Seadogs Tipped Over The Sedge.... !!

And so to the Clayborn Ground on Quaker Lane in Cleckheaton, on the border with Hightown in Liversedge - this afternoon an FA Trophy Third Round Qualifying clash between Liversedge FC and Scarborough Athletic.

Liversedge Football Club was founded in 1910 following the demise of the old Liversedge Rugby Club, starting in the Bradford League for three seasons and winning it in 1920/21. The Sedge was a founder member of the West Riding County Amateur League in 1922/23 and went on to be the most successful club in the league’s infancy, taking the league title three times in its first five seasons (1924, 1926 and 1927) and, later, again in 1965 and 1966.

The club was accepted into the Yorkshire League for 1972/73, and promotion to Yorkshire League Division One was achieved prior to the amalgamation of the Midland and Yorkshire Leagues to form the Northern Counties East League in 1982. 

 

Second in 2005/06 and League Cup winners, but promotion to the Northern Premier League was denied due to insufficient facilities - apparently no separate changing rooms for female referees !! Never relegated, Quaker Lane was flooded in October 2015 resulting in no home games for 4 months.

 

Following the last two seasons being curtailed dramatically by the coronavirus pandemic, Liversedge FC was promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One East due to finishing both the 2019/2020 and 2020/21 seasons in the top three of the table (based on a table using a Points Per Games calculation). They currently sit top with 11 wins and a draw from 12 league fixtures.

Scarborough Athletic FC was set up on 25 June 2007 by the Seadog Trust. This was five days after the liquidation of Scarborough FC - £2.5 million in debt and unable to sell the McCain Stadium to a housing developer due to a covenant restricting it to sporting activities (it is now a Lidl supermarket....)

The Seadogs joined the Northern Counties East League Division One, groundsharing at Bridlington Town's Queensgate stadium. Two seasons in they were crowned as champions and promoted to the Premier Division, with Brian France as manager. In their second season in the top flight France was struck in the face by a ball at, strangely, Liversedge and suffered a brain haemorrhage - he never managed the club again.

 

In 2012/13 'Boro clinched the NCEL title and were promoted to the Northern Premier Division One South (bizarrely !!) under their magnificently named Romanian manager Rudy Funk. The Seadogs were moved laterally to Division One North after one season.

 

In July 2017 the club, after ten years at Bridlington, finally returned to the town at the new Flamingo Land Stadium at Weaponness. After play off defeat in 2017 the Seadogs were promoted to the Premier Division as runners up the following year but, despite attendances having nearly trebled, have flattered to deceive ever since - this season six wins, three draws and six defeats.

 

As an extension of their youth team a nursery club Scarborough Town was established in 2008, initially competing in the Teesside League. The team moved up to the Wearside League and were champions in 2010 before folding in June 2013.

 

The original Scarborough FC was founded in 1879, moving to the Athletic Ground on Seamer Road in 1898 and staying there until dissolution. From the Midland League Scarborough became a founder member of the Northern Premier League in 1968, crowned as FA Trophy winners three times in 1973, 1976 and 1977 (beating Wigan Athletic, Stafford Rangers and Dagenham respectively) and runners up in 1975.

 

The Seadogs joined the Alliance Premier League on inception and were champions in 1987, becoming the first ever automatically promoted club to the Football League. 8 May 1999 saw the club relegated back to the Conference after goalkeeper Jimmy Glass scored for Carlisle deep into injury time to preserve their league status, and rendering the Seadogs' 1-1 home draw with Peterborough, already celebrated as survival, irrelevant. Thereafter in 2006 Scarborough were demoted due to 'financial instability'. The end was nigh....

After brinner, it's past Seven Heaven Kitchen, with numberplates today featuring B16 HOT, A B10WER and BR04DEN. Washway Road takes me to the M60 beyond the Bodhi Tree Buddhas at Utopia, Thai Massage at Po Thong and a Chinese takeaway at Panda Mama. Not forgetting the haunted Eyebrow Cottage....

 

Beyond Beyond (aka Chill Factore) on the M60 then the M62 and Saddleworth Moor, Scammonden and the M62 Summit - the highest motorway point in England. More lorry trailer advertising hoardings, predominantly Radiator Outlet but, yes, another CBD one. The weather changes from sunny spells to heavy rain, the thermometer ticks down from 14C to 9C and the motorway is closed on the opposite carriageway at Junction 23 due to a severe multivehicle accident.

 

Past Outlane Cricket Club next to the hard shoulder and off at J25 Hartshead Moor where the motorway closure has caused local gridlock so a hastily revised route is improvised.  Coal Pit Lane, then left at the Gray Ox to Windy Bank Lane onto the A649 and left at Casa Luli into Hightown Road. The ground is well hidden at the foot of Quaker Lane on the right, an inadequate unadopted alley with one car's width.

 

The return journey takes me back via Cleckheaton, past the local Wetherspoons - The Obediah Brooke, a 19th century local farmer - to rejoin at J26. Needless to say the car park is insufficient for a bumper crowd of 571 so I park on the adjoining housing estate, and it's £6 on the gate.

 

Clayborn features a clubhouse to the top West corner of the ground with a drinks terrace, covered seating at the North (The Stuart Silverwood Stand) and another bar - The Huntsman - and a small covered terracing stand to the West behind the goal - The Cowshed. The historic slope has now long since gone, but the North and West sides are elevated above the pitch, with the ground framed by new detached houses, trees and, to the South, a picturesque view of fields looking onto the outskirts of Mirfield.

Sedge are in white and blue stripes, Seadogs in red with white trim and it's a quiet start. That is until the 11th minute when the rhythm is fractured as a home free kick is only half cleared and Jack Stockdill shoots from the edge of the box; his shot hits the post and rolls in, and Liversedge lead 1-0.

For a brief period Sedge are dominant, incisive and threatening with Athletic spoiling the home attack with a series of fouls. However the Seadogs start to take advantage of Sedge's open defending, and on 20 minutes Nathan Cartman breaks through resulting in Michael Coulson's shot being cleared off the line.

Brilliant sunshine gives way to a brief flurry of drizzle and a rainbow as Scarborough start to dominate. Luca Colville's fizzer is going in but Kieran Weledji adds a final touch into the net and is deemed offside, and then home stopper Jon Stewart comes up with two super saves from Coulson and Ryan Watson, one with his hands and the other with his feet.

At the other end Nicky Walker cuts in from the right and strikes the near post, before teeing up Stockdill whose effort is blocked. A breathless first half ends with Sedge a goal to the good.

Five minutes after the break a challenge in the Liversedge box sees Coulson, not for the first time, tumble to the turf (with an alacrity suggesting 'a weed and feed addiction') and he is booked for simulation. Three minutes on and a Sedge cross sees capless, hapless Seadogs' keeper Michael Ingham blinded by the sun and in the ensuing shenanigans an attempted defensive clearance is struck straight at Paul Walker and into the net.

Paul Walker should have made it 3-0 shortly after but his air shot produces a defensive deflection that casually loops just wide. At the other end Stewart performs more heroics in keeping out efforts from Colville and Bradley Plant.

End to end now with Liversedge sitting off and soaking up Seadogs' pressure - the home side fashion a chance for Ben Atkinson, who creates space and shoots across Ingham but just beyond the far post. However their next opportunity on 74 minutes sees Joe Walton bully his opponent off the ball and in a two on one he squares for Atkinson, who composes himself and then fires into the corner for 3-0.

Then the piece de resistance: with 9 minutes to play the ball finds Nicky Walker's feet, he bamboozles the full back and shoots left footed from outside the box and the ball hits the inside of the opposite post before going in. Not so much a peach as a full tropical fruit salad....

Aside from a wholly unnecessary melee at the death that's it - a 4-0 'giantkilling' with the man of the match being the underdogs' goalkeeper. The 100+ disgruntled Scarborough fans, 'you're all just walking' are met with home cries of 'See you next season'... and on this showing that's highly likely !

 

Reds Alert - It's A Wrench But Lions Pay The Penalty ....

And so to another trip to Staffordshire, this time to Evans Park off Riverway in Stafford, for a NWCFL Division One South clash between Stafford Town and Stockport Town.

The home club was founded in 1976 by Gordon Evans as Stafford FC at Burton Manor Sports & Social Club and joined the Midland Combination Division Two for the 1977/78 season, winning the league at their second attempt.

The Reds changed their name to Stafford Town in 1981, became a nursery side for Stafford Rangers and left the Midland Combination the following year before entering local football in 1984. Town became a founder member of the Staffordshire Senior League, staying there until 1993 and playing two seasons under the banner of Stafford MSHD following a merger with Sunday League team MSHD.

Town joined the West Midlands Regional League for the 1993/94 season and immediately won Division One, earning promotion to the Premier Division. As champions of the Premier Division the Reds were promoted to the Midland Football Alliance but were relegated back to the West Midlands Regional Alliance Division One, getting back into the Premier Division in 2009/10 as runners up. After moving from Burton Manor to Stafford Cricket Club and finally Rowley Park, the club settled at Evans Park (named after Town's founder) on Riverway in March 2010 - 3G was added in 2016.

The club was transferred to the Midland Football Combination Premier Division at the beginning of the 2012/13 season but fell foul of a restructure of steps 5 and 6 in 2018 and was demoted to the Staffordshire Senior League Premier. The following campaign saw a top 5 finish, and a League Cup success beating Leek CSOB, which prompted a return to the Midland Football League Division One ahead of 2019/20.

After finishing rock bottom at abandonment of that season, and a disappointing curtailed COVID-19 2020/21, the club was moved sideways to the North West Counties Division One South, where they lie 9th with seven wins and seven defeats thus far.

Stockport Town, The Lions, and their brief seven year history featured in the last report from their convincing win at the Badgers of Brocton - since then they have played Alsager at home in the league (lost 1-3) and Cammell Laird away in the Cheshire Senior Cup, losing 2-1, and currently sit 14th of 20.

Before the M6 it's past Waterworx Custom Detailing, Gymfinity and Stamford Grange Luxury Retirement Apartments before the first registration plate H100VES - a Manor Elite Horsebox. Then Bowdon Pumpkins and the motorway, a combination of numberplates GE55 WOT, and yes, ridiculously, J5 8ACH, interspersed with a campervan emblazoned with Martha and the Vandwellers... Not forgetting those lorry skirt advertising hoardings - Borehole Solutions with its Geothermal Drilling, Nuie Heat & Plumb and Quadz... plus those advocating CBD !!

Off at Junction 14 to the A34 and Erwin Hymer Centre Travelworld and into Stafford beyond Anatolian Palace, Vivere and HMP Stafford, turning at Lammascote and bypassing Honeybuds Day Nursery. Then into Riversway Sports Complex with its interminable entrance road and vicious speed bumps, leaving the Schumacher karting track and Flip Out trampoline area behind me.

Finally to Frank Allen Way and the John Horvath Car Park, more than adequate for today's crowd of 64. Stafford Hockey & Cricket Club is to my left with the Brian Westhead Pavilion, and I pay £5 to sit in the Keith Mottershead Stand with its 204 seats.

Alongside is a cafe and the rest of the stadium consists of a walkway enclosed by immaculately trimmed hedges, the West Coast mainline thrumming in the background. The sun beats down as I notice there are no dugouts - the substitutes sit in the front few rows of the stand.

The Reds are in all red (hardly surprising !) with a flash of white, and can name only 4 subs, the Lions in all yellow.

Within the first minute Stafford's Kyle Ashman's deflected shot produces a decent penalty shout - the first of many contentious decisions. But thereafter it's all Lions, playing the tidier football and creating opportunities.

Wealth Dasilva-Olajide links up with Limpitshi Bongwanga ('Henry') whose effort is blocked, and the former also has a shot saved. Then Matt Grimshaw, all alone from a corner, sends a free header wide of an open goal and back towards the corner flag for an incredible miss.

Leandro Tanswell Vargas plays in Henry for another smart stop, and then Will Calligan has two efforts saved, one beaten out by Reds' keeper Samuel Amedu, the other a fine instinctive reaction save. In response Stafford can only muster two disappointing shots from Tom Duffy and Ashman as we reach the break goalless.

The match resumes its turmoil after the interval and ten minutes in there is a coming together between the Reds' Ryan Taylor and Lions' Jamie Wrench. Taylor stumbles in the box and the referee, as reliable as a political manifesto this afternoon, points to the penalty spot. Harry Bowers sends Josh Schofield the wrong way and Stafford lead 1-0.

Thereafter resilient home defending and more strange and wrong refereeing decisions frustrate Stockport - and exasperate everyone in the ground. The Lions are reduced to long shots, one of which from Calligan sails onto the cricket pitch 'He made such a hash of it that it should have come with a fried egg' !!

For the Reds Josh Oultram plays a one two and his effort just passes the post beyond a statuesque Schofield. Then the Lions get their chance; a dreadful pass from Amedu reaches Stockport sub Max Dickov in the penalty area and with the whole of the goal to aim at he smashes the ball against the underside of the bar.

On 79 minutes, and after yet more incredible officiating, Grimshaw is booked and sinbinned for dissent. Stafford fashion only one further opportunity, Nathan Scott's shot tipped over by Schofield, but the Reds hold on for a solitary goal victory.

Pride As Lions Roar - Badgers Up Sett !!!

And so to the southern outskirts of Stafford and the Silkmore Lane Sports Ground where Brocton host Stockport Town in a NWCFL Division One South clash. The home side is looking to get back on track after a 4-1 mauling by Stafford Town in El Staffico on Tuesday...

Brocton FC was formed in 1937 when Arthur Mayer, landlord of the Chetwynd Arms pub in Brocton village donated the original match ball and, more importantly, provided the field beside his pub as the club's pitch.

The Badgers (naturally !) competed in the Rugeley and District League (champions in 1947) and then the Cannock Chase League, winning six titles, the last in 1978.

Between 1979 and 1991, the club stepped up to the Staffordshire County League (South) before gaining a much prized place in the Staffordshire Senior League (at one point called the Midland League). This necessitated a move to Rowley Park Stadium in Stafford away from 'The Chet'.

In 2003 an application to the Midlands Football Combination was successful, the club having moved to Cannock Stadium the season before. After a year, however, Cannock Stadium was no longer available (it was shortly to be demolished and sold for housing) so a further move was made to the Coppice Colliery ground of Heath Hayes for a 4 year period by which time Brocton had secured a 30 year lease on a former sports field belonging to Staffordshire Police at Silkmore Lane in Stafford and had developed it to a standard suitable for the Midland Combination.

In 2013/14 Brocton, under manager John Berks, were the last winners of the Midland Combination League before this competition merged with the Midland Alliance to form the Midland League, with the Badgers promoted to membership of the Midland League Premier Division at step 5. But three years later relegation to Division 1 beckoned, and coronavirus scuppered the 2019/20 promotion bid with the season declared null and void.

In May 2021, following league restructuring, the Badgers were placed into the North West Counties Football League Division One South, where they currently sit 14th (of 19) with 13 points from 13 games...but one place above Stockport who are 3 points behind but with a game in hand.

Stockport Town FC, 'The Lions', was formed in February 2014 but their initial request to join the North West Counties in the Premier Division was refused in the summer of 2014. After a year of preparation (or in the wilderness....) they were allowed to join Division One at the start of the 2015/16 season.

Previous tenants Stockport Sports, formerly Woodley Sports, who were playing in the Premier Division, were expelled from the league early in 2015 for postponing games, and, amidst unpaid debts, were liquidated. Conspiracy theories abounded... 2019/20 saw Town in 9th place when the season was abandoned, notwithstanding Robbie Savage stepping out of retirement to make a 10-minute cameo appearance against now defunct FC Oswestry Town.

And last season saw only seven league fixtures fulfilled; the highlight being an FA cup giant-killing at Skelmersdale.

Against a sky like tarmac, the M6 beckons with today's numberplates en route being V17NYL (a flooring company), MU51CKS (the world renowned Forsyths Music Shop) and the truly execrable DJ 53XEE... It's not long before I'm assaulted by lorry trailers next to the motorway - this time Three Wrens Gin, Orange County CBD, Halloween Spooktacular at Trentham and the Lady Boys of Bangkok... Sadly after a fatal lorry collision and bridge reconstruction THE PIES graffiti is no more but Jenga remains - obviously built better !!

Off at Junction 13, through Acton Gate and then onto the A449 to Rickerscote Road which leads into Silkmore Road - the ground entrance down an alley between two houses. £5 secures me entrance at the gate, from the car, and I drive in - with a crowd of 54 no problems of being hemmed in !

Inside, as the rain pelts down, the clubhouse is in the top left corner and next to me are two stands, one a covered terrace, the other a 100 seater. All four sides are tree lined with hedges in lovely surroundings set in a residential area with new builds mixed with older houses - a warm up area faces the stands, behind a hoarding advertising Liz Ashfield Andy Faulkner Stamp Dealers ... truly a first ☺

I sit next to the Badgers' laconic announcer, and directly behind the wife of Lions' manager, Matt Jansen. The Badgers, 'A Team Built On Community Spirit', are in green and white (rather than black and white !), Stockport in change all yellow, with mascot, manager's son, Freddie, and only able to name three academy teenagers and Jansen, who turns 44 this month, as substitutes.

Stockport create the early openings - Geffry Ehote, Max Greenhalgh and Kieran Kennedy pass up presentable chances and there is little from Brocton - Cam Osborne firing straight at Josh Schofield. Osborne is later substituted after breaking a finger in an innocuous challenge.

On 18 minutes Leandro Tanswell Vargas (Leo) threads the ball through a sea of legs, as the Lions appeal for a penalty, and Stockport lead. Four minutes later Limpitshi Bongwanga (Henry to his team mates !) doubles the advantage with a firm header. Aside from Jamie Walsh's deflected effort for the Lions, and ever worsening weather conditions, that's it to the break which sees Stockport two up.

The second half sees Brocton as disjointed as a plate of spaghetti, barely conjuring up a meaningless opportunity, let alone a meaningful one. After a bad miss from Henry, Leo cuts inside and his deflected shot goes over the Badgers' keeper Tony Allsopp on 69 for 3-0. Henry rifles home eight minutes later to make it four, whilst the Badgers' best effort, in the embers of the game, is a sharp shot blocked by one of their own men....

Just time for Lions' sub Thomas Beckett ('I thought he was dead') to waste two glorious chances - but credit to Allsopp who also produces a wonderful save from Walsh. It finishes 4-0 to Stockport, but it should have been double figures and hat tricks for Leo and Henry... The announcer proclaims the final score as 'Brocton 0 Stockport Town 2', is roundly ridiculed, corrects himself, and assures us he has actually been watching the game....

Panthers Pounce... But See Hope Of Three Points Go South....

And so to Jericho Lane in the Otterspool area of Aigburth in Liverpool for a North West Counties Division One North clash between South Liverpool and Atherton LR. It's one of a handful of NWCFL games going ahead on FA Vase day - South Liverpool receiving a walkover as AFC St Helens Town 'weren't accepted into the competition'....

South Liverpool date back from the 1890s - their first incarnation coming from a club changing its name from African Royal, moving to the Dingle, and eventually relocating to become New Brighton AFC. The Rakers were dissolved in 1983, having been Football League members from 1923 to 1951.

The second coming of The South came about in 1935 with the club playing at Holly Park in Garston, and enjoying trophy joy as Lancashire Combination champions in 1937, 1938 and 1939. The club made 10 applications to join the Football League, all unsuccessful, but won the Welsh Cup in 1939, beating Cardiff City 2-1....

The Cheshire County League followed in 1951 and subsequently the club played the first ever match under 'permanent' floodlights against a Nigeria XI (who were reputedly barefoot !) - a game covered by Kenneth Wolstenholme (until it was all over !) on the BBC, with a crowd of 13,007.

Then in 1967 Ferenc Puskas guested for the club in a fundraising friendly, attracting a crowd of 10,000 before South were invited to join the new Northern Premier League a year later. Jimmy Case and John Aldridge both cut their teeth at Holly Park before moving onto better things..

South struggled against wealthier, better supported clubs but in 1983/84 enjoyed their best post war season as they annexed the NPL League Cup, the Lancashire Challenge Trophy and the Liverpool Senior Cup. South’s success was not built upon and whilst two more Liverpool Senior Cup wins followed along with the NPL Presidents Cup, Holly Park was lost (burnt down) in 1989 and the limited company was liquidated in 1991. Holly Park was later converted to the impressive Liverpool South Parkway station.

South supporters had already formed a committee to take over the football club and in 1992 the phoenix club, a merger with Cheshire Lines FC, joined the Liverpool County Combination, groundsharing with Bootle rent free in exchange for Holly Park's floodlights - the clubs separating two years later. A nomadic existence was then South’s main issue but at the dawn of the Millennium they secured a home at the North Field, Jericho Lane, Otterspool. The County Combination joined forces with the I Zingari League in 2006 to form the Liverpool County Premier League.

South were consistent top half finishers in the Liverpool Combination / Liverpool County Premier League and won the George Mahon Cup at Goodison Park in May 2009. In 2011 South took the decision to switch to the West Cheshire League and immediately won two consecutive divisional titles to move up to the top division in 2014. The First Division was won in 2015, retained in 2016 when two cups were added, making it a triple winning season. Further title success was achieved in 2018.

2019 saw South’s home ground move 200 yards to the Jericho Hub complete with floodlights, cover and stand. After the cancellation of the 2019/20 season South stepped up and took the abbreviated league title in 2021, achieving promotion to the North West Counties League for 2021/22, thirty years after semi pro status had been lost. South currently sit 7th with 14 points from 9 games.

Atherton Laburnum Rovers FC was founded in 1956 as Laburnum Rovers, an Under 14s side to play in the Briarcroft Junior League. 'The Laburnums' were named after the Laburnum Playing Fields where they first played; it is not clear where their other nickname, 'The Panthers', emanates from.

The club expanded to senior level, starting in the Leigh & District League, and after moving to Hagfold Playing Fields, became members of the Bolton Combination in 1961. Ground facilities prevented promotion so a farmer's field was found at Greendale and, despite a footpath criss-crossing and duck ponds on either side, a football pitch was created. The move to the new ground occurred in June 1966, and after winning the Bolton Combination Division Two, the Laburnums were promoted and new changing rooms were erected - a major improvement on the old air raid shelters previously in use !

The Panthers joined the Cheshire County League in 1980, with the league stipulating the team changed its name to include that of the town - and Atherton Laburnum Rovers was born. The ground was renamed Crilly Park in honour of chairman Jack Crilly, who had died suddenly.

LR were also founder members of the North West Counties in 1982 and, as champions in 1993 and 1995, were promoted to the Unibond Northern Premier League, the latter a stay that lasted three seasons culminating in relegation after financial problems. Thereafter there was a flurry of managers - 6 in 2 years at one point - and the intervening years saw two relegations, one promotion and two Bolton Hospital Cup successes.

2015/16 represented the nadir for Rovers, finishing next to bottom in the lower division with only 4 wins and 18 points all season – fortunately there was no relegation. 20^th and 18^th both out of 22 in the last two full campaigns shows progress has been limited….. although 31 points from 29 games in 2019/20 was rather better. Only three fixtures were completed last time, and Rovers currently have 7 points from 8 games.

Past the Armenian Grill House ( est 2020 - but still to open: 'Coming Soon' ), Buff Nail & Beauty, with Ronaldo's second coming queues in the opposite direction, and glorious floral colour at Denzell Gardens sees pockets of drizzle. This in direct contrast to the previous two days when the weather has not been so much foul as utterly deranged, the sky gushing like a burst water pipe, with roads becoming swirling eddies and fields turning into lakes.

Another motorway bonanza - the M56, M6 (still struggling from the fatal crash at The PIES bridge) and the M62 - now fully reopened after 19 pigs escaped onto the carriageway this morning. Beyond the Dream sculpture and Sutton Manor Woods at St Helens, with curious bridge graffiti of 'End Speciesism' and 'Free Julian Assange'. En route are numberplates 4PPY, 111 OB (an ill old boy ?) and a very odd 380 EBO .....

The M62 finishes at junction 4, in a  failed attempt to reach Liverpool city centre; left at The Rocket and a circuitous (calamitous ??) route takes me via Sefton Park and Penny Lane... But I reach the outskirts of Aigburth, passing Hair We Are, Grilla - Meat On A Spit and Pose and Pout, before hitting Jericho Lane and the Community Football & Fitness Hub.

Opposite is the glorious vista of Otterspool Promenade, looking onto the River Mersey - at the hub plenty of parking, the requirement to obtain a QR code and £5 admission for a match that is tweeted with a crowd of 126, but curiously downgraded to 125 later. Who is that missing man ??

Inside a small seated stand behind the goal, only three sides open, a walkway and a covered area opposite the dugouts, and surrounded by small sized pitches. Another sullen sky spasmodically allowing sunshine greets the game, with South in white shirts, black shorts and red socks and the Laburnums in yellow and blue.

South Liverpool have 'not got out of bed' as Rovers conjure up 4 chances in the first five minutes - Justeace Holness going close twice. The home side rouse and Alex Woodcock forces a smart save from away custodian Josep Genestar aka 'Pepe'. Thereafter it's a half (and match) dominated by bewildering officiating, seemingly based on guesswork...

Keiron Dale, for the visitors, is injured and leaves the pitch to avoid playing South onside, then walks back on and collapses and is booked. Thereafter South's keeper, Oli Farebrother, strays outside his box, cleans out the onrushing forward and handles the ball - and also, mystifyingly, gets a yellow - the whole ground expecting a red.

'Ref, get a grip' and 'Book the linesman' are two of the more printable comments, as (particularly the away) supporters laugh at some of the decisions made. But with just over five minutes to go before the break Luke Nicholls scuffs home a volley that loops lazily into the far corner and Rovers lead. Woodcock immediately forces a fine save from Pepe, and Stephen Doyle's free kick is marginally wide - but Atherton lead 1-0 at the interval. 

The second period is all South, as Paul Bathgate slashes one over the bar (and into the drink !) and then a wayward back pass allows in Owen Hough but his shot is too close to Pepe, who pulls off a brilliant save from the follow up. No matter as on 54 minutes Louis Gorman is impeded at a free kick and a rather debatable penalty is given, which Stephen Doyle smashes into the roof of the net for parity.

The Laburnums, far from wilting, play themselves back into the game and the final half hour is end to end, as both sides look to nick the three points. South are defied by some quality defending and keeping, and a poor final ball too often, whilst Rovers, more on the break, come closer though Travis Boyles - Farebrother pulling off some fine saves. But ultimately it finishes as a 1-1 draw, but an entertaining one at that - complete with comedy officials ☺

Baht 'Atters in Tatters - Sunk By Admirals' Last Ditch Effort !!!

And so to the MPM Stadium, aka Ben Rhydding Sports Club, for a Bank Holiday Monday North West Counties Division One North 'derby' between Ilkley Town and Nelson.

Open age football in Ilkley has existed since the early 20th century with Saturday and Sunday league teams playing at West Holmes and East Holmes fields alongside the River Wharfe. 

The post war predecessors of the current Ilkley Town football club were Ilkley Rangers (1947) and Ilkley British Legion (1955) before Ilkley Town was formed in the 1960s competing in the Wharfedale League. 

In the late 1980s the club struggled to survive in a town where rugby, cricket, tennis, golf and hockey possessed greater social allegiance and better facilities, and disbanded in the early 1990s.

The club was re-formed in 1995 as Ilkley AFC and joined the Harrogate & District Football League gaining promotion to the Premier League in 1997. After a period of financial difficulty the Baht 'Atters moved up to the West Yorkshire League, with promotion to Division One at the first attempt followed by a change of name to Ilkley Town in 2006.

After decades of renting local authority and school pitches Ilkley Town Football Club was accepted into the Ben Rhydding Sports Club in 2009 (a 4G pitch was added in 2017). Promotion to the Premier League of the West Yorkshire AFL was won in 2016.

The club was promoted to the North West Counties League Division One North this year, and will enter the FA Vase for the very first time - playing Penrith at home a week on Saturday, but league form has been shocking; five straight defeats then followed by a 6-0 drubbing of the Salmoners of Darwen AFC and a 3-2 away win at South Liverpool two days ago - no reward without effort as the club badge shows....

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; relegation in 2017 subsequently was followed by underwhelming performances and season abandonments, emphasising the club motto of 'Nothing Can Be Achieved Without Work'. This term the Admirals also have six points from seven games - one win, three draws and three defeats.

Amidst pockets of drizzle, which become a heavy shower in Ilkley, it's past The Vine Inn - Watson and Woodheads Gold Medal Ales and Stout since 1909, then Garveys still advertising St Patrick's Day....Motorway traffic on the M60, M61 and M65 takes us past Darwen Tower - the Jubilee Tower erected to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Today's numberplates are NAS1:1A, G4RB J (rubbish !!) and XP05SED.

Through Colne with Hedgehogg Florists and the Morris Dancers pub, it's into Glusburn and Cross Hills (t'other way round from the opposite direction) before I reach Silsden, 'Cobbydale', headquarters of the Ecology Building Society. Then Ilkley and its artisan shops and pubs, and home to the arts, supporting an art gallery, playhouse and cinema - and even a Furniture Hospital !!

Passing the Fuggle and Golding, Flying Duck, Ilkley Cow, Bar T'At and Mrs Duttons Wondrous Workshops, we alight on the Lister's Arms, opposite the former headquarters of the West Yorkshire Road Car Company. Lunch is taken with a pint of Pommies Revenge.

Then a walk into Riverside Park, agin the River Wharfe and down the road to Ben Rhydding, overlooked by the Cow and Calf, signs for Niddtrail, and a diversion to the Ben Rhydding de Mohicanen Scout and Guide Group - the thought of girl guides with Mohican hairdos does not sit comfortably with Ilkley's affluent reputation....

The MPM Stadium forms part of the Ben Rhydding Spoprts Club which hosts flat green bowls, croquet, hockey, cricket, mini football and in the far corner the Baht 'Atters. £6 in, a bumper crowd of 160 (goodness knows how they accommodated 499 for the visit of Bury AFC on the season's opening day !!) - and a sizeable away contingent ☺

One tree lined side is fenced off, and there's a covered shelter, 'The Ilkley Carnival Stand' opposite, but no seats anywhere....a walkway extends round the three occupiable sides. At the top end a sign for 'Beers & Pies' leading to more football pitches, but definitely no beers or pies !! At the other end 'Beer, Coffee & Cake' provides a truer reflection on what refreshments can be bought.....

 

Strangely Ilkley, who play in all navy blue, are in alternative colours of all maroon. The Admirals, who also normally play in all blue, are in change colours of grey with electric lime sleeves. I take up position next to a stout linesman with tattoos on his hand and behind his ear, and alongside a groundhopper wearing a Peaceful Hooligan cagoule, who has selected this game for goals - both sides having scored and conceded plenty.

 

An entertaining first half produces several chances but by the half hour Peaceful Hooligan is forecasting a goalless draw.... Tom Smith goes close for the Baht 'Atters, and then left back McCauley Smith fizzes two long range efforts just wide. For the Admirals Nathan Webb has four strikes, one scored at the second attempt but ruled out for offside, and Jack Holt has a shot deflected marginally wide.

 

But on 35 minutes a Nelson corner is cleared and Ilkley's policy of leaving right back James Hudson as the sole man up front pays dividends. He outmuscles the centre half and, in a straight one on one, sees his initial shot saved by Jack Little before calmly tucking away the rebound, and Baht 'Atters are one up at the break.

 

Within a minute of the restart The Admirals are level - the ball breaking fortuitously for Webb to smash home emphatically beyond Callum Gladding. Thereafter Ilkley suffer injuries to three of their back four and cling on, creating the occasional breakaway chance, with Tom Smith's curling effort their best attempt.

Webb is guilty of a horrendous miss, and Nelson pass up several further opportunities as the clock ticks down into injury time. Ilkley sub James Hughes overruns the ball in acres of space and fouls Little in the 94th minute; the subsequent free kick is hoofed forward and drops for Admirals' substitute Brad Ditch to fire home for a 2-1 Nelson victory ... and a headline writer's dream ☺

Movers & Shakers - Bury Top, Campion Pointless...

And so to the Neuven Stadium (Stainton Park in a former life), home of Radcliffe FC (Radcliffe Borough in a previous guise) for a North West Counties Football League Division One North clash between Bury AFC and Campion AFC from Bradford - a match moved to Sunday because Radcliffe hosted Carlton Palmer's Grantham Town, The Gingerbreads, the day before.

Bury AFC was formed in 2019 following the expulsion of Bury FC from the English Football League. Created and managed entirely by volunteers with the slogan "By the fans, for the fans" the Club is owned by a Community Benefit Society, the Shakers Community Trust, whose Board is elected by its members. The Shakers joined the NWCFL last term, and led the table with 5 wins, one draw and one defeat before the season was written off.

 

Bury FC was established and headquartered at Gigg Lane from 1885. The Shakers were founder members of the Lancashire League in 1889, and were crowned champions in the 1890–91 and 1891–92 seasons, before being elected to The Football League in 1894.

Bury were champions of the Second Division in 1894–95 and won their test match (an ancient version of the play offs ?) to secure promotion to the First Division. They remained in the top flight for 17 seasons, winning the FA Cup in 1900 with a 4–0 victory over Southampton and again in 1903 with a 6–0 win over Derby County, still a record equalling victory. After relegation to the Second Division at the end of the 1911–12 season, Bury secured promotion in 1923–24, before losing their top-flight status in 1928–29, never to return.

After relegation to the third tier in 1957 the club was promoted in 1961 but then spiralled downwards to the Fourth Division. Stan Ternent took them back up to the second tier, with successive promotions in 1996 and 1997 for a brief two season foray.

Thereafter, fluctuating between Leagues One and Two, alleged gross overspending by previous owner Stewart Day and then 'incompetence' from new incumbent Steve Dale saw the Shakers placed into administration in 2019 and expulsion from the league. Bury FC still exists as a dormant shell and the phoenix club continues to split local opinion.

Campion AFC was established in 1963 by Michael Mahoney, taking players from the St Edmund Campion Youth Club. By 1975 the club had joined Division 4 of the Bradford Sunday League and in the following year entered a team into the Red Triangle League, a Saturday league.

By 1979 Campion had reached the league's Premier Division, before moving up to the West Riding County Amateur League in 1981. The club dropped out of the league for one season for the 1985/86 campaign due to financial difficulties but returned the year after.

As champions of Division 2 in 1990, Division One awaited which was won in 1992/93. The team was also Premier Division Cup winners four times between 2004 and 2008, and West Riding Challenge Cup winners in 2006/07.

Campion applied for promotion to Division One of the Northern Counties East League, and by finishing third, duly went up at the end of the 2015/16 season. In 2020 they sat 5th at the point of curtailment, and last season saw 8 wins and 3 defeats at the time stumps were drawn; a lateral move to the North West Counties ensued in this close season.

Three epic fails on the numberplate front - R1KCY, M1SOR and RE0 5POT (Red Spot Security...) before another MetroStink - engineering works allegedly completed last weekend, but running over to this Sunday, but not advised on station billboards and no staff on hand. A bruised sky, rain abating temporarily and a quiet trip to Deansgate Castlefield.

Then tributes to Peterloo, a performance from Fat Cat Brass, a new (for me!) pub  in The Lost Dene, and beyond Manahatta and Las Iguanas, then the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the Cathedral and Victoria - and a wholly unnecessary diversion to Turkey Lane and Monsall.

Finally the bus replacement turns up and we meander through the diversity of Cheetham Hill, encompassing The Niu, Irish World Heritage Centre and Lahore Appliances. Then Crumpsall and a tram display that shows 'DELAY, DELAY, 36 mins' (helpful !!). Eventually via Besses o' th' Barn and Pioneer Mills 1905 I arrive in Radcliffe.

Past signs for the Black Pudding Lobbing Contest in Ramsbottom next month, then Mary Kelly's Munchkins, and finally Radcliffe in Bloom, a curious display of part barge, boat and spent flowers. This brings me to the Platinum Care Racecourse (Radcliffe CC), Redbank Fields (Radcliffe Juniors FC) and the PJP Sports Complex, alongside the Neuven Stadium.

£7 admission and inside a bumper crowd of 1358 plus residents watching from over the wall (449 for Radcliffe's game yesterday) provides a tremendous atmosphere; the main stand is up top, bisected by the press box, with the sponsors' lounge in the left hand corner. A shallow covered terrace is on the near side and an uncovered one opposite, with a small stand behind the Fell End alongside an unusual drinking booth 'Raising The Bar'. The ground is festooned in Bury flags... apparently Beardyman Lives On...

Shakers are in white and blue, Campion in red and black stripes. A hard fought first half sees Bury start brightly, prompted by Aidan Chippendale and the exciting Abimbola Obasota. But Campion are in this game too and take the lead on 38 minutes - an innocuous challenge on Daniel Keane results in a dubious penalty. Captain Aidan Kirby sends the Shakers' sticksman Jack Atkinson the wrong way. No matter as two minutes later Greg Daniels finishes excellently and it's 1-1 at the break.

Six minutes into the second period a quite wonderful ball from Kris Holt sets Tom Greaves free and the GOAT rifles across Liam Lovell to put the Shakers 2-1 up. Greaves has other opportunities to put the game to bed but Campion's defiant rearguard action prevents any further goals. We then see 3 balls kicked out of the ground in 40 seconds.... 'None left'.

Indeed as the match reaches its closing stages the visitors fashion the better chances. Mark Ferguson slashes over and then, from another Ferguson break, Nicky Boshell shoots wide when he should have done better. Late away pressure yields naught, with the Shakers moving joint top on 10 points, Campion joint bottom after three straight defeats.

Where Eagles Dare But Fail To Conquer Romans' Fortress....

 And so to the 2021/22 season and July 31st, with a Staffordshire derby at the Hillsfield Stadium in the North West Counties Football League Division One South between Rocester FC and Eccleshall FC.

It’s a very long history that the Romans possess, encompassing a protective fort on the site of a village where Queen Cartimandua was forced to flee. The football club dates back all the way to December 16 1876, when the Lyon brothers took over Rocester Mill, where they played multiple friendlies against neighbouring sides. They had various successes in local competitions until the outbreak of World War II led to the club being disbanded. 

After they were reformed in 1946 Rocester started to climb the Staffordshire Leagues, playing 27 consecutive seasons in the Staffordshire County League (North) up to 1984 before ascending to the Staffordshire Senior League, including a period in the 1970s where three Blood brothers played for the side - Alf, George and Steve. 

Rocester FC entered the FA Vase for the first time in the 1986-87 season and reached the last sixteen, knocking out holders Halesowen Town in the process in front of their record crowd of 1,026. They moved from their original and by now rather run-down ground to a new home at Hillsfield, in 1987 and this is where they adopted their nickname the ‘Romans’ as the ground was built on an old Roman fort; the ground was renamed from Riversfield to Hillsfield in memory of previous chairman, Don Hill.

The Romans switched to the West Midlands (Regional) League Division One, which they won at the first attempt. The new ground was further developed with the addition of floodlights and a stand to enable the club to take its place in the Premier Division.

In 1994, following several successful seasons, Rocester became founder members of the new Midland Football Alliance. After a second-place finish in their first season in the new league, they went one better in 1998–99, winning the league title and claiming promotion to the Southern League Midland Division.

Life became harder at this level, however, and after two consecutive last-place finishes the Romans were relegated back to the Alliance in 2002. Rocester soon recovered and were champions at the first attempt in 2003–04. However, due to the re-organisation of the non-league pyramid, The Romans were placed in the Northern Premier League Division One, enduring a disastrous season, picking up only 6 points from 42 games to finish rock-bottom.

The following season back in the Alliance saw the team continue their terrible run, their first win not coming until January, finally ending a run of 67 league matches without a win. After finishing bottom of the Midland Alliance the club only avoided a second successive relegation due to league restructuring.

However, within two years Rocester were back among the leading clubs in the Midland Alliance, finishing 12th in 2007 and 5th in 2008. The Romans recorded a 3–0 win over Kidsgrove in April 2008 to win the Staffordshire Senior Cup for the first time.

Moved to the new Midland League, following the amalgamation of the Midland Alliance and the Midland Combination, in 2014 the Amber and Blacks were relegated in 2018, and moved laterally from the Midland Football League Division One to the NWCFL Division One South in this close season.

Eccleshall Town FC was established in 1908 but the most successful local team of that era was Eccleshall Comrades, set up in 1918. The Comrades' most famous player was the FA Cup Final scorer and winner (for Wolves), and England amateur and full international, The Reverend KRG Hunt. The club also featured in a curious incident when Stone Christ Church were defeated 5-0. The game ended 10 minutes early when first one ball burst, then another and there were no more available.....

Both clubs became defunct and the current club was reformed in 1971 as Eccleshall Town Old Boys, the team made up of locals and staff from Eccleshall Secondary School, where they played their home games.

The Eagles joined the Staffordshire County League (North) in 1979, moved to Pershall Park in 1982 and ascended to the Staffordshire Senior League in 1984. As Eccleshall FC championships were won in 1990 and then consecutively in 2001/02 and 2002/03. With work complete on the stadium the club moved up to the North West Counties Football League in 2003, but several seasons of inconsistency followed before two dreadful campaigns.

2015/16's 16th place finish owed much to the ineptitude of the two clubs below them - Atherton Laburnum Rovers and Whitchurch Alport. The following season the Eagles finished 21st with 18 points from 42 matches and conceded 145 goals. Relegation was only avoided because of an injury time equaliser in the 3-3 draw away at bottom, and relegated, club Ashton Town, who finished one point below Eccy, and the fact that only one club met the league's promotion criteria.

A much improved season thereafter saw a below midtable finish and safety, and a bit more pride in their boast of 'We Play For The Badge & The Oat Cakes - We Are Eccy !!!' The 2019/20 campaign was dominated by the suicide of 21 year old player Jake Standbridge, an 11-3 home defeat in the league to Wythenshawe Town and an 11-2 away loss in the Cup to Carlisle City the week after a 5-1 away win at New Mills, but lower table stability has subsequently ensued - as much as stability can be expected in this pandemic....

A grey, breezy Saturday afternoon and an early dart due to prior knowledge of a motorway accident, exacerbated by a 'stranded vehicle' - the joys of a Smart Motorway !! Then beyond Avec Cookers to the M6 and  bridge graffiti - first Jenga (Knutsford) then a 'welcome' return of THE PIES one side, SMOKE PIES the other (Holmes Chapel). This is followed by an array of roadside advertising - Are You Pregnant (I sincerely hope not !!), Hot Car Leasing, Top Secret Furniture and then a shipping container devoted to Allah....

Numberplates today are E6YPT and KEM1X, as I leave the motorway for the A500 then the A50, Dresden (Stoke not East Germany !), The Pepper Mill and Catchem Corner. Bypassing Draycott in the Moors, Deadman's Green and Upper Nobut, the massive JCB complex on my near side as I turn left at JCB International House (also McDonalds Uttoxeter) to the village of Rocester - one street and that's it, a Spar and the Red Lion the only obvious attractions...

Mill Street leads to Hillsfield, next to an imposing mill built in the 1780s by Richard Arkwright, and operative until 1985, with the stone sign of 'The Tutbury Mill Co Ltd' still in place. Fitting that with Rocester being the headquarters of JCB, the mill has been converted into the JCB Academy, next to the ground.

A large car park - for the benefit of the Academy rather than the football club !! - and a small adjoining astroturf pitch, before I pay my £6 admission fee in the corner. This leads to beer trestle tables on the banking side, Roman's Bar and then the three section Gilbert Egerton Stand, the seats having come from Fellows Park at Walsall FC.

Railings at both ends, the top one with a warm up area, the other two sides surrounded by trees and a bus shelter stand opposite, seemingly supported by scaffolding - apparently the old disabled stand at Fellows Park... Not one of the 109 crowd dares to stand underneath, not even when the drizzle arrives late in the second half... Instead an Eccleshall 'Stanno' banner is attached and there are glorious views of the Staffordshire countryside from my vantage point.

Rocester's adventure into the North West Counties is delayed slightly whilst dog mess is removed from the near touchline (a first !!), but at 3.02 we are underway - the Romans in amber and black, and only able to name 4 substitutes, the Eagles in all blue.

Tempers boil over within five minutes, three early bookings and some questionable officiating 'Have a word with yourself, liner', before just after the quarter hour marauding Romans' wingback Derry Creighton seizes on a woefully short back header and is pulled down by Eagles' keeper Zak Noble. Alex Cimino comfortably sends Noble the wrong way from the penalty spot and Rocester lead 1-0.

For the large part of the rest of the half the Eagles soar, Louis Downs and Jack Dundas firing wide but the best chance falls on half time to Luke Lewis who flashes across goal. For the Romans Creighton sets up Cimino but his effort is blocked.

The second period sees Eccleshall once more in the ascendency, Lewis amazingly missing an open goal, scuffing woefully into Charlie Wood's hands. Then on 63 a wonderful Rocester passing move involving Creighton, Jordan Dodd and Elisio Francisco delivers the ball to a free Cimino who finishes composedly for 2-0.

Cue extended Eagles pressure which finally results in an improvised chip from Dundas with a quarter of an hour to go, the ball flicking the inside of the far post before going in. As a result Eccleshall exert ever greater dominance and Lewis comes up with a hat trick of misses, heading wide whilst unmarked.

But the Romans cling on, surviving sub Jack Stevens' red card in the dying seconds, for a 2-1 victory, finishing at two minute to five.