Terminally Rhyl - De Blaa Blaa Blaa....

 

Before the Nomads, Connah's Quay FC was founded in 1890 and disbanded after a second Welsh Cup final loss in 1911. Connah's Quay & Shotton was then formed in 1920 and beat Cardiff, featuring several players in the team that beat Arsenal in the 1927 FA Cup Final, in the 1929 Welsh Cup Final. Six months later the club went bust....

 

The existing club was formed in July 1946 as Connah's Quay Juniors, and a senior team was formed and joined the Flintshire League in 1948. Prior to the 1952/53 season the club's suffix changed to Nomads; the Nomads joined the Welsh League (North) and, despite returning to local leagues for 7 years, rejoined it in 1966. In 1974 the club joined the newly formed Clwyd League and, following 3 successful seasons in the Welsh Alliance, became founder members of the Cymru Alliance in 1990 then the League of Wales two seasons later.

 

The Nomads, an odd name for a club that had spent 51 seasons at the Halfway Ground, moved after a season of groundsharing at Rhyl to its current home, the Deeside Stadium in 1998. After bereavements and retirements the club was taken over by gap personnel in June 2008 to become gap Connah's Quay Nomads.

 

2010 saw the club narrowly miss out on the cut off for the Super 12 League - thus the club began the 2010/11 season in the Cymru Alliance which they won the following season but were deprived of promotion after failing to gain a domestic license. Notwithstanding this setback the Nomads were again crowned Cymru Alliance champions in 2013 and this time ascent to the Welsh Premier League was granted.

 

 Stabaek Fotball, the visitors from the Nadderud Stadium, are based in Baerum, voted the best place to live in Norway. The club was established on 16 March 1912 and forms part of the multi sport organisation Stabaek IF.

 

De Blaa (The Blue Ones - after their all blue strip) won the Norwegian Cup in 1998 and the Tippeligaen (Norwegian Premier League) in 2008. After finishing third last season to qualify for the Europa League, this term sees them lying next to bottom with 9 defeats in 13 games and pressure mounting on manager Billy McKinlay - David Moyes' assistant at Real Sociedad.

A glorious Thursday morning quickly fades to grey as we join the M56, passing the belching fumes of Stanlow and becalmed wind turbines. Then onto the A55 for fabulous views of the Great Orme and Snowdonia, we turn off past pretty Rhuddlan Castle and enter Rhyl.

 

We park by Patagonia Avenue, alongside the well kept and attractive Botanical Gardens, home of Sunny Rhyl Bowls Club, a blizzard of prohibition and warning signs, muted floral colour and a carved wooden bear. Then past the superbly named Sun of a Beach tanning salon before emerging by the world famous (?) Rhyl Sun Centre - now closed (gutted !!) - on the front.

 

Beyond the Pavilion Theatre, a quick look at the RNLI lifeboat and views of the glorious Prestatyn Sands before we return to a quiet Rhyl, surprising given it's the holiday season, slightly tatty in the centre and with several development opportunities and sites of partial demolition. One oddity is the 250 ft Rhyl Sky Tower on the sea front, bizarrely transported from the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival, and now cordoned off amidst safety fears.

Then it's further down the coast to Kinmel Bay, past the Breaks Family Entertainment Centre which holds no appeal despite the name ! We cross over the impressive new Pont y Ddraid bridge at Foryd harbour and a walk across Kinmel dunes to the edge of Towyn - a landscape dominated by vast wind farms in one direction and huge static caravan parks in the other. Lunch is faggots and a pint of Beachcomber Blonde. We pass the Wales Crown Green Bowling Centre on the way back to the ground - but given the overgrown state of one of the greens the comment of the 'Wembley of Bowls' is rather inapt..........

 

Belle Vue holds 3,000 with all bar 300 seated. The main Don Spendlove Stand, named after Rhyl's 629 goal local legend, houses the majority of fans and UEFA delegates. At either end are the Lilywhites Legends bar and canteen and the NWPS Stand. The final stand, with yellow and green seats as opposed to the blue ones elsewhere in the stadium, is again the Botanical Gardens and houses the away fans and a TV gantry.

The match begins in teeming rain with the 40 or so Norwegian fans singing raucously from behind their Ultras 1912 and Inferno 99 banners. The Nomads are in all red, and De Blaa naturally in all blue, sponsored by Smartfish Muscle Recharge..... Their Indian international goalkeeper, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is in all white. The match is refereed by Johnny Casanova, who spreads the love by only booking one player (Mr Disney), and is ably assisted by linesman Mr Tuttifrutti - and no I'm not making this up !!

 

Nomads start much the better with Michael Wilde having two goals disallowed - the second a tight offside call as he beats the flapping Sandhu to head home. Sandhu is subsequently substituted due to a suspected broken thumb; his replacement, Mande Sayouba from Cote d'Ivoire, inspires little more confidence.

 

Callum Morris goes close and Stabaek, with 73% possession, pass, pass and pass with no end product. Their first effort is a 41st minute shot well over from Ghana international Kamal Issah, whilst number 99, Ohikhuaeme Omoijuanfo, provides a rather flaky performance....

 

The second half is that bad that it isn't even within hailing distance of awful - like watching a game of chess ! Rumours that the S4C highlights were cancelled and a cartoon shown instead prove unfounded, though.....

 

There is one chance for the Nomads with Wilde through one on one with Sayouba who makes a comfortable save. De Blaa also fashion one opportunity with Jeppe Arctander Moe's cushioned cross tucked away by Albanian forward Agen Mehmeti - but the former is offside. Two wild shots close proceedings on a damp squib of a match.

 

Next week's return visit to see the Lakesiders of Bala Town play Swedish club AIK Solna has to be better.....

Red Rebels Leave Athletic Marooned - Ashes to Ashes !

And so to May Bank Holiday and a trip to Brocstedes Park in Ashton-in-Makerfield. It's a vital end of season game between tenants St Helens Town who host Hanley Town in the North West Counties Division One.

The sky is grey and heavy, like a pile of wet towels, as I set out on what should be a fairly straightforward trip up the M6. It becomes a circus on Thelwall viaduct with a Warburtons Bakery lorry, in the fast lane on the opposite carriageway, catching fire and providing hours of rubbernecking for those travelling north. Once past it's up to Bryn Interchange at junction 25, and then down a dirt track (not the AA recommended route !!) to Brocstedes Park.

It's a vital match because it's the last one of the regular season for the Saints and a must win to reach the play offs. Hanley can be crowned as champions if they win today. Recognising its importance Saints' main sponsor Johnsons Toyota Liverpool are offering free admission to the first 100 adult spectators through the turnstiles.

I arrive at quarter to three, in brilliant sunshine, to be met by Big John and told that the match has been postponed five minutes earlier due to waterlogging. The major problem seems to be the rain filled ruts in the centre of the pitch - a problem exacerbated by the incredulous decision to fulfil Ashton Athletic's game in February against Alsager in monsoon conditions, which has caused massive damage to the pitch.

So a return to the M6 which helpfully informs me that there are traffic problems between junctions 15 and 10 on the M60, but nothing about the ongoing chaos at Thelwall. The fire has been severe enough to burn off the tarmac so resurfacing is required meaning lane closures and long delays - bravo !!!

Fast forward 24 hours and a repeat visit to Brocstedes Park to see Ashton Athletic play Abbey Hey in the North West Counties Premier - hopefully !!

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 the 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.

Abbey Hey FC hail from the Abbey Stadium, and not the one in Cambridge ! Their Abbey Stadium is to be found on Goredale Avenue in Gorton, M18.

The visitors date back to 1902 when they formed as Abbey Hey WMC, but the club has disbanded and reformed on a number of occasions. In 1998 they moved from the Manchester League to the North West Counties and were promoted in that first season to their current level.

The club previously played at St Werburghs Road under an arrangement with Lookers, who reneged on the deal two years in. The Red Rebels then moved to Godfrey's, named after local councillor Godfrey Ermen, and after two seasons on the old English Steel site, took up residence at the Abbey in 1984.

And so indeed 24 hours later leads to a glorious spring evening, light motorway traffic and after a trip down the rutted driveway, matching the pitch, to the car park - and a game of football at Brocstedes Park :)

Brocstedes Park is essentially a converted farmer's field and fairly basic, aside from the fantastic facilities in the clubhouse, which is immediately to the left on entry. There are two small covered stands bisecting the dugouts, two open ends and the far side has a mini pitch, under water yesterday, and the M6 behind - there is a lone photographer on that touchline, but he could be doubling up as a lorry spotter !!

Ash are in their traditional yellow and the Red Rebels are in, er, maroon.... Both sides hit the woodwork early on; Abbey Hey from a cross cum shot whilst Ashton's left back is collapsed in a heap having collided with the metal railing surrounding the pitch, and Ash's Isaac Kusaloka hitting the outside of the post after some fairly shabby goalkeeping.

But it's typical end of season fare and a mundane first half sees only one further incident. A hopeful ball into the channels sees Rebels' centre back Andrew Smith stumble in the ruts, go down in instalments, and sets Kusaloka free. He bears down on goal, draws the keeper and squares for Heath Ainscow to score into an empty net and leave the Ashes 1-0 up at half time.

Perhaps with one eye on the home local derby against Atherton Collieries 48 hours later, the home side barely feature in the second half. The Red Rebels start to make inroads, and eventually Ashford Blake equalises at close range from a Jack Tinning cross.

Then a fantastic through ball from Abbey's Nico Collins leaves Sam Hind free and he scores confidently to put the Red Rebels in front, with the visitors comfortably seeing out the dying embers of the game. :)

A Day At The Beeches - Uphill And Down Dale !!

And so to Packwood Road in the Black Country, and The Beeches, the home of Tividale FC. Today's visitors drawing the veil on the regular season are Sheffield FC in the Evostik Northern Premier League Division One South.

The Dale was formed in 1954 as the senior branch of Tividale Hall Youth Club FC, originally competing in the Handsworth & District League before moving on to the Warwickshire & West Midlands Alliance. In 1966 the club joined the newly formed West Midlands (Regional) League Division One, and was promoted to the Premier Division in 1973.

The club moved to its current ground in 1974 but were demoted to Division One in 1991 after falling foul of a new league ruling that required all Premier Division clubs to have floodlights, which they could not afford to erect. Two years later the floodlights were put up, the team finished second and were promoted back, but in the same year the Midland Football Alliance was created so the club was back to where it started.

The 2010/11 season saw The Dale run away with the Premier Division and with that came promotion to the Midland Football Alliance. In 2013/14 on a platform of a record breaking start of 13 consecutive wins the club swept all aside to storm to the title and earn promotion to the Evostik Northern Premier League Division One South. A respectable 8th place was earned in their inaugural season but the club had to win an off field Ground Grading appeal hearing at Wembley to retain their position in the league. Sadly it has only been a stay of execution as Tivi will finish bottom of the pile this time. 

Sheffield FC's nickname is 'The Club', and they are renowned for being 'The World's First Football Club'. The club was set up by Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest on 24 October 1857 at Parkfield House in the Sheffield suburb of Highgate, although the original headquarters was a greenhouse.....

Initially Sheffield FC games were played among club members - 'Married v Singles', or 'Professionals v The Rest'. Creswick and Prest drew up the club's rules of play, 'The Sheffield Rules' - and along with near neighbours Hallam FC, 'The Countrymen', formed in 1860, they take part in 'The Rules derby', the oldest still contested football derby in the world. FA rules were only adopted in 1878. 2nd January 1865 saw the first fixture outside Sheffield - the club playing at Nottingham in an 18 a side game under Nottingham rules. The decision was then taken to play only teams from outside Sheffield, and on 31 March 1866 they played London losing by 2 goals and 4 touchdowns to nil.

The Club entered the FA Cup in 1873, but thereafter there was a decline from the top echelon with the advent of professionalism. Sheffield FC retained its amateur status and suggested to the FA the introduction of an FA Amateur Cup, which was inaugurated in 1893 and which Sheffield won in 1904. After one season in each of the Yorkshire and Midland Leagues, the club reverted back to local leagues, before rejoining the Yorkshire League in 1949. They then joined the Northern Counties East League in 1981, before promotion to the NPL Division 1 South in 2007 - their 150th anniversary.

The Club have played at Strawberry Hall Lane Park, Newhall Athletic ground, Old Forge, Hunters Bar, Abbeydale Park, Hillsborough Park, Owlerton and the Don Valley Stadium. Current home is the Coach & Horses ground, including the adjoining pub, in Dronfield, which was bought in 2001, and previously the home of Norton Woodseats FC.

In 2004 The Club were awarded the Centennial FIFA Order of Merit for services to football and maintenance of its values - Integrity, Respect and Community; the only other recipient was Real Madrid. And in 2007 The Club was inducted into the English football Hall of Fame on its 150th anniversary. This season has seen The Club launch a £6m crowd funding appeal to finance a new stadium in the Olive Grove area of Sheffield. Meanwhile an undistinguished campaign in the league results in a 17th place finish, just five places above today's hosts.

Past a reopened Barmy Sarnie, then Code to Exit (a gaming shop rather than Altrincham's version of Dignitas !) I find the roadworks have moved up to the Navigation - more Saturday lunchtime chaos. Thankfully the rest of the journey to the motorway is event free. The M6, smart motorway and yes last week's sighting of a workman was an isolated incident.... Just a flashing van, and a cretin doing 30 on the hard shoulder which he then tries to replicate in the middle lane - definitely not smart !!

PIES graffiti, a taxi simultaneously under and overtaken, pleasingly on one side by a Whinfell Whippets van, and then two cars swapping motorways at the M5/M6 interchange - madness !! Two junctions down and it's off onto the A4123, a Sandwell tropical traffic island, a foreign articulated lorry mounting the pavement and follow the signs for Merry Hill, Black Country Museum and Dudley Zoo. On the right is something called the Black Country Urban Forest before a left up the steep hill that is Trafalgar Road leads to Packwood Road and The Beeches.

Tividale FC renamed the ground The Beeches in honour of the British Waterways official who had granted the site's lease to the club. The ground is situated in a (then) newly developed residential street on the Tividale Hall Estate, on land previously inaccessible to motor vehicles. There is sufficient car parking inside despite the Wilfreda Beehive minibus traversing several spaces. As a special incentive it's back to 2013/14 prices so a fiver in :)

Inside the near end supports the Social Club and in the corner a Quarantine Area - no I've no idea why !! At the side is a concrete standing area with the banking side fenced off and behind is the residential estate from which a cat and two men, one in his garden and the other from a shabby tree house, watch proceedings - tellingly all have given up by half time....

The far end is out of bounds, supposedly, and holds a mini artificial pitch and several abandoned yellow seats. A pensioner in a high vis vest is posted behind the goal and in front of the hedging to retrieve the ball. The near side is all covered, with terracing, two 12 seater directors boxes and then two rows of benched seating from the halfway line to the corner flag - the A4123 runs directly behind. The pitch has a distinct slope from right to left.

There is a minute's applause before the match for a recently deceased ex committee member; Tividale are in yellow and blue, The Club in red with a black diagonal stripe. The bright Spring sunshine has given way to a duvet of cloud and the first period has a distinctly end of season feel to it, despite Sheffield FC's barmy army and their bizarre 'Shoes Off' and 'We're All Going On A European Tour' songs.

The Club's Brian Cusworth and Mo Hamid blaze over, and Dale produce little other than one dangerous cross; their 25 goal top scorer Chris Sterling is largely anonymous. Then Tivi's captain and keeper, Tom Turner, makes a superb triple save from The Club's Alex Pursehouse before Hamid's deflected shot finds Cusworth unmarked and he heads home to give the visitors an interval lead.

Half time sees my neighbour regale us with the tragic story of the recent death of one of his mates from a drug overdose - 'He was only 44/45 - funeral's on Wednesday'. Talk about oversharing......

The start of the second period sees Dale's best chance as Shaquille Leachman-Whittingham is played in but his shot hits the post and Shane Grainger's follow up is blocked on the line. The Club respond by hitting the side netting twice and then Alex Denton is given acres of space to slot home number two.

The season meanders to a close with Sheffield sub Jordan Turner hitting the post then having a goal disallowed leaving it 2-0 to the Club at the end and the Dale down, barring ground grading failures or resignations from the league. The Purple Army of Daventry Town had resigned from the league, but dutifully filled the second relegation spot anyway - and Loughborough Dynamo live to fight another day, just !! :)

No Angels Delight As It's Hats Off To Higham !

 And so to the Abzorbed Arena on Abbey Lane in Bucknall, Stoke on Trent to see the league leaders, Hanley Town. Today's visitors in the North West Counties First Division are 'The Angels', Rochdale Town FC.

Hanley Town's football roots go back as far as 1882 before the club folded in 1912. Whilst a Hanley Town side returned to local football in the late 1940s, the present club was formed in 1966 and is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. The resurrected club began life as a group of friends playing mainly friendly games on a Sunday based at the Trumpet Public House in Hanley, and who joined the local Longton Saturday League. Having won this in their first season, 'Town' moved up to the Staffordshire County League for the 1967/68 campaign.

The club lost its ground, a pitch rented from engineering firm Copestick & Farrell on Victoria Road, to developers in 1971. Having ground shared with the now defunct Eastwood Hanley until 1974 when the rent became unacceptable, they then played at Leek Town for two seasons.

Abbey Lane was acquired thereafter and the club moved across to the Mid Cheshire League and were champions in 1981/82. Town applied to become members of the North West Counties Football League in 1988, but failed, lost players as a consequence and very nearly folded.

In 1998 the club moved back to the Midland League (Staffordshire County Senior League) - a division they won in 2012/13 despite the tragic death of their manager Colin 'Codger' Stair at the age of 50 with four matches to go. Two weeks prior to his death Codger had seen his side beat Stone Dominoes 42-0 in a league match. The club was finally accepted into the North West Counties for the 2013/14 season.

The Angels were founded in Castleton as the church team of St Gabriel & The Angels in 1924 under the name of St Gabriels FC. Until the 1960s the club's players had to be Catholic and regularly attend Church and Sunday school.

When these restrictions were lifted the club began to win trophies playing in the Rochdale Alliance League and moved to their current ground, Butterworth Park (now Castleton Sports Centre) in 1979. The Angels then progressed to the Manchester Football League in 1984, changed their name to Castleton Gabriels in 1990 and became members of the North West Counties for the 1990/91 season.

After several seasons of midtable mediocrity two last place finishes in 2004 and 2005 and a ground falling into disrepair meant the club was threatened with expulsion from the league. However Rochdale Mayfield Rugby Club bought the Gabriels, who temporarily ground shared with Oldham Town, before moving back to the refurbished stadium in December 2005.

A third successive last place, 122 goals shipped, winning two games all season and finishing with one point after a points deduction for registration irregularities, represented the very nadir of the club's fortunes. Relegation was again avoided due to the league being under subscribed. Thankfully matters have improved and, after changing name to Rochdale Town in 2008, there has been an upturn in the side's final league standings.

Past the now depressingly frequent sight of abandoned wheelie bins on Manchester Road, then long tailbacks at Regent Roadworks it's on to the M6 after bypassing the Trucknology Roadshow at Knutsford. The M6 means Smart Motorway and 50mph average speed cameras but a solitary workman (well man in orange high-vis!) is spotted...... There's the enduring PIES graffiti and trailers in the adjoining fields, one promoting Price Drop Donkey ('He's One Smart Ass'), another simply stating 'Adverise Here' - and with spelling like that how can you fail ??

Off at junction 16 and onto the A500, through Talke then a right to the 'Cultural Quarter' of Stoke (Hanley ?) and then past Crank Music Studios and the New Finney Gardens - a strange name for a pub in Stanley Matthews territory....

The Abzorbed Arena is situated in a residential development just off the A50 in Bucknall and features an AstroTurf pitch and two car parks, one outside and one inside the ground. As with Eccleshall it's £4 to get in - you certainly get value for money in the Potteries !! £4 entrance, free car parking and the sun shining - but a biting cold wind and a sharp shower ensure that this is not exactly nirvana.....

Immediately inside is the Colin Stair Stand, a 75 seat covered stand opened in April 2014 and with over 50 of the seats sponsored by life patrons. There is Codger's picture above the back row and the fitting tribute :
Codger A True Friend
A True Gentleman
You Will Never Be Forgotten

Beyond the stand the clubhouse sits in the corner whilst on the opposite side is a small two step covered terrace betwixt the two dugouts. One and a half sides are out of bounds and the whole ground is enclosed by metal railings.

Hanley are in all blue with a white slash for their shirt sponsor, Britania (High Level & Specialist Access Solutions - need you ask ?). Codger's son Theo is on the bench but his nephew, Joel, misses out today. The Angels are in change yellow shirts, fluorescent yellow shorts and yellow and black hooped socks, and with the keeper in all lilac - it is neither heavenly nor aesthetically pleasing.....

Match referee is ex pro Jason Jarrett on a, in parts, heavily sanded pitch. Rochdale start the brighter but it's not long before the Angels reveal they have a soft heart and a shambolic offside trap. Three times through the centre Hanley's centre forward John Higham is played in and three times he scores.

The first, on ten minutes, is via the post and has hints of offside which prompts a volley of abuse towards the rather portly linesman - very definitely not angelic behaviour from the visitors ! The other two, on 28 and 42 minutes, are more clear cut despite further (ridiculous) claims for offside - the former a calm sidefoot into the corner after excellent work from the skilful Lassana Sedebe, and the latter a chip over the keeper after a fine ball over the top from Olly Edwards. A rather wild strike into an adjacent garden is all Rochdale can muster.

The early hooking in the second half of Town's pacy front two, Sedebe and Higham (who missed a chance for his fourth), allows the Angels back into the game. Living up to their motto 'Numquam Dic Morere' (Never Say Die) they force two decent saves from Hanley keeper Joe Hemmings, before a recycled corner sees Liam Bennion deflect a shot in to make it 3-1.

But it's only a consolation, with all further attacks easily absorbed (Abzorbed ??), and the influential Edwards takes control of the game which finishes with Hanley hitting the post, having three goals disallowed and some really rather unnecessary handbags at the end. Town remain league leaders and need one win from their last five games to be promoted.

Finally good luck to the Angels for their Groundhopper initiative at next Saturday's home game with Widnes - tweet to let them know you're going and for a fiver you get match admission, a hot drink and a pie :)

No Port In A Storm - Saints March On As Goals Rain In...

And so to Black Park Road and Yockings Park, just over the Shropshire border and the home of Whitchurch Alport FC. Today sees a first ever visit from St Helens Town FC in the North West Counties Football League Division One.

Whitchurch Alport FC, 'The Reds', was formed in 1946 and joined the Shrewsbury & District League. The club was named after Alport Farm on Alport Road, the home of local footballer Coley Maddocks, who was killed in action in the Second World War. As 1947/48 champions of the Shrewsbury & District League, the club was elected to the Birmingham League - but news of the proposed Mid Cheshire League reached the ears of the committee and this led to them becoming founder members.

Affectionately known as the 'Allbran Allstars', Alport were champions of the Mid Cheshire League in 1970, and are ten time winners of the Shropshire Cup. The Commander Ethelston Cup was also won on numerous occasions, and the Reds became the last English club to win the Welsh Amateur Cup in 1974.

The club took the decision to move down to the Mercian Regional Football League in 2012, and, after squad strengthening and ground improvements, applied to join the North West Counties last summer. Initially denied by the FA, they were admitted on appeal. A torrid inaugural season has ensued, with just a solitary league victory, bottom of the table, and manager Richie O'Keeffe leaving the club two days ago.

The original St Helens Town club was formed in 1901, playing at Park Road, behind the Primrose Vaults pub, although the players changed further down the road at the Black Horse. Playing in the Lancashire League and Lancashire Combination, the team initially prospered but struggled after World War 1 and folded midway during the 1928/29 season.

The Saints were reformed by George Fryer and a group of local businessmen in 1946, playing at the former cricket ground at Hoghton Road, Sutton. They took over local team Derbyshire Hill Rovers in April 1947 and entered the Liverpool County Combination.

Former German prisoner of war Bert Trautmann joined the club in the summer of 1948 and the following season Town entered the Lancashire Combination. Despite losing Trautmann to Manchester City in October 1949, the Second Division title was secured.

However after two relegations it was a return to the Lancashire Combination in 1956, a league they won in 1972, 9 points clear of Accrington Stanley (who are they ?!). A move across to the Cheshire League in 1975 was the forerunner to becoming a founder member of the North West Counties in 1982.

The Saints won the FA Vase in 1987, beating near neighbours Warrington Town 3-2 at Wembley. Then, in 2000, the club left Hoghton Road, with the facilities quickly falling into disrepair and the site was sold for housing two years later. The Saints ground shared with St Helens RLFC at Knowsley Road for ten years but the intended relocation to Langtree Park never materialised. Subsequently they have shared with Ashton Town and now at Brocstedes Park, home of Ashton Athletic.

The club did hold the proud record of being the only team to play in the North West Counties top flight in every season until April 2015 when, on the last day, a Silsden injury time equaliser condemned them to relegation. Hopes for this season are to bounce back at the first attempt, and to move into a Council owned multi sports facility at Ruskin Drive in the town for 2016/17.

With the forecast heavy rain yet to make an appearance, it's a balmy 15°C with patchy sunshine as I move onto a Manchester Road still blighted by the arson ravaged Bayer building, and still (un)protected 24 hours by Universal Security Guards. The bushes have been trimmed at Totty Towers, and on the opposite pavement are two hoolies, one pushing the other on a stolen B&Q trolley.

To the M56 and an exit at the familiar haunts of the Stretton Fox and the Hollow Tree, to join the A49. Past a barn ablaze on the left, then the boarded up (and hence not so) Bella Napoli restaurant at Acton Bridge before ignoring the attractions of the Vale Royal Falconry Centre and Karma Rooms and White Hart Serenity in Cuddington.

Cheshire Polo Club and Cabbage Hall are also bypassed before I come to the Fox and Barrel - fittingly there is plenty of roadkill just beyond !! And then Panama Hatty's in Spurstow, Bunbury Mill and Cholmondeley Castle beyond which is a used car garage operated by Lou Coffin & Co - and yes business is dead this afternoon....Not much call for second hand coffins, I guess.....

Finally to the outskirts of Shropshire and the Willeymoor Lock Tavern and then into the market town of Whitchurch with its impressive St Alkmund's Church and, via a detour (OK a wrong turning !), the iconic J B Joyce turret clock manufacturers building.

When I find the right way it's a side road Talbot Street leading to Black Park Road just north east of the town and Yockings Park is on the left. A narrow one track entrance and car park which, after the Eccleshall mud trap, I avoid. A fiver in with a free programme - a nice touch.

Yockings Park is a two and a half sided ground built out of a farmer's field. The far end is out of bounds - a grass bank and then a tall hedge with farmland beyond - whilst the near end is the driveway to the car park, which is behind a covered shelter that runs to half way, then the dugouts and open standing.

The popular side supports the homely clubhouse and the main stand plus the dressing rooms constructed from wooden packing crates acquired from the Military Camp at Prees Heath shortly after the end of the Second World War. The stand just stretches over the halfway line but there is no access beyond. Four St Helens Town flags draped from the stand take centre stage.

The Reds are, unsurprisingly, in all red and the Saints in change all sky blue. The match kicks off in light drizzle with Alport having the advantage of a strong wind behind their backs. A bobbly pitch and the wind contrive to make the first few minutes eminently forgettable.

On the quarter hour Saints' first foray into Alport territory yields a free kick near the corner flag. The ball is flicked on for right back Aaron Morris to volley home via the underside of the bar. Aside from an Matt Baldwin effort destined for the top corner and well turned away by Saints' keeper Matthew Hodge, a horribly spooned effort over the hedge and a near own goal, Whitchurch struggle to take advantage of playing with the wind. Indeed the visitors could be further ahead as Saints' captain Andy Gillespie fires narrowly wide and George Lomax, in a two on one, chooses the greedy option and loses control.

Half time arrives with Town one up and the rain getting steadily heavier. Within a minute of the restart a ball over the top is dreadfully misjudged leaving Lomax all alone and he waltzes past keeper Gary Tinsley to make it 2-0 to the visitors

 The brooding sky then begins to wreak havoc as the elements are unleashed. The thermometer ticks down to 7°C, lightning streaks the sky and torrential horizontal rain is literally hurled onto the pitch by a raging wind as Storm Katie batters Yockings Park. There is no sanctuary in the main stand from the weather, with every occupant huddled together on the back row. Indeed the only place to escape the worst of the teeming rain is the covered shelter on the opposite side. In front of this the paunchy and rather weatherbeaten linesman is asked if he wants waders or a dinghy (water wings is his response) on a touch line resembling a lake.

Puddles appear on the pitch and the referee takes both captains aside to inform them that if conditions don't improve in the next five minutes the players will be taken from the field. Fortunately the storm abates, marginally, and the pitch does not deteriorate markedly.

The home side are then given a big opportunity to get back into the match when they are awarded a penalty for handball. Tom Smith's spot kick is well saved by Hodge however and the Reds visibly disintegrate.

The Alport defence is all at sea as marauding left back Ste Rigby, in oceans of space, is allowed to run on and dink the ball over Tinsley to make it 3-0. Wave after wave of Saints' pressure sees Gillespie miss three one on ones, two high, wide and not very handsome clearing the hedge, and one straight at the keeper. Livewire sub Shaun Brady slots home a fourth, a goal is disallowed, chances cleared off the line and profligacy leads to a shout from the stand of 'Saints this is sh*te'..... Alport can only muster a fierce Ryan Baxter shot straight into Hodge's chest from a counter attack.

And then on 82 minutes Gillespie has his moment; Brady's shot hits the inside of the post and from inches Saints' captain scores their fifth. You would have thought he had won the World Cup.........
Earnest entreaties from the bedraggled linesman of 'Please no stoppage time' are granted by the referee who mercifully blows exactly on ninety minutes and the match finishes, just like the good old days, at bang on twenty to five with Saints emphatic 5-0 victors :)

PS Easter Monday's proposed trip to Hanley fell victim to waterlogging, so I popped over to Townfield, home of Barnton FC, to see how Alport would fare on their travels. Hoping for a goal or two, here's how it finished :

'Barnton's 11-1 win over Whitchurch Alport on Easter Monday was only the second time that score has been recorded in NWCFL history.

The other previous occurrence was on 10th Jan 1998, when Fleetwood Freeport beat Stantondale by the same score in a Division Two game.

One other point worth mentioning on the game is in relation to the times of the last three goals Barnton scored.  We have no complete records on goal times for every game in league history going back to 1982, but it is fair to say that there won't have been many instances in the past of a player scoring three goals with the times all recorded as being in the 90th minute, as Kevin Towey achieved.'

Panthers Fail To Pounce - Then A Second Half To Makerfield Ill..

 And so to Edge Green Street in Ashton-in-Makerfield, the home of Ashton Town AFC. On a cold, grey afternoon the Town play host to near neighbours, Atherton Laburnum Rovers, in the North West Counties Football League Division One.

The original Ashton Town joined the Lancashire Combination in 1903, but withdrew towards the end of the 1910/11 season and their fixtures were taken over by Tyldesley Albion. The current club was established in 1953 by employee Derek 'Mick' Mycock as Makerfield Mill FC - a works football team for Makerfield Mill, one of Lancashire's leading textile mills in the 1950s, and known locally as the 'Weaving Shed'. The first two seasons in the Wigan Sunday School League can only be described as disastrous, with the club winning just two games, and earning the unenviable name of 'The Chopping Blocks'.....

Mick decided to move the club to a higher standard of football, the St Helens Combination, for 1955/56 and successfully gained permission from the Mill's management to play four non-employees. After a season of consolidation, the restriction on the use of outside players was totally lifted and Division 2 was won in 1958.

Makerfield Mill FC joined the Warrington & District Amateur League the following season, and were champions five times in their first six seasons. This was also a period which saw the club renamed Ashton Town in 1962 and they acquired their Edge Green Street ground, which was previously used by Stubshaw Cross Rovers, in 1964.

After a sixth title in 1970, the Town joined the Lancashire Combination and then the Cheshire County League in 1978. Thereafter the club became founder members of the North West Counties Football League in 1982 where they have remained ever since, aside from one season in the Manchester League - slightly at odds with their motto 'Onwards & Upwards'.

Atherton Laburnum Rovers FC was founded in 1956 as Laburnum Rovers, an U-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 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.

In one direction Altrincham Retail Park, with its newly laid turf and bedding plants and on the opposite side the continued disembowelment of the old Halfords store. And then roadworks and gridlock so the more circuitous, but quicker, route is via Scissorhand barbers, Red Hot Nails and the Ducati showroom - but no Patelvis !! - to the M60.

Then onto the M56 and underneath consecutive motorway bridges featuring a rag and bone man, a flock of sheep being herded across and a Portaloo, before joining the M6. Thelwall is suspiciously quiet but still the scene of some moronic driving, before the exit at Haydock Park. This takes me into Ashton-in-Makerfield, past The Fat Bull pub and Inkjections tattooists and then onto the Golborne Road, with Edge Green Street a residential cul de sac on the right.

The ground is fairly basic - school playing fields and car parking at one end, the other three sides surrounded by housing developments. Red and white railings, wooden fencing and two small seated stands on the far side - populated by two spectators in the first half, both of whom disappear at half time.....it proves to be a wise move !! The clubhouse in the corner is the main focus of activity.

Ashton sport a red and white chequered number, whilst the Laburnums are in yellow with a swirl of blue and an illegible sponsor. The visitors kick down the prodigious slope to the end 'packed' with five ALR diehards and three flags.

Despite their lowly standing - next to bottom - the Panthers start better, and Danny Kerr is denied by the keeper's legs, whilst Danny Davies's half volley just clears the crossbar. But the visitors fail to take advantage, and Ashton come into the game, exposing the sort of brittle defending that led to a 10-1 defeat at Cheadle last month and a 6-0 home reverse to Barnton five days before. In the period leading up to half time the Town manage to strike the post twice, have another shot cleared off the line, are denied a penalty and are guilty of some wild shooting.

The second half is a frustrating, nay dreadful, spectacle exemplified by the terrible air shot from 25 yards out by the Panthers. It also features the antics of the Atherton management team, Craig and Adam Jones, who spent much of the first period exhorting their players to 'Relax'. The second half sees a change of tack to plentiful industrial language, constant dissent and goading the Ashton players. Eventually the referee walks over to the dugout and tells them to, er,....'Relax'...... There is no discernible change to their behaviour.

It becomes evident that the chance of seeing a goal is about as likely as a fun day at a funeral directors, but in the last few minutes the Laburnums start to wilt. 86 minutes are on the clock when Town's Marcus Cusani crosses and Sam Wilkie's point blank header is turned aside. Then in injury time Ashton's Phil Williams, in a one on one, shoots and the ball is just diverted wide - typically a goal kick is awarded and that's it as the match finishes goalless.

After the match Adam Jones gets embroiled in a farcical war of words regarding a Facebook post on the match....

Eccy Thumped - Eagles Fail To Swoop & Conquer !

 And so to the Adverc Stadium in Pershall Park, the home of 'The Eagles' of Eccleshall FC - 'We Play For The Badge & The Oat Cakes - We Are Eccy !!!' Today's North West Counties Division One fixture sees the visit of Daisy Hill FC.

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 founded 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 - now the Springbank Vending Midland 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, and several seasons of inconsistency have followed.

The Daisies, or The Cutters, were established in 1894 playing in the Wigan & District League. By the time of World War 1 the club had moved to the Leigh & District Senior Sunday School League and then the Westhoughton League, playing at New Sirs. The club folded before World War 2, but reformed in 1951 playing again in the Westhoughton League but now based at (the adjacent) St James Street & Cricket Ground - they moved back to New Sirs in 1957.

The Daisies then joined the Bolton Combination, which they won four times, before moving to the Lancashire Combination for 4 seasons and then becoming founder members of the North West Counties Football League in 1982.

The club was renamed Westhoughton Town during the period 1989-94, thereafter reverting back to Daisy Hill FC - they have never been promoted or relegated from the North West Counties, but only escaped demotion in 2014 because Leek CSOB and Formby resigned from the league.

Past the immaculate carved wooden eagle (very appropriate !) and then the fluorescent Cornbrooke B & B signs on Manchester Road, congestion soon ensues thanks to a roadside florist and some rather shocking parking ! The situation gets worse due to one lane working on Chester Road at The Mere - and the queues tail back to the motorway in the opposite direction.

Onto the M6 and the Smart Motorway is coming but not quite yet thankfully. PIES graffiti (Voted PIES is an updated one) is still in evidence under an intermittent sun framed by thick grey clouds, and silhouetting a murmuration of starlings.

Four junctions down and off at Stoke, navigating past the Clay Shoot at Beech, Heronbrooke Fisheries ('The Home of Match Fishing') and the Steam Engines at Mill Meece, over the River Sow and into the quaint town of Eccleshall and its yesteryear street lighting.

Then taking the road to Loggerheads leads to Pershall Park and the Adverc Stadium. The main car park is full so it's a one track lane down to the overflow with its signs 'Warning - Classic Car Parade Approaching' - which it duly does a minute after parking up ! The overflow is a boggy, muddy field and bad enough to maroon a white Mercedes, with the driver abandoning the car after several attempts to extricate himself and succeeding only in digging himself deeper into the swamp......

£4 is the entrance fee and inside there is a walkway behind one goal and on the far side a bus shelter with low (ankle high !) benches. At the top end is The Shed, a covered end in the corner with six seats and three garden chairs. The near side supports the clubhouse, recently broken into with £5,000 damage, and covered seating - although the Executive VIP seats seem no different to the rest......

The Eagles are in two tone blue and the Daisies in change all red on a pitch resembling a cow field in front of a thin crowd of 32 - 14 more than Daisy Hill had for their home game last week...... The pitch, however, is no excuse for a first half littered with errant passing by both sides, and, for the Cutters, multiple offsides and indiscipline which leads to five yellow cards, mostly for dissent.

The Eagles do begin to soar and, having hit the frame of the goal from an acute angle then wastefully skying over, they take the lead. On 20 minutes Jordan Elcock beats his man and curls his shot beyond the keeper but the ball is hacked clear; the 'goal' is awarded, to widespread disbelief, by the androgynous linesman, who is immediately christened Shirley.....

The away side create little before the break but the second half is a different affair. Occasionally straying onside, the Cutters unlock Eccy's defence and within five minutes Daniel Gregory equalises with a composed finish. Ten minutes later and after a catalogue of home errors, Gregory's poor cross reaches Curtis Cummins and he is given time and space to thump the ball home.

A home fightback of sorts never really materialises, and when the Eagles' Nathan Dyer's sumptuous 30 yard strike is unconvincingly touched on to the bar there is no home forward following in. The Eagles' game is over when, with three minutes left, Alex McPolin is played through - keeper Spencer Martin gets there first but his clearance hits the back of McPolin and the ball trundles into an open net. 3-1 to the Daisies as the game ends in a nasty hail storm.