Rural Bolton

Bolton County  5  Manchester Gregorians  0

Manchester Football League – Premier Division

I must admit, I’ve never seen a football match played within the confines of the City of Bolton.

Ok, I’ve been to Bolton Wanderers, but not the old Burnden Park home that was in the City itself, it was the new ground, ‘The Reebok’ as it was at the time, but that is located in Horwich, and it’s not the same so I'm told?

Perhaps somewhat tenuously as well I’ve had the pleasure of numerous days out at Radcliffe Borough, but again, it’s good, but it’s not quite Bolton is it!

For some reason, Bolton isn’t endowed with non-league football teams considering it’s size, but it does have a Manchester League side in the form of Bolton County. Is Bolton indeed a County? Anyway…

I tend to take trips to the Manchester League either at the start of the season in midweek, or towards the end, also typically midweek or a Saturday if it suits.

Pasty Shop!

Of all the sides at home today, County was the one that stood out as being the one I’d yet to make a visit to, my Bolton virginity was set to be lost!

Bolton isn’t a bad place to drive through to be honest, the A666 which links the M61 runs straight through the middle of the City, past where the old Burnden Park was located and as far as I was concerned, it was a right and a right again onto Radcliffe Road and out into the less populated and slightly more rural surroundings of Darcy Lever. A doddle, if only all forward thinking Cities had road links like Bolton (Bradford take note!)

In fact, I don’t recall ever being at a more rural location in the Manchester League. As you travel along Radcliffe Road, the new build houses turn to green fields resided in by horses. The entry to the ground is down a track to the left past some kennels, and there it is, surrounded by hedges on all four sides. A scene of tranquility and parking chaos (if you arrive too early!) in terms of getting out again

With ground located I decided to take a walk to the Levers Arms that I’d spotted back down in the village, with very few customers in-situ it was as good a place as any to catch up on the latest football news, and of course the reflections and fall out of the previous days release of the Step 1 to Step 4 constitutions. Morpeth to Yaxley, yes, get in!

I See Trees Of Green......

Bolton County is quite an interesting story. They joined the West Lancashire League in 2004, playing for the majority of the time in the Second Division, bar a fleeting two season diversion into the First Division, but then for some reason in 2016 they elected to join the Manchester League.

A third place finish in the First Division last season meant they earned promotion to the top flight and Step 7 for the start of the current campaign, the move justified you might argue?

Anyway, this season has seen them pitching just below the half way point, and going into the last game of the season against Manchester Gregorians, hopes were high that they would finish on a positive note.

The ground on Radcliffe Road is railed on the three sides, while the end to the West (nearest Bolton) is a large expanse that I believe has also been used as a pitch in the past. A single story building sits adjacent to the car park behind the East goal and in it are the dressing rooms and a tea bar serving the finest meat and potato pasties!

Where The Houses Stop - Bolton County Starts

The game was pretty one sided against a side I saw just a few days earlier record a very useful and deserved victory over Dukinfield Town. It was three nil at half time, and two more goals in the second period saw the hots go nap (as they used to say in the tabloids back in the Seventies and Eighties!)

Romain Maubaret grabbed a brace, while Dimitri Wasaulua, Tom Axon-Smith and Danny Hill also found the net. Tom Aspen was sent off for the hosts as the game entered stoppage time, but by now the points were well and truly safe.

The result means Gregs finish third from bottom, and to be fair under normal circumstances that would mean relegation, but with restructuring looking like taking two clubs from the top flight into the North West Counties League, it may well be that they earn a reprieve. I hope so because they struck me as a well run and professional club when I saw them at home four days ago.

Idylic

As for Bolton County, it’s a season to build on. They had some good support on a fine day, and if they can make some additions to the squad then why shouldn’t they be looking at a top six finish next time round?

Bolton, it’s a footballing hotbed you know??

Stock Cars

Manchester Gregorians  2  Dukinfield Town  1

Manchester Football League – Premier Division

I would imagine it would have been around 1978 when I was taken to my one and only stock car meeting, at Brafield-on-the-Green near Northampton.

I was taken by my Dad and one of our neighbours, Digby, who was also into the sport. When I say into the sport, at that time, from memory, football had ceased to exist in our house, it was all about the stock cars. We had programmes, magazines, coats, stickers, Top Trumps, the lot. I think Dad was between his spell watching an ailing Derby County and the start of his long relationship with Belper Town.

If Only.....

I used to get up on a Saturday morning, well before my parents stirred, and sneak downstairs to read the programme from the meeting the night before, be it at Long Eaton, Belle Vue, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bradford or even Skegness.

I knew the names of all the drivers as well, Bert Finnikin, Dave Mellor, Stuart Smith, Dave Beresford and Frankie Wainman to name but a few. The popularity of the sport appeared to be huge, but then for some reason, and I seem to think a serious crash occurred one evening where members of the crowd were injured, my Dad stopped going and returned to football.

A few years ago now, a programme was aired by the BBC called 'Gears and Tears', which was about the rivalry between the Smith family and the Wainman family. The sons of the legends of the seventies were now vying for supremacy on the ovals of the UK, and it was compelling viewing. The money needed to compete in the sport at the top level was vast. I enjoyed watching it, as did my Dad, I suspect it brought back a few memories.

It's Screaming Football....

In more recent years I’ve probably paid a bit more attention to Speedway if I’m honest, mainly because my mate Steve was a big fan of the sport (less so in the last couple of years), plus, his wife Julie was probably an even bigger fan and is now a promotor for Sheffield Tigers.

So why on a night when I’ve been to see Manchester Gregorians play, am I waxing lyrical about the great days of stock car racing, and to a lesser extent speedway?

It’s simple really. Gregs (as they are more commonly known), play on an artificial pitch at Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester. To one side of the pitch is the greyhound stadium (where I understand the stock car track is also based), while to the other side of the pitch is the new National Speedway Stadium that is the home to Belle Vue Aces.

Belle Vue is an historic sporting venue, yet until now it’s not really featured on the football map, but with a little bit more foresight, it could have been.

Belle Vue - But Not As Many Would Know It

When they built the fantastic new stadium, with its large stand and corporate facilities on the home straight, and its covered terraces on the back straight, they also put an artificial football pitch in what is more commonly known as the centre green. The trouble is, the pitch isn’t quite big enough for senior football. I seem to recall a couple of years ago Northwich Manchester Villa had it inspected as a possible venue for North West Counties League football, and it was at that point the issue came to light. Had it been the right size, then it would have made for a fantastic home for a football club, but alas, it was not to be.

That said though, it isn’t all bad news because if you skirt around the back straight from the confines of the sports centre, you eventually arrive at the purpose built floodlit surface that is now the home of a Gregs side that made some noises a few years back about progressing through the leagues.

I arrived at Belle Vue around an hour before kick off, and my first thoughts were of liquid refreshments. I’d done my homework, badly it seemed. The Q Club opposite the stadium on Kirkmanshulme Lane was shut for refurbishment while all hopes of a pint in Gala Bingo were dashed when it appeared that too wasn’t open. I’d been tipped off that they had a bar at the Showcase Cinema complex, I was right but it was bottles and it was expensive.

Rugby - On An Artificial Pitch?

Back at the sports centre it was vending machines only, but suitably drained of cash and refreshed I made my way to the pitch, where a small crowd, including a number of hoppers were in place to watch the game. One of the hoppers was indeed Hoddy from Crewe who I last heard had been to over 7,000 grounds worldwide, and more recently in Africa watching games in places that the British Government do not advise travelling to! 

As for the game, well like many taking place artificial pitches, it was entertaining with some good quality football played despite neither side pulling up any trees in the league this season. The visitors took the lead in the first half before the hosts found an equaliser.

Gregs scored a fantastic winning goal very late in the game from distance, and on balance of play was the least they deserved for their endeavours.

Terraces

So that was Belle Vue, but oh to have been there in the seventies watching Frankie Wainman and Stuart Smith battling for the World Championship. While I might not have seen it, I was fortunate to both read about it and hear about first hand from someone that was there. Maybe one day the two of us might make one more appearance at a stock car track, it seems an awful long time since we were at Brafield-on-the-Green.  

Atomic

Daten  7  Cheadle Town Reserves  2

Cheshire Football League – First Division

Stood at the bar in the Culcheth Sports Club, my curiosity was getting the better of me.

Firstly, where the hell did the resident football team’s name ‘Daten’ come from, and why were they nicknamed ‘The Atoms’?

The Daten

Apparently, the Sports Club in the Cheshire village located on the outskirts of Warrington, is also nicknamed ‘The Daten’, so, there was only one thing I could do, ask the bar staff.

“Department of Atomic Energy” – an acronym, because it appears the social club used to serve the government department that was located nearby in Risley. The site is no longer operational but the name has stuck. So mystery solved, and probably not a lot of people outside of Culcheth itself know the story of the name. Must remember that for when I next get invited to run a pub quiz….

What made me go to Nukesville then on May Day? Well Daten are looking nailed on to get promotion from the First Division of the Cheshire League, and with me being a completeist in terms of the Premier Division, it was an opportunity to get a visit in before they became a fully-fledged Step 7 club.

The Culcheth Expanses

Not only that though, they are also quite clearly an ambitious club because they applied for Step 6 football earlier in the campaign. Given the number of applicants who already operate at Step 7 from the same league, jumping ahead of them in the pecking order was always going to be unlikely, but you have to admire their intentions.

I must admit though, I went more in hope than expectation that the game would actually be taking place. Two days earlier the reserves of Cheadle Town were unable to raise a side for the away game at AFC Macclesfield, so did that bode well for them making an appearance on a sweltering Bank Holiday?

With Added Tennis Courts

I tried to make contact via phone and Twitter, but didn’t have any luck, however with a back-up plan at Ford Motors not too far away, I decided to gamble on it. Lo and behold, as I pulled into the large car park, two sets of players were busy warming up, we had a game!

Two wins from three games would see Daten win the title ahead of nearest challengers Egerton, while Cheadle sat next to bottom of the table, so to be fair I was expecting to see a home victory, but before I come onto the game, what about the facilities?

The ground is located very close to the centre of Culcheth, and consists of two full sized and railed pitches sitting next to the large Social Club. There was plenty of al-fresco drinking space available and on a beautiful day a decent sized crowd was gathering for a combination of refreshment and football. The social club is a very smart facility indeed, as you would expect of one that once served some of the finest nuclear boffins in the land, probably!

Match Action

The game went the way the form book suggested. By half time Daten were 4-0 up and coasting, and despite a couple of defensive lapses in the second period they went on to score three more goals. The best goal was the seventh effort which was a superb lob from inside their own half that beat the back peddling Cheadle goalkeeper and bounced perfectly into the back of the net.

I expect Daten to go on to wrap up the championship on Saturday when they take on West Didsbury & Chorlton Reserves at home. Bit how will they fare in the top flight? Pretty well I expect, and with facilities that have scope for development, certainly from a space perspective, maybe that dream of achieving Step 6 football might not be that far away.

The Crowd Gathers

The Borough of Warrington certainly has room for another team higher up the football pyramid, and with a clutch of local clubs in the Cheshire League vying for position as top dog, Daten have the potential, and are as well placed as anyone to make the step up.

As their profile raises and their progression gets noticed, they can expect a few more people asking the very same question I did. The Department of Atomic Energy in Cheshire might be set for a revival!

Charm Offensive

Swindon Town  3  Accrington Stanley  0

English Football League – League Two

“You smell nice, have you got a boyfriend?”

Welcome to Swindon, the home of some of the finest chat up lines known to man (and woman), the 

latest destination on my personal crusade to complete the 92.

I was minding my own business having a quiet pint in the beer garden of the County Ground Hotel, when up wandered a couple of lads, clearly benefiting from a combination of alcohol and marching powder. They asked if they could join me, to which I was more than happy of the company!

Their first observation was that I wasn’t from Swindon, so clearly I was from Accrington, but when I explained that I was actually from Derby, it rang alarm bells. Why?

I began to explain my quest of the 92, but one of them wasn’t having it, not one bit. I was a scout, a spy, something far more sinister even. I was doing his swede big style. So the questions started….

“Have you ever been to Carlisle?”

“What’s Northampton’s ground called?”

“Why are you not watching Derby today?”

“Who was Derby’s best signing in 2001?”

And finally

“If you we’re manager of Swindon Town, what would you do?”

One of the lads was very much on my side as I answered one banal question after another, the other chap, between resting his muddled head on the table, was struggling with the whole concept of my existence. I could have really thrown a spanner in the works by talking about non-league football, but I sensed the invitation I had got minutes earlier to spend the entire game with them in the Town End would have been withdrawn, and I didn’t want that….

Shrivenham Road Stand

I decided to fight fire with fire with the suspicious one, who at one point I suspected was looking for a rumble.

“Did you ever watch Swindon when they were Premier League?”

“What did you think of Glenn Hoddle when he was your Player Manager?”

And finally, the clincher…

“How many times have you watched Swindon play?”

Her paused for a second as the chemicals reacted, and gave me his reply.

“At least three times, possibly four, I’m not sure, I support Man United to be honest.”

The muddled one needed more liquid, so off he went, leaving me with the younger and more aware one. We chatted about both of our jobs when over wandered two women, both wearing boardroom passes round their necks.

“Do you mind if we join you?”

Now, two thoughts went through my mind, the first being…

“You really don’t know what you are about to let yourself in for”

And secondly…

“Thank you, this might be my get out of jail card!”

Back came the muddled one, and his attention immediately diverted to the younger and more attractive one, who was sat next to myself. It was at that point he uttered Swindon’s finest chat up line.

She replied, it appeared her boyfriend was indeed a member of the Accrington coaching staff, but that didn’t matter to our friend.

“So, what you are saying is that right now, your boyfriend isn’t here?”

The younger one, seeing what route this was clearly taking, decided to jump in.

“She’s got a boyfriend mate, he’s in the ground, just leave it.”

At this point I turned to the woman and explained I was nothing to do with the other two fellas, who by now were arguing. She laughed and told me exactly who her boyfriend was, and it wouldn’t be fair to name names, but suffice to say, if he had a one on one with Mr Muddle, there would only be one winner!

Main Stand

But, the lad’s attentions had been diverted, I could make my escape, which I did, to the bar, and I never went back, although as I walked back towards the ground, the ladies were still being serenaded and I had clearly been forgotten.

I’m not sure why it’s taken this long to get to Swindon Town, it’s only a couple of hours from home, but for some reason it’s just been one of those venues that I’ve never got round to.

The journey was uneventful, until of course I arrived at the famous Magic Roundabout which sits next to Swindon’s County Ground. I knew where I wanted to go, so came up with a plan that was more kamikaze than cunning! Just go, basically, in the general direction, like a German would, and it worked, three mini-roundabouts crossed without so much as an indication or a brake light.

Once in the ground on a baking hot day, I liked what I saw. Two similar two-tier seated stands on either side of the pitch, with the impressive travelling away fans in the bottom corner of what is effectively the main stand. I was behind the goal in the shallow seated Town End with the vocal element, while the open seated end opposite was closed off. They also had proper floodlight pylons, and I’m not sure how many of the 92 have them nowadays, but they are certainly becoming rarer.

Stanley had already won the Championship, Swindon had missed out on the Play-Offs, so it was a dead rubber. After Stanley created the better chances in the early stages, it was Swindon who took the lead through Marc Richards in the 14^th minutes.

Empty

It was 2-0 prior to the break, when the impressive Keshi Anderson scored in the 43^rd minute, but even that wasn’t enough to quieten the dissenting home support who poured vitriol on the home players and Manager Phil Brown for a season they considered to be a failure.

I mean, to run out at your home ground to be greeted by your hardcore support chanting “We’re f***ing shit!” at full volume can’t be either helpful or inspiring, can it?

The second half was not especially remarkable and it didn’t come as a huge shock when Paul Mullin got a third goal. Stanley were clearly thinking about the party they had planned, and fair play to them, it’s a remarkable story and John Coleman has done an incredible job to get them promoted. I was especially pleased for goalkeeper Aaron Chapman who I saw playing for Belper Town just prior to him going pro at Chesterfield, a great lad who’s dream has come true.

We then had a double sending off for a bout of handbags and shoving. Jimmy Dunne with a straight red for the visitors and then James Dunne with a second yellow for Swindon. Quiz question, how many times have two players with the same names been sent off in the same game, at the same time? I think I may have seen history!

At the final whistle I bolted for the car and was out of Dodge in double quick time. It had been a very enjoyable day, albeit a little bit bizarre.

I hope the two ladies found their way back to the boardroom safely, as for my two newly found friends, I daren't think what Saturday night was going to look like, assuming of course they actually managed to see it!

The Eclectic Town End

From Mission Impossible To Mission Accomplished

Marske United  3  North Shields  0

Northern League – First Division

It had been termed ‘Mission Impossible’.

After suffering an agonising FA Vase semi-final defeat to neighbours Stockton Town in March, the focus for Marske United was very much about the league, but it wasn’t going to be straightforward.

As their away game at Consett kicked off on the 27^th March, the club had a massive 18 games to play in 44 days, so effectively a game every other day. But, at that point, they had a significant number of points to claw back on Morpeth Town, so it wasn’t just about playing the games, it was about winning them as well. Surely an impossible task?

The GER Stadium

The Consett game finished goalless, but a victory over Morpeth in the next game was to be not only to be vital, but it also put down a marker in terms of their quality and their ambitions. The next eleven games saw eight victories, two draws and only one defeat. Second place was secured as was promotion to Step 4, but moving into May, with two games on consecutive nights, both at home, they had the chance to be within a whisker of leapfrogging Morpeth and clinching the coveted prize.

Near neighbours Guisborough Town were beaten 3-0 on the Wednesday, and then with North Shields coming to town on the Thursday evening, it was time for me to go and have a look. Four points were needed so Marske knew a victory over the side that ran South Shields close last season, would give them a great chance of taking the crown on their home turf the following Saturday when Newcastle Benfield were the visitors.

Corner Cover

Marske-by-the-Sea is, as you would expect by the name, a coastal village sat just South of Redcar. It’s an easy journey, picking up the A174 South of Middlesbrough and following the Whitby bound road past the huge Wilton Chemical Works, the previously mentioned Redcar, before taking a left at the roundabout. The ground is just past the railway station on the right hand side, and can be accessed from the housing estate upon which it is situated.

Arriving a good hour before the kick off, I opted to sample the Social Club at the ground which serves the wider Marske Sports Club. With a crowd of 300 turning up for the local derby the night previously, the hosts were hopeful of another good turnout, and the early signs from the numbers entering the bar were positive.

Out Of Bounds

Once through the turnstiles at the GER Stadium, you walk up some steps to the pitch level, and immediately to your left is a seated stand. The players enter the pitch at the end of the stand, having also climbed up from the dressing rooms below, while at the other side of the players entrance is a an area of cover that spans around twenty yards from the half way line. The only other cover on the ground is a very small shelter by one of the corner flags, while an area of open terracing sits to the right of the turnstile entrance.

The dugout side of the ground was out of bounds for safety reasons, while behind both goals it was flat hard standing. The pitch has suffered with the awful weather this season, but to be fair, it looked in decent shape considering that and the number of games that have been played on it in a short space of time.

Stands

A crowd of 218 was declared and after a cagey opening, it was Marske who took the lead in the 15^th minute when Shields gave the ball away in a crucial area of the pitch, which allowed Peter Bulmer to race clear and slot the ball home.

It was 2-0 in the 24^th minute when another error saw Mikey Roberts pick up the ball, neatly sidestep the goalkeeper and roll the ball into the empty net.

By half time you felt Marske had done enough for the three points, but at the back of your mind you did feel that if Shields were to get a goal, then playing against the tired legs of the hosts it could be a backs to the walls situation. To be fair to Shields they did start the second period purposefully, but some resolute defending and solid goalkeeping kept them out when they had chances.

It was game over in the 76^th minute though when James Fairley scored the best goal of the game. Despite being fouled, he kept his feet and curled the ball home from 25 yards. There was no way back now for Shields, and the strike was the 100^th league goal of the season for Marske.

Executive Boxes

You sensed at the final whistle that the players knew they had one hand on the crown that they had won previously in 2015. One point from four games was all it was now going to take, all bets, as they say, are off.

So, the Northern League provides two clubs to the Northern Premier League this season, and it was interesting reading in the programme some of the journeys they’ll be making next season. Yaxley and Wisbech stand out, but that is the price of progress I guess.

So Mission Impossible, has ended up being Mission Possible, and indeed by the time I’ve posted this it may well be a case of Mission Accomplished.

But however it’s termed, the 2017-18 season for Marske United Football Club will live very long in the memory.

Looking Seawards

Blue Cheese, Fairtrade & Football

Garstang  7  Vickerstown  1

West Lancashire League – Premier Division

It’s been a little bit frenetic in the North West this season.

The Football Association announced at the start of the current campaign that it would be creating an additional division at Step 6, as part of the North West Counties League, effectively creating a North and South division.

This has led to something of a scramble because with over a dozen places being made available, it was open season for aspiring clubs to make applications with a view to progression. Ground grading was clearly going to be a caveat, but whereas previously restrictions were put in place about final league positions and the numbers of team each feeder league could promote, that seems to have been relaxed.

A whole host of clubs ranging from Staffordshire all the way up to Cumbria have put their names in the hat, and from the West Lancashire League, which is one of the stronger and well respected competitions, they had three applicants.

Longridge Town were one, and that came as no surprise given their facilities and stated ambition, whereas Whitehaven Amateurs, who have previously played at Step 6 in the Northern League were another. A third application came from Garstang, a club that seems to have quietly gone about its business and developed an excellent infrastructure, great facilities and certainly appears very much 

entrenched in the community.

Sports Club

It’s not been an easy season for Garstang, and indeed Longridge Town for that matter, not so much on the field where Garstang are still in with a shout of the title, and Town are looking to cement a top three placing. The problems have been caused by the weather. Both clubs have had an unprecedented level of games postponed, especially at home, and consequently the months of April and May have been hectic to say the least.

But, with the weather set fair and an affirmative from the club, the time had arrived to brave Mottram Hill, the M60, the M62 and the M6 in search of the town famous for its blue cheese, the fact it was the self-declared ‘World’s First Fairtrade Town’, and, a former Britain in Bloom winner.

Nestled North of the M55, the first impressions of Garstang are that it looks a very nice place to live. 

Cars

The town centre is attractive and clean, and if you like your pubs, it was fill your boots time! It did strike me as a picturesque location that took immense pride in itself, and that was something that I soon realised extended to the football club.

The Riverside Ground is a mere five minute walk from the town centre, and shares its facilities with the cricket club. You can access it via the Sports Club car park, or indeed the High Street car park. 

The newly built pay hut is situated just off the High Street car park, and once through here the club have erected an area of cover to meet grading requirements, situated between the corner flag and the edge of the penalty area.

Hard standing then extends down behind the dug outs to the Sports Club end where the facility that also includes dressing rooms is located. The side to the East that runs parallel to the River Wyre is inaccessible, but the ground is fully enclosed by a green mesh fence.

Action

Of course it also has floodlights, and speaking to a club official it’s a ground that they have slowly developed over the years, with much of the funding being raised by the club itself. With an ambitious manager now at the helm and players who want to test themselves at a higher level, the club committee have backed them and have done the required work to achieve Step 6 status.

They also saw what neighbours Charnock Richard have achieved since moving into the North West 

Counties League, and quite rightly thought that they were capable of similar progression. Time of course will tell, but I see no reason why not, especially with future plans in place for continued ground development which includes a seated stand.

As for the game, well the team from the Isle of Walney managed to keep the hosts at bay for a large period of the first half, but then two Alan Coar goals before half time put Garstang in control.

Coar got his hat-trick just after the break before his brother Ric got in the act to make it 4-0. Vickerstown pulled a goal back with a great finish via a twenty yard volley, but the respite was only brief as Ryan Dodd scored twice and Jack Swindlehurst also found the net to leave the final score 7-1.

The New Stand

The result leaves Garstang a point behind leaders Blackpool Wren Rovers, with both sides having two games to play. Garstang face a home game with neighbouring Slyne with Hest and a trip to Tempest United, neither of which on paper look straightforward. Wren Rovers though on paper have it harder, with a trip to fourth placed Euxton Villa and a game against Longridge Town at a venue yet to be decided due to Town’s pitch. It could well be a very tight end of season, but to get promotion on the back of a Championship would be the perfect way to do it.

The future looks bright for Garstang Football Club, and having met a couple of the friendly club officials, it’s the least they deserve for their endeavours.

Looking East

Planes, Buses, Trains & Automobiles

Loughgall  3  Ballyclare Comrades  5

Northern Irish Championship

Pretty much all of the grounds in the top three tiers of Northern Ireland can be reached one way or another via public transport.

By definition then, that also means the odd one or two are a bit of a challenge. Dergview is one, as is Tobermore United, but the one that from my research was downright impossible was Loughgall.

To do it, you have to get yourself to either Portadown or Armagh, and then catch a bus, a bus that doesn’t operate on a Saturday! I was approaching from the Portadown end, and given it was nearly seven miles, walking wasn’t an option, and neither was hitch hiking. It was going to have to be a taxi, both ways.

But why visit Loughgall?

The Terraces

When I first started to watch football in the province, Loughgall were a top flight side, competing against the likes of Linfield and Glentoran, and from the images I’d seen, they had an impressive stadium, considering that Loughgall itself is a small village.

The clubs period in the top flight lasted three seasons. Starting in 2004-05 they finished twelfth, the following season they improved that slightly to eleventh, before finishing bottom in 2006-07 and being relegated to what was then the First Division, a tier they have remained in it’s a differing guises.

Where One Rests Ones Posterior

To put this into some sort of perspective, the village of Loughgall is home to just shy of 300 residents. To have achieved top flight football in Northern Ireland is quite an achievement, and to have got the facilities they have, is somewhat mind blowing.

The village of Loughgall has a place in the history of the Troubles in the North. In 1987 eight members of the Provisional IRA launched an attack on the RUC base, but they were intercepted by the SAS and all of the ‘Loughgall Martyrs’ were shot dead. The RUC base was right opposite the Lakeview home of the football club.

It Might Look Like A House, But.......

The day started well with a leisurely breakfast in Derry before a snoozy bus journey down to Belfast, followed by the train to Portadown along with some Coleraine fans who were en-route to their make or break title deciding clash at Glenavon.

Once in Portadown it was over to Joe Mac’s for some refreshment and some more food, before picking up a taxi to the village which sits to the West of Portadown. But not before the taxi driver took me for a ride along the Nationalist Garvaghy Road and up to the famous Drumcree Church.  A route that became headline news due to the banning of the Orange march in the mid-Nineties.

That Stand Again - It's Very Thin!

There was time for a quick one in the social club at Lakeview Park  before having a wander into the ground to survey the scenery.

What a cracking ground it is. You enter via the turnstiles behind the goal, and to your right is a two story building that houses the dressing rooms, the offices and also on the first floor what looks like a corporate area with a glass frontage and a balcony looking out over the pitch.

To the left is a covered area of terracing that spans the full length of the pitch, while in the middle of it is a small row of seats just before a segregation barrier appears, a requirement of the top flight days I would imagine.

Opposite the terrace is a seated stand, which straddles the halfway line, but is slightly unusual in the sense that it is just two rows of seats, one at the very back of the stand, with the second one quite a way below it attached to a much lower slung concrete step. I would hazard a guess it would seat about 200.

It's Not A Nightclub Either......

The area behind the far goal is out of bounds, but given the village location, it’s surrounded by some lovely scenic views, and of course on a sunny day as it was, there can’t be many better places in the province to watch football.

The game was effectively a dead rubber, with both sides making the ‘Promotion’ section after the league split, but neither in a position to finish in a position to challenge for the top flight. Institute have won the division and with Newry City grabbing the play-off spot, the game was all about pride.

Sometimes games like this can be dull and uneventful, but in this case it was far from it.

Comrades took the lead in the fourth minute via Gary Brown, but by the ten minute mark the scores were level when Gary Liggett netted from just six yards out for the hosts.

The visitors continued to press forward and regained the lead just prior to the half hour mark when Michael McQuitty showed great skill and improvisation when he flicked the ball into the net from six yards out despite having his back to goal.

Village Life

It was 3-1 ten minutes before half time when a break down the left saw the ball played tantalisingly across the face of the goal for Chris Middleton to make no mistake.

It became 4-1 just after the break when Brown scored via a one on one with the goalkeeper and soon it became five when Mark Kelly slotted home a penalty kick.

Loughgall didn’t give up though, two minutes after conceding the fifth goal, Nathaniel Ferris found the net from close range, and then with twenty minutes remaining, the same player got his second goal of the game.

A grandstand finish was promised, but it didn’t quite materialise. Ballyclare regained their composure and saw the game through to its conclusion without any further scares. It had been a great game of football, and a great way to finish a weekend of football.

A Thriving Junior Set Up

Back in Portadown there was time for a couple more latch-lifters at McKeevers before the train back to Belfast. It was a quiet night back in Belfast and a relatively early night, but that gave me the chance to make my way over to the Cathedral Quarter on Sunday and sample a couple of pubs that had been recommended, Bittles and the brilliant Duke of York with its collection of old football programmes decorating the walls.

Another fantastic trip, and really happy that I finally got to Loughgall. It might have taken a bit of work to find my way to Lakeview Park, but it was certainly worth it in the end!