Spike Island

Parklands  2  Knutsford  0

Cheshire Football League – First Division

Admission / Programme – No / No

I’ve been waiting years to be able to write a blog about my experiences in Widnes, and finally the time has arrived, thanks to Parklands Football Club who after beating Knutsford 2-0 have gained promotion to the Premier Division of the Cheshire Football League.

Widnes, and indeed Runcorn, the two Cheshire towns that are conjoined by the Runcorn Bridge, a bridge made famous by Sheridan Smith, Will Mellor, Ralf Little and some other actress who’s name escapes me, who starred in ‘Two Pints Of Lager…..’, which of course was set, for a lot of the time, in a pub under the shadows of the said bridge.

Runcorn, well, I know it pretty well, I went to the old Canal Street back in the mid-Nineties to see Runcorn FC play Leek Town, while I’ve also been to the homes of Runcorn Linnets and Runcorn Town. Town in particular being a belter of a ground set right in the heart of the oil refineries and such metal shininess on the very edges of the River Mersey. We had a regional office in Runcorn as well once that I was summoned to visit on a number of occasions, it gave the opportunity to explore the town centre at lunch times and also to grab a sandwich and eat it on a park bench under the bridge!

So that’s Runcorn, but this isn’t about Runcorn, it’s about Widnes, so sorry Widnes, the floor is now yours!

Widnes then, as a town it first came to my attention in the Eighties, purely through the Rugby League team and the excitement that occurred when they signed Jonathan Davies from Rugby Union club Llanelli for a then massive fee. Widnes were the dominant force in the sport and the code busting move was massive news at the time.

Fast forward to 1990, Madchester was in full swing, loose fitting clothes was the fashion, and along with a mate, we bought tickets from Way Ahead Records in Derby to watch the Stone Roses perform live at Spike Island, in Widnes.

Now, looking back, the day went as you would expect, a Sunday morning bus trip, a warm day in what is effectively a nature reserve on the banks of the Mersey, with the Runcorn Bridge up above. Tickets were being touted and begged for on the way in, security was breached as people came over the fences, and after listening to various support acts, including Paul Oakenfold, on came Ian Brown and the guys.

The sound quality wasn’t great, Brown is not a charismatic man when it comes to being on stage, so little in the way of insight or banter from him, but as the afternoon moved into the evening and for many the substances were taking hold, we were part of an iconic moment in British music history.

Then we all went home, talked about it a bit back at college, and sort of forgot about it, until about twenty years later when we had a Roses revival and our kids suddenly decided they were into them! In fact I remember telling my own daughter about the gig only a couple of years ago, for once in her life when it came to talking to me, she was momentarily speechless, but only momentarily, “Dad, wtf?”

I have been to a sporting event in Widnes, at the Halton Stadium, which is basically the rebuilt home of Widnes Vikings (as the RL team are now known). Runcorn FC Halton had a spell playing at the ground, and I saw them take on Droyslden. Someone had vandalised a match poster outside the ground and changed the game to ‘Carthorses v Thugs’, it was about right at the time, neither club exists anymore, or at least not in the guises they once were!

Oh, I also stayed in a hotel on the Northern outskirts once when I had an early morning flight from Liverpool to Belfast, it meant a dawn drive through the middle of Widnes out to Speke, I don’t remember an awful lot about it, but it wasn’t overly busy at 4.30am!

So then, memories blurted out into the written format, let’s fast forward to present day reality.

I’ve had my eye on Parklands because they’ve lead the way in the First Division for the bulk of the season and a recent unbeaten run has seen them on the brink of promotion, and as I try and keep on top of the Premier Division, a late season visit ticked the boxes.

My mate Dave is an expert when it comes to roads, and he advised me to give the sat nav a swerve and rather than go up the M6 all the way to the M62, he told me to get off earlier, join the M56 and then take the new bridge, the Mersey Gateway, into Widnes.

That all made sense, and for the princely sum of £2 I got a very easy run over the river, with the old Runcorn Bridge to my left, and was soon on the North bank of the Mersey, taking the exit for Widnes and being directed away from the town centre in a Westerly direction.

Parklands play at the Parklands Sports Club which is on the very outskirts of the town, and as you would expect given the name, it’s a large complex that appears primarily devoted to football. What was really impressive was the social club which was a smart multi-roomed facility which on the day was hosting two separate Holy Communion’s

The actual playing area at the far end of the complex comprised of a couple of dugouts and sections of rope down each side of the pitch to prevent what could easily have been a mass pitch invasion should Parklands have got the result that would have ensured promotion.

To be fair though, despite Knutsford’s lowly league position, they didn’t make it easy for the hosts, in fact it took until after the half time break before the deadlock was broken and that came courtesy of Noah Robson, who’s finish lead to wild celebrations among the home contingent.

A second goal from Conor Speed effectively sealed the points, and meant Parklands could relax a little as the game moved into it’s closing stages, knowing promotion was in the bag.

The decent crowd had turned up to watch the game, and at the final whistle the celebrations started, and as I write this blog, further victories for Parklands have seen them go on to clinch the championship. It will of course be interesting to see how they fare in the Premier Division next season.

I elected to head back through the village on Cronton and out North onto the M62, on toll bridge in a day is enough for me….but with memories of Widnes stirred, it was time for some Stone Roses on the way back.

“She wakes up with the sun, she asked me what is all the fuss……..”