And so to Tommy Gent Way at Hall Lane in Maghull FC - sharing Old Hall Field with the cricket club, also in action today, for the season's curtain raiser between 'new' boys Maghull FC and AFC Darwen.
Maghull FC was founded in 1921, originally playing at Boyer Fields then moving to Pimbley Playing Fields off Deyes Lane. The Hoops moved to their current Old Hall ground in 1954, competing in the I Zingari League until
1960, and thereafter the Liverpool County Combination.
The Mags joined the Lancashire Combination in 1972, then the Cheshire County League six years later. Maghull was a founder member of the North West Counties Football League
in 1982, and won the Division 2 championship in 1993 but did not gain promotion due to ground grading issues.
The club moved to the West Cheshire League Division One for the 1999/2000 season, and were crowned as champions in 2014. The Mags achieved promotion back to the NWCFL Division One North in this last close season after finishing
West Cheshire runners up for a third time - this following ground grading approval and planning permission for two new covered stands, 100 seats and 100 standing.
Darwen FC was formed in 1870 and was a member of the Football League between 1891 and 1899. In their first season they were relegated from the First Division, finishing 14th of 14, and became a founder member of the new Second Division. In 1893, after finishing 3rd, they were promoted via the test matches (the Victorian version of the play offs !!), but relegated the following season.
In their final season as a league club they set two unwanted Football League records that still stand - the most number of consecutive League defeats (18) and the most number of goals conceded by a club in a Football League season (141). The club nickname, 'The Salmoners', is a throwback to the salmon and pink shirts they wore at this time.
After leaving the Football League the club moved from Barley Bank to the Anchor Ground, and joined the Lancashire League, which they won in 1902. They then entered the Lancashire Combination, playing there for the next 70 years (apart from a World War 1 break) and winning it four times.
After their last championship in 1976 the Salmoners joined the Cheshire County League before becoming an inaugural member of the North West Counties Football League in 1982. In 2003 Carlsberg Tetley tried to wind up the football club but liquidation was avoided.
However in April 2008 another winding up petition from Bee radio station was joined by Thwaites Brewery and ING, and in May 2009 Darwen FC was liquidated. That same month AFC Darwen was formed, playing in the West Lancashire League for one season, before being elected to the North West Counties for the 2010/11 season, and winning promotion to the top division in 2015 - but finishing bottom in 2018 and remaining in Division One North ever since.
The day starts grey, then rain before settling on sun and breeze. Past the boarded up Railway brothel in Altrincham, navigating through a surfeit of potholes in Bowdon and then the festival of colour at Denzell Gardens brings me
to the M56 and onto the M6.
Queues at Thelwall precede long term roadworks, but I'm off at Woolston and past Roughleys Monumental Masons and Kwality Printer. Bizarrely the satnav directs me through Burtonwood, next to Burtonwood Bridge RLFC, and beyond Peak Fitness and Angel Aesthetics.
This brings us to St Helens, The Duckeries, World of Glass and The Glass Horse. When I'm instructed to turn into a bus lane we turn back via Rainhill Stoops and pick up the M62 and M57, exiting at Switch Island. Numberplates Y44PPY, A5 FOR and G1LTY feature along with a locksmith's van advertising Goldie Locks 🙄
Old Hall Field is a short distance down the A59 and we park in the overflow car park at the Baptist Church - much needed with a bumper crowd of 430 in attendance. £4 in, the cheapest in the NWCFL this season, sees a tree lined field split into separate cricket and football pitches.
The football ground is flanked on its three other sides by residential properties with a raised walkway and church clock tower up top. There is the clubhouse and changing rooms on the near side and further up a covered shelter, but no seats or floodlights yet.
Maghull are in light blue and white hoops, Darwen in salmon pink and navy blue. An early effort shanked wide by Mags' Robbie McDonald is overshadowed by the game's first major talking point on 5 minutes. Maghull's Nathan Peet is harshly shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge, when it was a yellow in everyone else's book.
The home side are down to ten and the referee further angers the Mags on 20 minutes by awarding the Salmoners a debatable penalty. Darwen's centre forward Leon Creech sends Callum Lenton the wrong way and the away team lead.
That lead is doubled six minutes on, as the ball fortunately ricochets into Creech's path and he shoots home for his, and the Salmoners', second. But Maghull fight back with Harrison Worden having a shot well blocked and another home effort is cleared off the line. Creech goes close to getting his hat trick with a curling effort and Lenton saves well to bring up half time, with Darwen two goals to the good.
The first three minutes of the second period define the outcome of the match. Darwen's left back, Gary Basterfield, has a bending attempt that strikes the inside of the post and this is immediately followed by a magnificent save by Lenton from Jack Coop.
At the other end Worden's excellent cross is met by Darren Brannigan, and his lovely steered header, in off the post, reduces the deficit. The Mags are fired up now and draw level just before the hour, Kieran Halligan beautifully using the wind to curl home beyond Henry Turner.
On 73 minutes Worden blazes over when he should have done better - and is immediately hooked. No matter as five minutes later McDonald is played in and produces a deft finish under Turner and Maghull lead 3-2.
Aside from Ryan Cattermole's free kick, tipped over by Lenton, Darwen rarely threaten. To add insult to injury in the 95th minute the Salmoners' Chris Bailey receives a second yellow and thus a red, meaning we have seen 9 yellow and 2 red cards this afternoon - hardly the referee's finest performance....
Eventually after eight and a half minutes of injury time he concludes matters for a famous Mags' win 😀
