Runcorn Town 1 Squires Gate
2
North West Counties League – Premier Division
I might have been raised in a quaint Derbyshire village, but
industry was never too far away.
Within walking distance was the huge Stevenson’s Dye Works
on Bullbridge with its mysterious deep water reservoir which was rumoured to
have swallowed up animals and small children over the years. Almost adjacent was the eerie Gas Plant, and
then looking over the A6 towards the River Derwent was the Wireworks, where
crashing and banging could be heard long into the night.
A few miles away was Belper, where a weekly visit was made
to see relatives, and it was in Belper that you could look in awe at the Sewing
Mills, smell the fumes from Silkolene and wonder in amazement at just what was
running through those huge tubes at Deb, Swarfega probably!
I was fascinated by these places, fascinated by the
mystery. Just what was going on behind
those locked gates, those high fences, and inside the cavernous tall buildings.
As smoke and vapour rose into the air, just what were they concocting? To me,
they were like huge science labs, mazes in fact, where you could get lost, and
of course, get up to all kinds of mischief.
As years went by, these places vanished. The Dye Works was
demolished, the Gas Plant lies virtually derelict, the textile industry has
left the area, Silkolene closed, Deb relocated and the Wireworks is redeployed
for what now I’m not sure.
But, those formative years had an impact, to the point where
I do love the sight of some industry, especially traditional industry, with
chimneys, towers and the like.
It was twenty years or more now when I was traveling back
from North Wales along the M56, and just as Frodsham appears on right and the
road crosses the River Weaver, it was in the twilight sky that I caught sight
of Weston Point in Runcorn.
Caustic Soda In The Background - Town In The Foreground |
In simple terms, it is an area of land that arcs round from
the Weaver estuary where it joins the Mersey, right round to the edge of the
Runcorn Bridge. The area was dominated by the huge ICI works, but to look at
it, it’s a marvellous sight as the sun starts to set, with its towers and
lights dominating the vista.
I found myself mesmerized by the sight, and in more recent
years, flights from Liverpool Airport would ordinarily take me via the Weston
Point Expressway, and that again was a chance to get closer to the fascination
that lay below to the left.
Work did start to take me to Runcorn Town Centre from time
to time, and it was during a lunch break that I’d wander down to the banks of
the navigation canal. I’d sit on a bench in the nature reserve staring at the
bridge. Opposite was Widnes and Spike Island, where I saw the famous Stone
Roses gig.
Weston Point Looks On |
Football in Runcorn was a really big deal once in a while.
Runcorn FC at one point were arguably the top non-league club in the country,
by the time I visited in 1995 they were on the decline, and then when the old
Canal Street ground was sold and the club became nomadic, the end was nigh. I
saw them again as Runcorn Halton playing at the Widnes Rugby League ground, but
ultimately the club folded before being reformed as Runcorn Linnets. They now
finally have a ground of their own in the town and ply their trade in the North
West Counties League, with this season looking increasingly like the one where
they win the league and gain promotion to the Northern Premier League.
Around the time Linnets were formed, a team called Mond
Rangers in the West Cheshire League changed their name to Runcorn Town. In 2010
they were accepted into the North West Counties League, and suddenly interest
in them started to build, mine included.
Facilities |
Very quickly after doing my research it became clear that
this Runcorn club was not just any old club, they were a club plying their
trade in Weston Point, smack in the heart of the industrial landscape that had
fascinated me.
A pre-season friendly against Newcastle Town on a warm July
evening was my first visit, situated at the Pavilions Club, it was a ground
hemmed in between the Weston Point Expressway and the caustic soda plant. I had
a great evening, at a characterful ground, watching a good team, with great
scenery as the backdrop!
I followed the clubs fortunes, they were promoted in their
first season and then once in the Premier Division in three successive seasons
they ran promotion to the Northern Premier League close. The first two of those
three seasons finishing above the Linnets, which wasn’t bad for a ‘Small Team
From Weston’ as they were referred to!
Looking Towards The Expressway |
A couple of lean seasons followed, but last year they
finished third, with Linnets fourth. This time around Linnets should win it,
but Town are locked in what appears to be a three way battle with Charnock
Richard and neighbouring Widnes for the second promotion place.
Tonight, Town were playing Blackpool based Squires Gate,
complete with Trevor Sinclair within their ranks, albeit named as an unused substitute.
The league table suggested a home win, but more on the game later.
The ground, from memory, had changed a little from 2010. A
new seated stand adorned the West side, alongside the original cover, while the
club house looked to have been spruced up. Next to the club house sits another
area of cover that appears to be a work in progress, while behind the South end
of the ground below the bank is what looks like a new turnstile block.
The ground is a mixture of structures, but it has a charm
and an individual identity, something you can’t say about many places that
would probably consider themselves to have better facilities.
Under Cover |
The welcome is incredibly friendly, the club is blessed with
a number of volunteers, and as a neutral looks to be very well organised and
professional in what they do. The programme is first class, while their web presence
and social media are both excellent. If they do make the NPL, they will be a
very worthy addition.
A crowd of around 100 assembled to watch a game that Runcorn
should have won. But, despite having enough chances to have won a number of
games, they came up against a Gate side that defended heroically, rode their
luck at times, but ultimately when chances came their way, they were clinical.
Runcorn made errors that proved costly at both ends of the
pitch, while they might argue that they had two justifiable penalty claims
turned down. On another day they would have won at a canter, but sometimes
football is a bit like that.
Gate scored once in each half, before Town reduced the
arrears with the last kick of the game through Craig Cairns. The experienced
and prolific Mark Reed had chances but again, could not find the back of the
net.
Town will go again, but no denying this was a setback. It’s
incredibly tight at the top, and I wouldn’t like to predict the outcome.
Gate Defend |
The landscape of Runcorn is ever changing, the new Mersey
Gateway Bridge dominates the area, while the traditional Runcorn Bridge is out
of action. The road network has been revamped accordingly while Weston Point starts to see the traditional industries being replaced by the more contemporary. My drive away from the ground saw me weaving under the cranes and over the railway tracks, but how long will they remain?
In footballing terms, after years in the doldrums, the town
could be on the verge of something special. For Runcorn Town, that would be an
achievement worth celebrating, and I'll happily join them, make mine two pints of lager, and a packet of
crisps, please?
A good read, but some inaccuracies in there. Runcorn FC didn't reform as Linnets, a supporter's group broke away from the now defunct club while the old Runcorn FC was still going (although on the slide) and set up Linnets. It's not the same club, in the same way that 1874 is not Northwich Vics (difference being that Vics are still around).
ReplyDeleteGreat read. A true appreciation of what Grassroots footy means to those involved.
ReplyDelete