Fed Up Then Down - Dun Stunned As Linnets Get Back On Song !

So to the UTS Stadium and another lengthy trip for me and today's visitors as Dunston FC take on Runcorn Linnets in the Northern Premier League Division One North West - again hardly a strong advertisement for regional football. The Linnets' website records a 12 hour round trip after the match....

The home club was established as a works team by John Thompson and other HMSO employees in 1975 as Whickham Sports FC, playing at Longbenton. Sports started in the Newcastle City Amateur League, before moving up to the Northern Amateur League.

A league and cup double was won in 1978 and, on the strength of this early success, the team moved to their current home at Wellington Road. Shortly after, in 1980, the side joined the Northern Combination and was then renamed Dunston Mechanics FC in 1982.

1986/87 saw the club win another league and cup double, with a further name change to Dunston Federation Brewery as part of a sponsorship deal, and a move up to the Wearside League. Back to back titles in 1989 and 1990 preceded a move to the Northern League in 1991.

League and cup doubles were achieved in 2003/04 and 2004/05, and in 2007 the club name changed once more to Dunston Federation FC after the brewery was bought by Scottish & Newcastle and sponsorship ceased.

A new sponsorship deal in 2009 with UTS (Utility Technology Services) saw the club rechristened Dunston UTS, and UTS won the FA Vase in 2011/12 beating West Auckland Town 2-0 at Wembley.

Last time out Dunston were Northern League Division One champions, finishing 17 points clear. The Fed were thus promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One North West, but were forced to remove UTS from the club name, due to league rules prohibiting advertising in the team name. 

The away side started as Highfield and Camden Tanneries Recreation Club in 1918. Renamed as Runcorn FC the Linnets won the Cheshire County League in its first season, and enjoyed a League and Cup double in 1937. In 1968 the club became founder members of the Northern Premier League, winning it twice, and the pinnacle was the Alliance Premier League title in 1982.

During the 1993/94 season the Linnets' stadium at Canal Street nearly fell apart. A perimeter wall collapsed during a cup game with Hull City, the roof blew off one stand and the main stand was destroyed by fire. This crippled the club and relegation, for the first time ever, followed.

In 2000 Canal Street was sold, with the club moving to the Halton Stadium at Widnes, and rebranding as Runcorn FC Halton. However the Linnets' precarious financial position forced a move out of the Halton Stadium, first to Southport's Haig Avenue and then to Prescot Cables' Valerie Park. Unable to pay players' wages the club finished bottom, suffered a second successive relegation and in 2006 resigned from the league and ceased activity.

Runcorn Linnets FC was formed on 28 April 2006 at the spiritual home of Canal Street in the Quayside function rooms next to the Linnets Park housing estate. The new club joined Division 2 of the North West Counties Football League and ground shared at Witton Albion's Wincham Park. The Linnets were promoted as runners up in their first season to Division 1 (now Premier Division), missing out on the title on goal difference.

The club moved to its new stadium on Murdishaw Avenue in 2010 at the end of its R2R (Return 2 Runcorn) project. The following six seasons all saw top six finishes, including three consecutive second places - but the NWCFL Challenge Cup was won in 2013.

After three consecutive seasons of finishing runners-up, Runcorn finished fourth in the 2016/17 season, which was their lowest in four years. In the 2017/18 season, Runcorn Linnets finished the season in first, four points ahead of second placed Widnes, who also gained promotion. Runcorn also went on to have the highest number of goals scored and the fewest goals conceded. This meant a first ever promotion to a division which was re-named the Northern Premier League Division One West (now North West) - a creditable 6th place was achieved in the first campaign. Both sides have one win, one draw and one defeat in the league thus far.

So a swift sortie down Bridgewater Canal with barges 'Juschillin', 'Moor to Life', 'Thingummybob' and 'Phoenix - Rising from the Hashish' before those TOILETORIES. ELCTRICAL signs....

Then a wry smile as a Ford Transit passes, Van Solo emblazoned above the driver's cab, and an even wryer smile at a pub sign 'Education is important, but beer is importanter' attributed to William Shakesbeer....

The M60 and M62 provide numberplates A11 URS and WHII NOT but much of the early journey to the M62 Summit, Scammonden Reservoir, Windy Hill, that farm in the middle of the motorway and Rakehead Viaduct is invisible, such is the ferocity of the rain and the swirling mist. Over the Pennines the weather improves but the temperature fluctuates wildly between 13 and 20C.

Overtaking a convoy of 3 cranes assisted by an Abnormal Load Escort it's onto the M1 then the A1(M) with the weather taking another turn for the worse at Wetherby but improving by Old Mother Shipton's Cave. Bypassing Ripon, Bedale, the giant Heck factory, Catterick, Scotch Corner it's on to Durham, the Riverside and the Angel of the North, with some stunning views of North Yorkshire, Teesside and Tyneside in the sunshine, before I turn off at junction 70 of the A1.

Right onto Dunston Road and the UTS Stadium is on the corner at the Wellington Road junction; a small car park is already full so I park again Heed First, a hair stylists naturally !! Turnstiles at both ends and £7 in for a crowd of 281, including a healthy Linnets contingent - not bad considering the Toon and Gateshead are both at home this afternoon.

Inside the near end holds the snap shed, clubhouse and changing rooms and behind is a Secure Store warehouse. To the right is The Tommy Cooney Stand, covered terracing, whilst the top end is open and backed by trees and housing. And on the left is the main stand with 20 tip up seats for spectators, but 24 for directors and officials, and eight wooden bench rows either side of the press box.

This is another game where a fierce crosswind causes mayhem. It's a wind strong enough to cause havoc with the six Runcorn Linnets flags, including the Left Side Ultras, but barely disturbing the two Dunston banners, and a wind strong enough to blow pensioner Bill's yellow Linnet cap off his head - but not out of the ground this week....wisely he refrains from replacing the cap and tucks it into his bag.

The Fed are in royal blue with white trim, their keeper in all orange, whilst the Linnets are in yellow and green hoops, their shotstopper in sky blue and grey.

Linnets start the better but both sides struggle with the blustery conditions. However it's the Fed who take the lead on 17 minutes; a training ground move free kick from Liam Marrs is cut back by Mark Fitzpatrick and Luke Page sidefoots home as Runcorn's defence switches off.

Seven minutes later Dunston's Michael Pearson is tripped in the area, and Fitzpatrick converts the penalty for 2-0. Within a minute Linnets lose possession and Cedwyn Scott pirouettes on the 18 yard box before slotting home to make it 3-0 to the Fed on 25 minutes.

A shellshocked Linnets side fight back however; six minutes later Louis Corrigan's free kick is headed in at the far post by Declan McGivern. And a minute before half time Ryan Gibson is given time and space in the box to smash home at the second attempt to make it 3-2 at the break.

The second period is all Runcorn, Paul Shanley nodding over from a free header, and Connor McCarthy arcing wide from a one on one. Moments later he curls over the bar from 18 yards prompting my neighbour to comment 'Getting closer'...

And so it proves, with third time lucky as Ryan Wade's gorgeous cross is met with a firm McCarthy header planted into the bottom corner to make it 3-3 with twenty minutes to go; the yellow and green army behind the goal go berserk.

Both sides go for the win but Fed fashion the better chances, with Scott lobbing onto the top of the net, and then in injury time outpacing his marker and seeing his shot hit the trailing leg of Linnets' keeper Bayleigh Passant and smuggled clear. 3-3 at the finish - thrilling stuff !!

Pewits Not On Song - Clinical United Take The Derby Spoils !!

And so to a hot and very sunny August Bank Holiday and a Yorkshire derby in the North West Counties Division One North between Emley AFC and Golcar United at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground on Upper Lane.

The original Emley club, formed in 1903, had been members of the Yorkshire League and Northern Counties East League, before winning promotion to the Northern Premier League in 1989. In 2000, new ground grading regulations introduced by the NPL forced Emley to relocate to Belle Vue in Wakefield. In 2002 the club was renamed Wakefield & Emley, and when the reserve team was disbanded in 2005, supporters of the original club decided to establish a new club based in Emley under the name A.F.C. Emley at the Welfare Ground. The following year Wakefield & Emley was renamed Wakefield, and remained in the Northern Premier League until disbanding in 2014.

The new Emley club joined Division One of the West Yorkshire League for the 2005–06 season. After finishing third in their first season, they were promoted to Division One of the Northern Counties East League. In 2015/16 they finished fourth in Division One, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Penistone Church 1–0 in the semi-finals, they lost 4–3 on penalties to Bottesford Town in the final after a 1–1 draw. Striker Ashley Flynn finished the season with 73 goals, a league record. In 2016/17 the club finished third, missing out on automatic promotion on goal difference; they went on to lose 3–1 to Penistone Church in the play-off semi-finals.

In March 2019 it was announced that the club would be renamed Emley AFC from the 2019–20 season, five years after the original club was dissolved. The Pewits were also transferred laterally to Division One North of the North West Counties Football League for the 2019/20 season.

Golcar United FC was established in 1904 and joined the West Riding County Amateur League in 1934 finishing as runners up. However, after finishing bottom in the 1937/38 season, United left the league but rejoined later in 1993.

In the 1930s United regularly played in front of crowds in excess of 1,000 and even featured on cigarette coupons. They moved to Longfield Avenue in 1955.

Golcar won the West Riding County Challenge Cup in 2000–01, and were Premier Division runners up in 2003–04. The following season saw them win the league title. They were runners up in 2014–15, and champions in 2017–18. United retained the league and cup double last season with twenty wins and one draw from 22 matches in the league, and were promoted to Division One North of the NWCFL. United thereby became the last ever champions of the now defunct West Riding County Amateur League - a league that started last year with the bare minimum of 14 clubs but following the demise of AFC Bingley and DRAM Community finished with 12.

A familiar route, past Serendipitea and Edibell, then ELCTRICALS. TOILETORIES. and the M60 and an abundance of ridiculous numberplates: SP1 8OAT, M4GYK, JD 15 BOS (pathetic and BOS = Bag of Sh*te) and a Ford Transit with Van Solo painted above the driver's seat....

Over Saddleworth Moor, Rakehead Viaduct, Windy Hill and the M62 Summit. Then Sammonden Reservoir, Rainbow Bridge and Stott Hall Farm, bisecting the two carriageways.

Off at junction 23 and into Huddersfield, roadworks at Salendine Nook, then Electric Beach tanning centre, the Petanque Club and Mad Nev's. Onto Wakefield Road, through Fenay Bridge, past the Tolson Museum, beyond Lepton Highlanders Sports Club and then right through Emley Moor, Limelight Bride and the TV transmission mast (since 1971) dominating the landscape and into the village. Not much to the village of Emley, just the White Horse pub and a newsagents and then a white bollard signalling the welfare club and the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground - plenty of parking for a huge crowd of 544, comfortably the best in the entire league this afternoon.

£5 in and inside to my right is the Richard Hirst Stand, covered terracing with a backdrop of housing and the TV mast. To my left is the main grandstand including bar, Dugout Diner and the 1903 Platinum Suite Hospitality Lounge. Up top is the Warburton End - a covered walkway that ends abruptly with the adjoining cricket pitch.

The Pewits are in claret and blue, keeper George Clarke in all orange, and Golcar in their famous green and black stripes and shotstopper Harry Stead in slate grey. A young referee, younger assistant and a very short and stout linesman officiate.

The first chance arises in the fifth minute with Emley's portly striker Rob Bordman outmuscling his marker to go one on one with Stead - he shoots straight at his legs. Barely a minute later Golcar win a free kick which is half cleared and Alex Hallam's sumptuous half volley into the top right corner, past an unsighted Clarke, gives United the lead.

Thereafter it's all Pewits with Bordman having three efforts, Stead saving from Jimmy Eyles and Conor Glavin and Andrew McManus seeing his shot cleared off the line. Five minutes before half time Eyles says something to the referee and is cautioned for dissent and consequently sin binned. Golcar take immediate advantage of Emley's temporary reduction to ten men with Nathan Tayo scoring, from almost on the line, from a corner.

2-0 to the visitors at the break, sunbathing on the pitch, impromptu football matches on the cricket pitch (doesn't go down well !!) and a couple of deckchairs on the outfield.... The teams re-emerge after the interval, a solitary cry of 'Come on Pewits' and an odd chant of 'Meat Pie, Sausage Roll, Come on Emley, Give Us A Goal'. This prompts huge micky taking given the rotundity of the singer....

Five minutes into the second period, and from a set piece, Gregg Porter shins in a third for United - Clarke diving over the ball and then fumbling into the corner. A certain sense of deja vu afterwards as Emley dominate but fail to score - a combination of bad luck, stoic defending and fine goalkeeping thwarting them.

Five minutes from the end Golcar counterattack and the move ends with sub Frasier Beckett calmly pacing the ball into the bottom corner to make it 4-0. Shortly after Pewits' sub Danny Farrar strikes the bar - all too much for the Emley cameraman who starts walking back to the stand.....

He has to beat a hasty retreat however as the Pewits are awarded a penalty in the final minute, and Bordman sends Stead the wrong way; 'Tucked away like a Fray Bentos' is the 'considered' opinion of the Golcar contingent, referring once more to Bordman's weight.

The referee chooses to play nine minutes of stoppage time during which Emley have a goal disallowed for offside and McManus hits the post; United's Jon Norris narrowly stabs wide at the other end but 4 goals from 5 attempts, as opposed to a penalty from 15 shots for the Pewits, sums up Golcar's 4-1 derby victory.

Seasiders Mount Pleasant Start To Campaign - Purple Pain !!

And so to Marske-by-the-Sea and the season's curtain raiser in the BetVictor Northern Premier League Division One North West. Last season we had Divisions One East and West but the league have changed this to Divisions One North West and South East, supposedly to reduce travelling distances. However today's clash at Mount Pleasant between Marske United and City of Liverpool can hardly be classed as regional football....

Marske United FC was established in 1956 by members of Marske Cricket Club, initially playing in the Cleveland League. The Seasiders then transferred to the South Bank League, before moving up to the Teesside League in 1976. The club won the Teesside League in 1980/81 and when this success was matched in 1984/85 United stepped up to the Wearside League.

They went on to win the Wearside League in 1996 and then finished runners up the following year, earning promotion to Division Two of the Northern League. In their first season the Seasiders finished third to move up to Division One.

Relegation followed in 2004, but the side was promoted again in third place in 2011, and were crowned Northern League champions in 2014/15; however they declined promotion to the Northern Premier League.

In 2017/18 the club reached the semi finals of the FA Vase, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Stockton Town. However Marske won the Division One title once more at the end of their campaign, earning promotion to Division One East of the Northern Premier League - where they finished 10th, out of 20, in their first season.

The first meeting that led to the formation of City of Liverpool FC was in October 2014, and the club was officially established in May 2015. The club chose to play in the colour purple, as it is the civic colour of the city....and a mix of Liverpool red and Everton blue - leading to their nickname 'The Purps'.

 

The Purps applied to join the NWCFL in early 2016 but their application was rejected by the FA and COL were instead placed in the Liverpool County Premier League. However they took up the option to appeal the decision, especially as vacancies arose due to Northwich Manchester Villa's resignation and Rochdale Town's expulsion from the league. At Wembley Stadium on 8 June 2016 the appeal was successful.

 

Groundsharing at Bootle's (then) Delta Taxis Stadium, it was an extraordinarily successful inaugural season. Leading the way for much of the campaign, the Purps eventually finished fourth and overcame Whitchurch Alport 1-0 to reach the play off final. Litherland REMYCA were beaten 3-0 on their own turf to secure promotion to the Premier Division.

 

Added to this, COL beat Sandbach United to lift the First Division Challenge Cup, their first ever piece of silverware. The Purps also won the League Challenge Cup Final at Highbury (Fleetwood rather than Arsenal) on penalties against Barnoldswick Town, in a match soured by crowd violence. No wonder City of Liverpool FC was awarded the title 'Non League Team of the Year' by sports bookmaker Coral.

 

In the 2017/18 season the club won the Champions Cup against Atherton Collieries and finished fourth, but last term the club finished as champions, pipping Bootle on the final day - Bootle having gone on a 20 game winning streak but only drawing on the final day. So promotion to the Northern Premier League Division One North West. Furthermore in their quest for a stadium of their own the Purps have been granted a period of exclusivity on a site at Fazakerley Playing Fields. However a Purps fan at today's game informed me that the land is contaminated 'and will never be built on'.

So on a warm summer afternoon it's past that execrable ELCTRICALS. TOILETORIES sign and onto the M60 and today's number plates UR 53CUR (a security company), SK11NKS and a reappearance of BUD61E.

To the M62 then onwards to Saddleworth Moor, Rakehead Viaduct and Windy Hill - The M62 Summit 'Highest Motorway in England 372 metres (1221 feet)'. Then Sammonden Reservoir, Rainbow Bridge and Stott Hall Farm, bisecting the two carriageways. Here there's a serious accident involving multiple vehicles, including one that's landed in a field.... Several emergency vehicles are in attendance and the carriageway is closed - naturally our side stops to rubberneck, creating delays.

From there to the M1 North, A1(M), A168, A19 and the A174, passing Mount Grace Priory and signs for Mother Shipton's Cave, The World of James Herriot and Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, bypassing Wetherby, Thirsk and Northallerton. I am comfortably overtaken by a Lamborghini but pass three Up North Combine lorries sporting signs of 'Caution Racing Pigeons'.

Off at the Marske turn, the landscape one of steelworks and refineries, and onto The Wynd which hosts The Wynd Pantry and Ravanelli's takeaway - a nod to The White Feather at nearby Middlesbrough ?

Mount Pleasant is just off Southfield Road, the next right, and beyond the bowling club. Passing the Alan Prest Band Room it's £8 at the turnstile and a decent crowd of 304 with a Purps contingent of at least three figures for their first game at Step 4.

Inside there's the Jimmy Smith Suite and Neil's Kabin serving refreshments. To my right a small covered area in the corner and to my left the main stand and another covered area with, for this season, a new front row of 44 seats built on wood with a sign at the back 'Tin Shed Titans' although this is soon populated by Purple Partisans.... The rest of the ground is surrounded by a mix of old-style and modern housing.

The Seasiders are in yellow shirts and blue shorts, with the shotstopper in all orange and COL, naturally, are in all purple with orange trim and their keeper in sky blue.

The match itself is dominated by the high winds - winds strong enough for at least 15 footballs to be kicked out of the ground during the game and strong enough to lift a cap off a Purps' fan's head and blown out of the ground....

The first meaningful action in the fifth minute produces a sublime goal for the Seasiders. A well worked move on the left finds Curtis Round and his left foot directs the ball superbly across the keeper into the top right corner. Even the Purps fans are impressed.

Thereafter Andrew Stephenson's cutback is deflected onto the post for the home side and he and Matty Waters waste a whole host of chances - most deriving from Liam O'Sullivan's huge throws. The Purps hardly feature 'we've not turned up this half' and a free kick that drifts past the post is their only meaningful effort, although this is blamed on 'several missing players'. 

The second half sees more of the same as the wind swirls round, although the sunshine is still pleasantly warm. Round conjures up another chance and then thrashes the ball over post and crossbar from six yards, and a goalmouth melee sees the ball land on the top of COL's bar.

Gradually the Purps grow into the game and both Elliott Nevitt and Jason Jeffries go close, before Tom Peterson taps in at the far post with a quarter of an hour to play. Half the ground erupts before the other half does as the linesman flags for offside, debatably.

Then, with ten minutes to go, home debutant goalkeeper Jack Norton loses the ball in the wind and trying to recover pulls down Purps' Jack Hazlehurst for a penalty. He makes up for his error by pulling off a superb save, low to his left, from Karl Clair's spot-kick.

This sparks an altercation between the two dug outs, two bookings and the game turns increasingly spiteful - we end up with 9 yellows and one red; Jeffries for two cynical yellows. Round is put through one on one and shoots wide, but the Seasiders hang on amidst (un)bearable tension.

Chad All Over - Pilks Under The Weather (But Cricket Carries On !!)

And so on a foul August Saturday, with summer appearing to have been and gone, it's over to the ArcOframe and Ruskin Sports Village for the North West Counties fixture between Pilkington and Chadderton.

Pilkington FC was officially founded in 1938 but the club has a history dating back many years before its official formation. The team's origins emanate from the Pilkington glass factory in St Helens which had numerous teams going back almost as far as the company starting to make glass in the 19th century.

Pilks initially played at Crossley Road with teams in the Liverpool Business Houses League and the St Helens Combination League. The club moved to Ruskin Drive at the start of the 1948/49 season and subsequently switched leagues to the Liverpool Combination.

An overseas Portuguese tour in 1970 advertised the club as Recs Pilkington de Liverpool but thousands of Portuguese spectators flocked to the ground expecting to see the Anfield team.

For the 1983/84 campaign Pilkington joined the Mid-Cheshire (now Cheshire) League and spent many years alternating between the first and second tiers. Their most recent relegation to Division One was in 2015, but in 2018 the club was promoted back to the Premier Division as runners up. Twelve months later Pilks won the Premier League, beating Altrincham Reserves on goal difference on the final day and finishing with 8 straight wins to confirm promotion to the North West Counties Football League Division One North.

Chadderton FC, 'Chaddy', was formed in 1947 as Millbrow FC, then became North Chadderton Amateurs and finally Chadderton in 1957. Initially competing in the Oldham Amateur League, the club then progressed through the Manchester Amateur League and on to the Manchester League in 1963.

A step up to the Lancashire Combination followed and, after finishing runners up in 1982, they became founder members of the North West Counties, created by the merger of the Lancashire Combination and Cheshire County League. Promotion in 1990 was swiftly met with relegation the season after, but the club lasted longer at the higher level after gaining promotion in 1993 - until being forcibly demoted in 1999 due to ground grading issues.

In 2007 Chaddy was taken over by Craig Halliwell and Tony Bhatti of HB Property Group, but within two years ties had been severed; the club becoming a members' club run by the people for the people. The play offs were reached in 2015, but the team remains best known for two of its ex-players - England international David Platt and Mark Owen from Take That. It was a disappointing performance of 16th (out of 20) last season.

So with strong winds and heavy rain it's over a freshly resurfaced Altrincham Bridge, past the Cheshire Retreat and glorious floral beds at Denzell Gardens before I reach Thelwall with speed restrictions for 'high winds'. Today's number plate is CA5 1 BAD, and there's also an Ultimate Lawns car whose bodywork is entirely (sodden) artificial grass...

A slight detour into Warrington, past Sub Imagination - with a strapline of 'Your dream and our hard work means mutual satisfaction' ; imaginative but clunky....

Finally onto the M62, past the Glass Horse pub and Catwalk Dogs, the 'Canine Grooming Lounge' and into the one way Denton's Green Lane which doubles back on itself; Ruskin Drive is a cul de sac on the left..

There's plenty of parking at Ruskin Drive Sports Ground, a 30 acre sports complex originally built in 1902 by Pilkington plc for use by its employees, and now run by St Helens Borough Council. There's also plenty going on - I walk past a rugby union pitch, home of Ruskin Park RFC, down some steps to a bowling green and this brings me to the cricket ground. Most spectators are in or around the Sticky Wicket Bar & Grub.

It's a dual entrance to get in - one side for the football (£3) and the other for the rugby league (£2) where Pilkington Recs, top of Conference Division One, are doing battle with Oulton Raiders, with Recs ultimately winning that one 30-8. The sports complex also features tennis courts and rounders pitches.

Inside it's a three sided ground with housing behind the goal at the top end. The left side is inaccessible with fencing and densely populated trees behind the dugouts, and the rugby union pitch behind them. The near end holds the changing rooms and bar, and the cricket pitch beyond. The popular side has a covered 200 seat AtCost stand and the rugby league match in the background.

The ArcOframe also hosts a series of ten information boards charting St Helens Town's journey to the FA Vase final in 1987, where they beat Warrington Town 3-2, and others covering Saints' football legends.

Pilkington are in all green, with keeper Patrick McLoughlin wearing a salmon number, and Chaddy are in change white with a red stripe and black flashing - stopper Jordan Hadlow in all yellow. A thin crowd of 72 - in stark contrast to last week's curtain raiser against Cleator Moor Celtic which drew 224 - gets thoroughly soaked as the wind blows the driving rain into the four rows of the covered stand.

Pilks are all at sea as Chaddy set the pace, McLoughlin tipping a shot onto the bar within the first two minutes. So it comes as no surprise when on 10 minutes Reece Lyndon is given time and space to square the ball and allow Liam Chambers to place the ball home.

Gradually Pilks come into the game following a mistake by Hadlow; home skipper Luke Sephton sidestepping him and hitting every part of the goalframe but crucially the ball fails to cross the line. Phil Marsh then evades his marker and goes round Hadlow before dreadfully scuffing his shot.

Half time with Chaddy 1-0 up and astonishingly I find a cricket match next door in progress in the pouring rain. In truth it's not much of a contest - Parkfield Liscard subsiding to 34 all out and St Helens Seconds comfortably reaching their target during the interval and then it's a mad sprint to the Sticky Wicket.

Back to the football and Sephton shoots across the goal whilst Jack Cunliffe is denied superbly by Hadlow. Against the run of play on 55 minutes James Dwyer doubles the advantage with a free header from a corner.

Substitute Matty Taylor's perfect cross is met by Sephton's header to reduce the arrears shortly after. Thereafter Pilks pepper the Chaddy goal, despite rugged opposition which results in 5 yellow cards - two of which come from one bizarre incident where two players (including Arron Scholes - son of United legend Paul) are booked for kicking the ball away.

Despite intense pressure and goal-line clearances Pilks fall short and Chaddy take home the points.

Not Heys' Day As United Victorious In Inaugural Fixture...

And so to the first Saturday in August and the new football season (we'll ignore the 2 Champions' League, 3 Norwegian and 2 Irish matches). And a new club and a new ground, the WMS Entrance Systems Park on Longfield Avenue, the home of Golcar United who play host to Prestwich Heys in the North West Counties Division One North this afternoon. 

Golcar United FC was established in 1904 and joined the West Riding County Amateur League in 1934 finishing as runners up. However, after finishing bottom in the 1937/38 season, United left the league but rejoined later.

Golcar won the West Riding County Challenge Cup in 2000–01, and were Premier Division runners up in 2003–04. The following season saw them win the league title. They were runners up in 2014–15, and champions in 2017–18. United retained the league and cup double last season with twenty wins and one draw from 22 matches in the league, and were promoted to Division One North of the NWCFL. United thereby became the last ever champions of the now defunct West Riding County Amateur League - a league that started last year with the bare minimum of 14 clubs but following the demise of AFC Bingley and DRAM Community finished with 12.

The Heys’ origins can be traced to February 9th 1938 when a meeting was called at the Music Room of the Heys Road Boys School with the idea of forming an Old Boys Association - the football arm becoming Heys Old Boys AFC. The Heys gradually progressed through the Bury Amateur League and South East Lancashire League, changing their name to Prestwich Heys AFC in 1964. The team joined the Lancashire Combination for the 1968/69 season.

Thousands flocked to see the Heys play in the FA Amateur Cup, with the victory over Sutton United in 1969 attracting nationwide coverage, coming a week before their opponents were due to meet Leeds United in the FA Cup. Truly the Heys' heyday !!

The club became a founder member of the North West Counties League in 1982 but were demoted to the Manchester League in 1986 due to ground grading issues. Under manager Adie Moran the Heys were champions for three successive seasons between 2005 and 2007. Tragically Moran was killed in a swimming accident in Sri Lanka at the age of 43 in June 2007 which left the club reeling.

After relegation battles, the club renamed the ground as Adie Moran Park in honour of their late manager and in 2016 won the Manchester League Premier Division - thereby returning to the North West Counties Football League after a 30 year absence. An 8^th place finish on their return was followed by third the season after with play off elimination by Cammell Laird, and 5th last term.

So on a warm summer afternoon it's past Bake My Day, the execrable T & T Pound Plus ELCTRICALS. TOILETORIES. and still shut, and Garvey's offering traditional Irish music every Fri-yay !! Onto the M60 and this season's first number plate M45S RC - possibly a priest ? Past a van advertising Walks'n'All, a dog walking and pet sitting company, and over Barton Bridge.

To the M62 then onwards to Saddleworth Moor, Rakehead Viaduct and Windy Hill - The M62 Summit 'Highest Motorway in England 372 metres (1221 feet)'. Then Sammonden Reservoir, Rainbow Bridge and Stott Hall Farm, bisecting the two carriageways.

Off at junction 23 and into Huddersfield (Land of Milk and Money apparently !!), where I'm invited to join Huddersfield Petanque Club. Onto the ring road where I spot a Muslim Support Food Bank and then, after Easyfireplace, a sharp right onto Scar Lane and Golcar. Then right onto Taylor Avenue where I park as Longfield Avenue is already choked.

The WMS Park is slap bang in the middle of a housing estate, with work undertaken over the summer to erect fencing and railings to ensure it meets NWCFL criteria. It has the feel of a council recreation pitch split into two with the top half used for overflow parking. £4 at the gate and it soon becomes clear United have underestimated interest in their first ever game at Step 6.

Only 50 programmes have been printed, with the bloke in front of me snaffling the last one. The attendance is a truly magnificent 379 (nearly double the previous record and comfortably the best in the entire league today), bolstered by many groundhoppers, several disaffected Bury fans and the fact that Huddersfield Town don't play till Monday. Only one toilet between us all though......

Inside only two sides are operative; one behind the near goal where there is a refreshment bar and the changing rooms. The popular side supports the clubhouse and a small covered standing area - there are no seats or floodlights yet. The other two sides are cordoned off due to their proximity to housing. Indeed that's all you can see except for trees and, to the left, views of Scapegoat Hill and Slaithwaite rising above the roofs.

Golcar are in their famous green and black stripes, Heys in red shirts and white shorts - although their keeper also wears green. There is a slight hold up whilst one of the goal nets is fixed, and I spot a large 'Up The Heys' banner in the corner next to a rather smaller Golcar flag bearing the club badge.

The first ten minutes are fairly turgid, with the main topic of conversation being the length and thickness of the grass which prevents smooth passing. Indeed the only areas without long grass are a couple of heavily sanded strips covering those parts that were waterlogged until yesterday.

And then suddenly we have a goal. The ball is played in from Golcar's left and Ben Burnett scores in the corner with a wonderful cushioned left footed volley for United's first ever goal at Step 6.

Little has been seen of Prestwich until their equaliser on 24 minutes. Jacob Wood overlaps on the right wing and delivers a peach of a cross which is met with a gorgeous header by Will Shawcross to tie things up. That seems to wake Heys up - Rio Wilson-Heyes draws a flying save from Golcar's Harry Stead and then Shelton Payne scuffs a one on one wide.

But it is Golcar who go into the break leading. Some rather shambolic Heys defending allows Jordan Townend to play in a totally unmarked Alex Hallam and he calmly sidefoots home.

The second period is distinctly underwhelming as Heys don't do enough pressing or testing Stead. Payne shoots across goal following a Stead error, and Wilson-Heyes fires into the side netting.

Hallam shoots across goal for the home side, but the game descends into a flurry of substitutions and bookings - you will not be surprised to learn that Payne is booked for simulation !! The referee chooses not to use the sin bin today however.

Then with ten minutes to go we have a bit of a melee, more handbags than anything else. This is also the trigger for the menacing black clouds, which have replaced the sun, to send out thick and heavy raindrops amidst rumbling thunder.

The groundhopper from Nottingham next to me really has had a nightmare today. He missed his train connection at Wakefield and had to shell out £26 for a taxi to get to the game (more than his return train ticket), and now finds that he hasn't brought a coat.... At least his neighbour from Sunbury on Thames has a cap....

Some pinball ricochet in the Golcar area in injury time but the ball is cleared and United take the spoils 2-1.

Archers Hit The Bull's Eye - Lakesiders Pay The Penalty !!

And so to Maes Tegid, home of Bala Town FC - Clwb Pel Droed Y Bala Town - another area where Welsh speakers amount to nearly 80%. This for the final game of the Welsh domestic season, the Europa League play off final against the Archers of Cardiff Metropolitan University FC, and that guaranteed prize money of £200,000.

Bala Town FC was formed in 1880 but there is record of a football club in Bala playing in the 1877/78 Welsh Cup. Bala North End, Bala South End and Bala Thursdays merged to form the current Bala Town, with the first record being the 1921/22 campaign in the Welsh National League North Division 2 East.

In the early 1950s the Lakesiders (naturally enough !!) moved to Maes Tegid from the adjacent Castle Park. The team played in the Welsh National League Wrexham Area between 1950 and 1954, then rejoined the Cambrian Coast League in 1954, winning titles in 1959 and 1963. The club re-entered the Welsh National League Wrexham Area for the 1963/64 season.

For the 2003/04 term Colin Caton (cousin of the late Tommy) took over the managerial reins - he is still in charge - and Bala won promotion to the Cymru Alliance in his first season.

In 2009 the Lakesiders were crowned Huws Gray Cymru Alliance champions and promoted to the Welsh Premier League. In their first season Town finished 11th out of 18, but the Welsh Premier League committee decided to reduce the league to 12 clubs - relegation seemed inevitable but was avoided as no feeder league club was deemed able to reach the criteria to obtain a Domestic Licence.

The Lakesiders took their place in the 'Super 12' but again finished 11th in 2011, once more evading relegation due to Licensing issues.

Since then there has been no more flirting with relegation - Bala finished runners up in 2014/15 and 2015/16 (when the club was being bankrolled by local businesses keen to bring an end to The New Saints' monopoly on titles). The Welsh Cup was won in 2017 when Town fought back to beat TNS 2-1, and the club has qualified for the Europa League five times but is yet to win a tie on aggregate.

Last time the Lakesiders finished a disappointing sixth, but beat fifth placed Newtown 2-1 to earn a home final play off against Cardiff MU.

Last weekend's win at Caernarfon will live long in the memory but a swift resume of the visitors, 'The Archers' of Cardiff Metropolitan University FC, who were formed from a series of mergers and name changes.

It all started with Lake United renaming themselves AFC Cardiff in 1984. In 1990 the club was taken over by Sully FC to form Inter Cardiff FC, which became Inter CableTel AFC in 1996. This club represented Wales in the old UEFA Cup three times, including playing Celtic in the 1997/98 season.

In 2000 a merger with UWIC (University of Wales Institute, Cardiff) produced UWIC Inter Cardiff which became Cardiff Metropolitan University FC in 2012. The Archers, or unofficially known as The International, The Sheep (!) or The Div's (Car-DIFF), then won three promotions in four seasons to reach the Welsh Premier League.

Since then the club has qualified for the Europa League play offs every season, this time via finishing top of the relegation group, but without winning the final and moving on to play in Europe. Also this season The Archers won the Welsh League Cup for the first time, beating second tier Cambrian & Clydach Vale Boys & Girls Club 2-0 in the final, all under the managerial reign of ex Welsh international Dr Christian Edwards.

So on a cloudy, breezy afternoon I set off past the property that is now styled as the Brexit House, then the well appointed Denzell Gardens, The Stretton Fox and Daresbury Park. Not long before the ridiculous numberplates appear - today we have X 11ON X, H1 2OLD (too old for what ??), N1NJA, ADD 2 (add two what ??), GR03 VEG, CAR 123X (??) and D3KLN. A fool and his money are soon parted....

Then the wind turbine farm and belching fumes that is Stanlow before I join the A494, skirting Buckley and Mold. A wry smile at the We Three Loggerheads, in Loggerheads itself, the Druid Inn at Llanferres and some glorious Welsh countryside scenery on the winding road from the heights of Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd.

That takes me to Ruthin and its Gaol, a brief flirtation with the A5 and a left turn at The Druids, beyond Glassblobbery and into Bala. Time is on my side so I take in the magnificent views of Lake Bala - 3.7 miles long by 0.5miles wide. It was the largest natural body of water in Wales until its level was raised by Thomas Telford to help support the flow of the Ellesmere Canal, and the sight of it is utterly breathtaking.

Then I take the minor B road by the eastern side of Lake Bala down to Llanuwchllyn, a one track road with the odd passing place - I, uncomfortably, come head on to several classic cars, all sporting a 'Hills and Valleys Tour' blue badge.

At the foot of the hill Llanuwchllyn is the home of the Bala Lake Railway, a 4.5 mile ride taking 25 minutes (and £11.50 return !!) to Bala Penybont, along the side of Lake Bala. The locomotive shed and heritage centre reveal 6 engines and various wagons, plus Winifred, the steam engine operating today.

Then into Bala, with its eclectic mix of pubs, galleries and cafes - including one called, naturally enough, Sospan Fach !! Not much to Bala away from the High Street, bearing in mind its population of less than 2,000 at the last census. However there is a striking clocktower in honour of John Jones of Tremynfa, and a statue of Thomas Edward Ellis, a prominent Welsh Liberal politician, emanating from the Bala area.

Left at The White Lion and then onto Castle Street brings me to Maes Tegid and Bala Town FC. No problem parking at the ground this week but it comes as no surprise, given the shambolic marshalling and sheer imbecility and selfishness of some drivers, that there is utter chaos and gridlock at the final whistle; fortunately I am away within ten minutes.

£6 at the gate and a crowd of 623 for the final, including a healthy number of away fans making the near 300 mile round trip and several groundhoppers.

Inside the main stand is to my left, a piecemeal affair made up of no less than 5 separate covered structures plus a press box - and with stunning views of  Snowdonia shrouded in mist in the background. At the top end is the house on the hill, whilst opposite are the dugouts and TV gantry with the near end providing the dressing rooms, snack bar and a small three step terrace behind the goal. It is here that the Bala Ultras congregate, their flags completely outnumbering the solitary 'The Roving Sheep On Tour' at the far end - a Merthyr Town supporter who is 'neutral'. Dial M for Merthyr....

The Lakesiders are in white with black sleeves and shorts, the Archers in claret and blue with yellow trim, and the officials in all yellow - so no colour clash this week. Bala start with 4 Welshmen and 7 English players - by the end it's 2 Welsh and 9 English - whilst Met have the complete reverse - 7 Welsh and 4 English.

Unlike last week the Archers start strongly with Adam Roscrow hitting the bar in the first minute and then heading against the inside of the post on 12 minutes. However Bala take the lead eight minutes later when Nathan Burke's cross is flicked on to Kieran Smith and glanced in by Henry Jones.

Four minutes later parity is restored - Will Evans given far too much space, drawing a save from Keighan Jones, but Eliot Evans pounces on the rebound to equalise. Smith hits the sidenetting for Bala as we approach half  time.

The second half is a cagey affair with few chances and solid defending. The Archers' keeper Will Fuller denies Henry Jones and Mike Hayes, whilst Met's Will Evans has a goal disallowed and is then booked for simulation in the penalty box.

Tension mounts as we move into extra time; in the first period Chris Baker heads against the post for Cardiff, whilst in the second Fuller makes a splendid save from Anthony Stephens but is then helpless as Hayes and Stuart Jones strike the bar within seconds - how the ball does not cross the line defies belief.....

Inevitably penalties and further unbearable tension which transmits itself to the players.... After 6 penalties the score is 1-0 to the Archers, with Keighan Jones saving two weak Cardiff penalties, and Bala skying one over the bar and having two saved, the second superbly by Will Fuller. The final three are scored, the last by Eliot Evans for a 3-1 win for the Met, and ecstasy on the pitch and the terraces as the students' team qualify for Europe !!

Archers Arrow In On Play Off Final - Canaries Sick As A Parrot !!

And so to the Oval and a Welsh Premier League Europa League play off between the Canaries of Caernarfon Town and the Archers of Cardiff Metropolitan University FC. Or the home of Clwb Pel Droed Tref Caernarfon, befitting a town that boasts greater than 86% of the population being Welsh speakers - Caernarfon residents are colloquially known as Cofis, and Cofi is used to describe the local dialect incorporating many words not used in the Welsh language. The overall winners of the Europa League play offs secure a place in the cup draw and a guaranteed £200,000 prize money....

The first football club in Caernarfon was established in September 1876 and known as Carnarvon Athletic, playing at various grounds and moving to The Oval in 1888. Athletic folded in 1891 and what followed was a plethora of short lived clubs - Carnarvon Ironopolis, Celts, RWF (Royal Welsh Fusiliers), United and a reincarnation of Athletic which was liquidated in 1930 and then revived two years later before quitting over problems using The Oval.

In 1937 a group of local soccer enthusiasts began Caernarvon Town FC (now Caernarfon Town FC). The Canaries had a 39 year unbroken membership of the Welsh League (North), winning the championship twice, until internal problems caused the club to withdraw from the league in 1976. Within months Town was reborn and immediately won consecutive titles.

The Welsh FA then gave Caernarfon permission to join the Lancashire League, becoming a founder member of the North West Counties Football League in 1982.

In 1985 the Canaries were elected to the Northern Premier League and during the 1986/87 season, under the tutelage of John King and inspired by Austin Salmon (a missed car name if ever there was one !! ), embarked on a record FA Cup run. Fourth Division Stockport County were beaten 1-0, Third Division York City 2-1 in a replay at Bootham Crescent (a match I shall never forget) before losing 1-0 in a replay to Second Division Barnsley. Cofis finished third in the NPL and felt that, if not for the FA Cup run, they would probably have gained promotion to the Football Conference.

After King's departure, to Tranmere Rovers, and the disappointing tenure of Tommy Smith, Town were relegated to the first division of the NPL in 1990. Thereafter followed five seasons of indifferent performances prompting the board to make the decision to return to Welsh football. The Canaries were welcomed back into the League of Wales in August 1995.

In March 2009, with finances at an all time low and the club's entire future in doubt, the chairman and board of directors resigned and a band of volunteers managed to guide Town through to the end of the season. A year later Caernarfon sank to the third tier of Welsh football.

The team won the Welsh Alliance in 2013 and then the Huws Gray Cymru Alliance in 2016, but were deprived of promotion as the FAW denied the Canaries a domestic licence with Cefn Druids going up instead. Nonetheless two years later another championship was bagged and this time the licence was granted - Town finishing 4th in their first season back in the Welsh Premier League, and securing a home Europa League play off.

The visitors, 'The Archers' of Cardiff Metropolitan University FC, were formed from a series of mergers and name changes.

It all started with Lake United renaming themselves AFC Cardiff in 1984. In 1990 the club was taken over by Sully FC to form Inter Cardiff FC, which became Inter CableTel AFC in 1996. This club represented Wales in the old UEFA Cup three times, including playing Celtic in the 1997/98 season.

In 2000 a merger with UWIC (University of Wales Institute, Cardiff) produced UWIC Inter Cardiff which became Cardiff Metropolitan University FC in 2012. The Archers, or unofficially known as The International, The Sheep (!) or The Div's (Car-DIFF), then won three promotions in four seasons to reach the Welsh Premier League.

Since then the club has qualified for the Europa League play offs every season, this time via finishing top of the relegation group, but without winning the final and moving on to play in Europe. Also this season The Archers won the Welsh League Cup for the first time, beating second tier Cambrian & Clydach Vale Boys & Girls Club 2-0 in the final, all under the managerial reign of ex pro Dr Christian Edwards.

So onto Manchester Road, some drizzle, cloud then unbroken sunshine as I pass the carved wooden eagle before reaching the M56 and Stanlow with its belching fumes and overworked wind turbines. And immediately a competition for the worst personalised numberplate - today's contenders are SO 61DDY, SO0 6LAD, M3FLU, 4ODD (factually incorrect !!), T4KCE (yes a taxi !!), GH05T GC and ARK1D. No further comment required.....

Then to Queensferry, where the speed limit is reduced for emission reductions, and the A55, Bodelwyddan Castle, straddling the coast as I approach the abandoned pier at Colwyn Bay. Then panoramic views of Snowdonia and the Great Orme before the Conwy, Penmaenbach and Pen-y-Clip tunnels. Beyond Bangor and the Vales Fall Whisky Distillery and into the royal town of Caernarfon (Fort of Arfon) advertising next weekend's Rail Ale Festival. A sharp left onto Henwalia and right into Marcus Street where I find the car park full a good six hours before kick off, possibly because of the S4C Sgorio live coverage of the match later on.

Caernarfon itself is absolutely packed - today is the annual Food Festival with live entertainment, market stalls and the biggest queues at The Tipsy Giraffe cocktail bar. Slowly I wend my way past the walls of Caernarfon Castle, with its polygonal towers, the statue of David Lloyd George (Caernarfon's most famous son) to Victoria Dock and the Walled Town to a cacophony of Welsh language lilt.

My final stop is the harbour, the River Seiont and the Menai Strait with Anglesey glistening in the sun and then the Welsh Highland Railway, a 25 mile two and a quarter hour journey to Porthmadog - but at £41.50 return and bearing in mind last month's runaway locomotive incident it's probably an attraction I can resist......

To the football, £7 in and directly facing me is the Rondo Stand, 3 rows of covered yellow and green seats emphasising the steep gradient from left to right. The main grandstand is to my right with yellow CPTC seats set amidst green, and a curious covered standing area in the corner complete with window....The near end features a part covered terrace behind the goal together with a snackbar, whilst to the left is terracing, grass bank and gravel, the press box and dugouts. A bumper crowd of 1280 waits in anticipation....

With the sun still blazing the teams enter the fray - the Canaries in yellow and green as expected and goalkeeper Alex Ramsay in all black - the same as the referee and his two assistants. The Archers are in claret and blue with yellow trim, and shotstopper Will Fuller in orange but with a large amount of yellow on his top...

Cofis start well and the Archers sluggishly as in the first minute Darren Thomas is given too much space and Fuller saves his shot with an outstretched foot. Thomas has two other good chances, one crowded out, the other just wide before the inevitable happens. A free kick from captain Nathan Craig and a towering header from Thomas that loops over Fuller and the Canaries are chirping !! A surge at the Town End, a crush and the perimeter wall and advertising hoardings collapse...

There is a lengthy delay with one youngster suffering a minor arm injury and discussions as to whether the match should continue. Eventually play resumes with the Town End patrolled by three stewards, but not evacuated, and only cordoned off at half time when the home fans move to the Rondo Stand. Nine minutes of injury time are played at the end of the first period.

The delay appears to unsettle Caernarfon and Met start to come more into the game. On 36 minutes Chris Baker's deflected shot from a corner restores parity and three minutes later Eliot Evans, who has already come close, hits the post from another corner.

The second half mirrors the first with the Canaries starting strongly - Leo Smith has a shot cleared off the line and Thomas hits the post but crucially Caernarfon don't score. Midway through the half Cardiff's centre forward, the excellent Adam Roscrow, is found in space on the left wing and with sheer power and pace advances to beat his marker and smash the ball into the roof of the net. A quite magnificent individual goal...

Leo Smith then hits the bar in a goalmouth melee at a corner, and Eliot Evans is denied by a wonderful fingertip save from Ramsay, before with nine minutes remaining Kyle McCarthy arcs his run beautifully and produces a superb shot across Ramsay, low into the corner, for 3-1.

Into injury time a needless trip gives the Cofis a lifeline - Craig scores the penalty kick but there is insufficient time for an equaliser. The Archers now go to Maes Tegid and Bala Town next Sunday for the final Europa League spot and that £200,000...