, the Yellows
moved up to the Cheshire League and in May 2016 chairman Tom O'Donnell
announced plans to redevelop the site in Mereheath Lane, just outside
Knutsford, in order to be eligible for promotion to the North West Counties
Football League.
In the 2017/18 campaign, Egerton received national media
attention after the signings of former professionals Nathan Ellington, Dean
Gorre and the (tragically) late JLloyd Samuel. In the same season, Egerton
finished fourth in the Cheshire League Division One, earning promotion
to the Premier Division in the process. Egerton entered the FA Vase
in 2019/20 but the club was later withdrawn after failing a ground grading
inspection.
That same season the Yellows put forward their nomination to move up to the NWCFL, but the season's curtailment proved a blessing - 7 points from 18 games would surely have meant exiting the division in the opposite direction !! But this time third place may yet mean promotion... and indeed rumours on the terraces of Whalley Range suggest this is a done deal...
Due to emergency bridge repairs on Thelwall Viaduct an alternative route is needed at the last minute - so past Venom IT, Garveys (still advertising St Patrick's Day !) and Dogs and Divas, it's onto the M60 and beyond Chill Factore and off after Barton Bridge at junction 11, joining the A57. Then the Barley Farm pub, with hordes of Sale Sharks fans descending on the AJ Bell, City Airport and Makro brings me to Irlam and Cadishead.
The weather takes a turn for the worse with heavy, almost torrential rain. Eventually I reach Rixton where there is Anterior - open by appointment only apparently. Thereafter Juniper Farm and Woolston with signs for Paddington House Hotel and the strangely named florist - La Beau Fleurs. Numberplates en route DG11TAL, a second appearance from T22URDS (for those unfortunate blockages !) are matched by NU22 NOW at a car dealership, and CH04CAT and CH12CAT on Cheshire Cat buses in town.
Into the centre of Warrington, eschewing The Hop Pole brings me to Skittles, a vanity project reputedly costing £1m. That is quickly followed by The Golden Gates and the iconic Pink Eye.
Turning into Old Liverpool Road brings me to Sankey Bridges and the
shuttered Coach & Horses and Sloop Inn before I reach Thornton Road. Eagle
Sports Club is down a rutted road on the right, and the car park is no
better...
Ahead of me is the main pitch and beyond a rugby pitch, and in the distance another football pitch - with Fiddlers Ferry power station in the background. It's a railed off ground with the main side tarmacked to half way and the dugouts. Behind those is the Eagle Sports Social Club selling its own Up The Gulls canned beer.
The changing rooms are at the near end, and the other three sides
are framed by residential housing - see attachments at the foot of the report.
Eagles are in two tone blue - light blue with a diagonal dark blue stripe and the Yellows, unsurprisingly, in yellow and black. A young referee and two linesmen, one begloved, the other sporting a full tattoo sleeve get matters underway in front of a crowd of 25ish. That crowd dissipates as the weather turns vile - driving rain, hail and a biting wind; the promised sunny spells do not arrive until the second half but the wind ensures there is little warmth from the sun.
The Gulls start better, having a shot shovelled wide and two shouts
for a penalty. Then on 23 minutes home captain Coleman heads in decisively from
a corner. There is nothing from the visitors until 2 minutes before the break
when the left back shoots from 25 yards, prompting a sprawling save round the
post.
The second half starts in similar vein, both sides struggling with the wind - but the Gulls (understandably !) coping better. A sliced defensive clearance is well held by Egerton's keeper and he then dives at the feet of a home striker to prevent a second goal.
On 62 minutes
he produces a superb tip over, then claws away a viciously inswinging corner,
saving the rebound and the follow up is cleared off the line. A deflected shot
wide and another effort palmed aside continues to stymie the Gulls.
Egerton are frustrated with their end product creating only wild shooting. That is until the 93rd minute when, out of nothing, a worldy volley into the top left corner gives them an undeserved equaliser. Matters are all over seconds later.
The equaliser is blamed on a home supporter trapping the ball from a miscued Gulls' shot and delivering the ball back to the Yellows' keeper instead of allowing the ball to run into the long grass and running down the clock.....
