As Good As It Gets

Longridge Town  7  Ashton Town  2

North West Counties League – Division One North

As the final whistle blew at the Mike Riding Ground, Longridge Town had scored an incredible 60 league goals in just 13 games. Putting that into perspective, it equates to an average of 4.6 goals scored per game.

It’s fair to say that tonight, I’ve watched a very good football team in action, as they demolished mid-table Ashton Town 7-2, and to be fair, it could easily have been more.

More on the game later, but what’s the story with Longridge Town?

The Crowd Gathers

A West Lancashire League side, based to the North East of Preston, they have been mooted as a contender to move into the North West Counties League for some time. They had a floodlit ground, ambition, and in 2016-17 they were crowned as champions. They didn’t make the move as many outsiders had expected, but last season with a third placed finish under their belts, combined with a regionalisation of the lower division of the NWCL, it was time, along with neighbouring Garstang, to make the move.

Longridge is a small town of around 8,000 inhabitants, and access to it is pretty straightforward, especially by car (as it doesn’t have a train station!). Once off the M6 at the Preston exit, the B6423 takes you straight into the town, past the large reservoirs, into the town centre and then out along Inglewhite Road, with the ground appearing on the right hand side.

Lushness!

The car park is quite large but on a night when close on 200 spectators were in the ground, getting in early and parking nearest to the clubhouse was a bit of a schoolboy error as getting out was a bit of a challenge!

Once in the ground, the dressing rooms and a clubhouse / tea bar sits along the Inglewhite Road side, while directly in front of the structure is an Atcost that has been put into place to satisfy grading requirements. Further down this side of the ground is a smaller area of covered terracing that looks to have been in place for some time. It does have some seating to the rear but this wouldn’t be much use on a wet night as anyone taking shelter would end up standing in front of those seated. Tonight, it didn’t matter.

Let There Be Light

The rest of the ground is hard standing apart from an area around the North goal that was technically out of bounds. The floodlights were excellent and the pitch, which had been troublesome last season, although given the weather not surprisingly, has been dug up and replaced with what looks to be a superb playing surface.

I was going to go last season in May to a game, against Blackpool Wren Rovers if I recall, but I found out the day before the game that it had been switched to Blackpool because Longridge’s pitch had been dug up!

Pristine

This is a well run and indeed a very friendly club. Everyone was helpful and happy to chat, and anyone that does a pie and a pint deal for £4.50 deserves credit in my book. Clearly they are relishing the move upwards, not only on the pitch, but also off it. Making new friends, visiting new places, seeing what is out there in Step 6 land is all part and parcel of getting promotion. They have developed some excellent facilities, but they haven’t rushed it. They probably could have made the move a few years ago, but for whatever reason they waited until the time was right for them, and for that they deserve credit.

What’s also happened is the club have built a real groundswell of support. The attendance for what was only their second midweek home game of the season was a very impressive 191. They have had a high of 211 against Prestwich Heys, while the lowest has been 141. Putting that into perspective, in the particular division they are in, their lowest attendance has only been beaten nine times by every other team in the competition!

So then, the football match?

The Obligatory Atcost

Prior to the game a minutes silence was held in memory of the Mother of Longridge player Jordan Tucker who had passed away at the weekend, and Manager Lee Ashcroft (ex WBA and Preston) said after the game that the performance and victory was dedicated to her.

Mrs Tucker would have been immensely proud of the display Longridge put on against an Ashton Town side that were by no means a poor outfit, they were just simply put to the sword by one of the most clinical displays of football I’ve seen in a very long time.  

Tom Ince (no, not that one!), opened the scoring by finishing a fine move inside the six yard box, while it was 2-0 just before the break when Richie Allen fired home a half volley from the edge of the penalty area.

Immediately after the break it was 3-0 when Phil Doughty blasted home a header, but then in a rare attack Ashton pulled a goal back from an impressive flowing move.

Ince then scored his second to make it 4-1 before the hugely impressive Jay Hart made it 5-1. Hart then set up Paul Turner who rounded the goalkeeper to score before the talisman netted his second and celebrated with a backflip, much to delight of the adoring Longridge faithful.

Ashton netted a second goal near the end, but nothing could be taken away from Longridge who played attacking football of the highest quality, and with it overtook Carlisle City and went top of the league with eleven victories from thirteen games.

Drone View (Longridge Town FC / Mark Ashmore)

It was the kind of performance whereby you didn’t want the game to end, and it’s not very often that I say that, such was the quality of the entertainment on display.

I wouldn’t bet against Longridge getting promotion again this season, and with the side Ashcroft has built, the future looks very rosy indeed. Clearly though, with performances like this, clubs higher up the pyramid are going to start showing interest in the players, so that in itself might be a challenge.

But tonight was about a great football team, and a club that seem to quite simply have got things right on and off the pitch.

What’s not to like about that? This is about as good as it gets.......