Bury Paul

Walshaw Sports  2  Manchester Central  2

Manchester League – Premier Division

As is often the case in August, it’s that time of year when I like to have a crack at a few Manchester League grounds.

Friday night though, you don’t get many of them, and to get a pass out as well, especially with us going away for the weekend the following morning, it was a bit of an all-round result, even if I do say so myself.

Lush

I would have got to Bury based Walshaw Sports at the back end of last season, but due to the shocking weather we had and the fact they share with cricket, all scheduled home games during what is commonly known as ‘silly season’ were rescheduled for alternative venues.

On one of the worst  days of the year for travelling (August Bank Holiday Friday), the journey over the M62 and up the M66 into Bury was a relative breeze under the circumstances. And having only ever set foot in the town once, that being many years ago to watch FC United of Manchester in their inaugural season at Gigg Lane, I have to confess to not being very familiar with the roads or the locations of places.

Shadows

I say not familiar, our dear old friend Paul ‘Ernie’ Earnshaw (aka Bury Paul) who we lost a couple of pre-seasons ago now was a Bury lad through and through, and also a lifetime season ticket holder with the Shakers. He told us many a tale and talked about the local football clubs, Walshaw Sports being one he had something of an affinity with due to family reasons, but even so, it was something of a void in my travels.

Travelling around the edge of the famous Bury Market, I headed out to the West side of town and into the suburb of Tottington where the Walshaw Sports Club is located. Football and cricket play side by side at the Sports Club, and once parked in the small car park, it was time to assess the facilities. The clubhouse was a large and smart affair, while in one corner was a tea bar doing some tremendous delicacies, including a quite superb Lamb Hotpot which went down a treat.

Match

The cricket field sat in front of the club while the football pitch was to the very top of the complex, with a rail down one of the sides where the dugouts sat. The pitch was in fine fettle, and despite some heavy rain showers during the day it looked in pristine condition and is clearly a labour of love for the ground staff.

By kick off a healthy crowd had turned up, with a good number having travelled from visiting Manchester Central who based upon social media, seem to be a very progressive club. They have Bill Prendergast involved who I met a few years ago at Northwich Manchester Villa when he was Manager / Owner, and in recent times he’s also managed Radcliffe Borough, so that appointment in itself would suggest a club with ambition.

Clubhouse

Despite that, the visitors had not won a game yet this season drawing one and losing two, while Walshaw had won two, drawn one and lost one. What unfolded was a super game of football, of a high standard for Step 7, and not without its drama and excitement.

Walshaw took the lead with a superb effort from long range, and another very tidy finish saw them go in at half time with a deserved two goal lead.

Central looked to be lacking somewhat in confidence, but that confidence would have been done a World of good by the performance they put on in the second half. A headed goal just after the break saw the deficit reduced, and then in the 82^nd minute the pressure they had been putting Walshaw under paid off when they forced home an equaliser.

Crowd

The last ten minutes could have seen the result go either way as both sides went in search of a winner, but the drama took another twist deep into injury time when a late challenge from a Central player lead to a confrontation between members of the two dugouts. This very quickly escalated and before you knew it, every man, dog and passing stranger jumped in for a bit of a rumble!

The referee decided the best course of action was to blow his whistle incessantly, not that it made the slightest bit of difference as Prada handbag met Mulberry, however it soon calmed down and it was time for the three officials to spend an age discussing the best course of action to take..

The conclusion was simple, do absolutely nothing (probably due to not having a clue who did what), allow the game to re-start with a free kick and then immediately blow the final whistle.

By now it was pretty dark and somewhat wet after the second half had been punctuated by further rain showers, but that didn’t really matter, it had been a cracking nights entertainment, and a night that had our mate Bury Paul been around to see, he would have enjoyed every minute of it.

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