AFC Alsager 3 Goldenhill Wanderers 2
Staffordshire County Senior League – Division Two
August 16th is a date that has stuck in my head
since I was a seven year old child.
It would be the Summer of 1980, we were on holiday in
Weymouth, and back then it was always a huge family holiday with Grandparents,
Aunts, Uncles, cats, pot plants, the lot! I’m not sure exactly how it happened
but I managed to get my hands on a Panini sticker book, Football 80 it was
called, and over the space of a week I’d assembled quite a collection of
stickers.
Upon returning from holiday more stickers arrived until a
decision was reached to order the final few, or final 150 in my case, direct from
Panini. You could only order 50 per household so we had to utilise the extended
family to make such a purchase, but within the specified 28 days all packages
had arrived and the sticker book was complete.
It didn’t end their though because the football fascination
had started, players names, club nicknames, grounds and final league placings
in 1979-80 (yes, I had memorised the order of the 22 clubs in the old First
Division!)
One thing troubled me though, why was that team my Dad used
to go and watch no longer in the First Division? My knowledge of league
placings had ascertained that Derby County had finished second to bottom, with
Bolton Wanderers below them and Bristol City above them. Five years after
winning the league they were now in the Second Division, and had been replaced
by Leicester City, Sunderland and Birmingham City. Something was clearly wrong in the World!
Derby’s relegation was something of a story given the clubs
recent history, and the mantra coming out of the Baseball Ground was “We’ll be
back in 81!”. T Shirts, scarves, flags, you name it, they all had the bold
statement emblazoned across them, watch out Division Two, the Rams are going to
tear you apart!
I couldn’t wait, plans were afoot for a birthday treat in
the November to attend my first game, against QPR, but all eyes were on the
opening day of the season, August 16th 1980, Cambridge United v
Derby County
I can remember getting up that morning, beside myself with
excitement. Breakfast was duly wolfed down and still in my pyjamas I ran along
the lane to the Grandparents house.
“When will the football results be out?”
“The games don’t start until 3 o’clock Neil!”
So that was the first learning experience, I had no idea
what time games kicked off, but from that moment it was embedded, 3pm on a
Saturday.
The game came and went, I listened to second half
commentary on Radio Derby, it had been a disaster, the Rams went down 3-0. The
season was a failure, sixth place was the final outcome, promotion never ever a
possibility, but my first game was a cracker, a 3-3 draw at the BBG with QPR. I was so upset when my Mum and Dad agreed to let me stay up to watch it on Match of the Day, only to fall asleep and miss it. No video recorders in those days! You can now watch it on You Tube though.....
So 16th August is the day when I truly discovered
football, and every so often I go to a game that falls on that date, and when
that happens it always feels special, and to me, no matter how many games I’ve
been to previously in a season, and no matter what day of the week it is, it always feels like the opening day again.
Alsager On Opening Day |
Tonight’s game, well it’s been on the radar for a little while
but only provisionally due to some debate as to where it would take place.
I saw AFC Alsager last season when they played at the MMU
complex on Hassall Road, but at the end of last season it was announced that
MMU were shutting the site down. When the directories came out, AFC were still
on Hassall Road, but at Alsager Leisure Centre which is directly opposite MMU.
The Shadows Lengthen |
Local knowledge was contradictory, some suggested the new
location was indeed totally different to MMU, while others suggested that the
Leisure Centre had taken over the land that the MMU sports facilities were on.
However, the club confirmed, it was a new location, so it was worthy of a
visit.
The Leisure Centre is next to Alsager School and in fact it’s
essentially the same place. I parked in the car park just off Hassall Road and
ended up having to walk a fair way through the complex to the far end to find
the football pitch. In hindsight I would have been better using the entrance on
Lodge Road, which those with local knowledge had the foresight to do!
I wasn’t expecting much with it being a Leisure Centre but I
have to admit to being pleasantly surprised. Because the pitches are a long way
removed from the buildings and set into an enclave that is surrounded by trees,
it felt more like a park. The pitch was roped, but the proximity of the large
trees gave it more of an enclosed feel. No furniture to speak of, but the pitch
was flat and in good condition.
It'll Be Covered In Leaves By October..... |
The first half was very good indeed. Alsager took the lead
early via a close range header, but a cheeky back heel and a fantastic 25 yard
free kick saw visiting Goldenhill take the lead. A neat individual goal scored
from a tight angle made the scores 2-2 by the half time interval. Alsager’s key
threat was pace, they had a couple of players who could skip past opponents
with ease, it was great to watch at times.
The second half was poor by comparison, Alsager took the
lead but no further goals followed. Goldenhill piled on the pressure but a
combination of solid defending and poor finishing saw the points stay in
Alsager. It got a bit fractious in the second period, the game became
punctuated with stoppages and free kicks, plus the obligatory substitutions.
Away by 8.20, home for 9.30, and no road issues tonight for a
change. It appears that according to a great many, football was invented 25
years ago today when the Premier League started. How wrong can the blinkered
masses be, everyone knows it started on 16th August 1980!
White Lines (Don't Do It) |
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