Irlam 1-2 Atherton LR

Saturday 22nd March

NWCFL Division One

Attendance: 65

Admission: £5/£3

Irlam FC were formed in 1969 and they play their home games at Silver Street which consists of two stands. The grounds’ structures are all in one corner of the ground, behind the goal there is a small covered standing area and to the side of the pitch is a small seated stand. The turnstiles, changing rooms and refreshments are in that corner of the ground.

Stockport Sports were away at Barnoldswick and the day’s rain had put the game in doubt so Irlam was the day’s choice as they welcomed Atherton Laburnum Rovers to Silver Street. The admission at Irlam is £5 for adults and £3 for concessions which is the standard price at this level. On the turnstiles we picked up their programme, which is in parts very respectably presented but some of the cut and copy paste fixtures and results from the league website, doesn’t do the programme justice, and at the league standard of £1.50 it’s fair for the price. There is a nice refreshment cabin at Irlam, with some seating taken up by many of the fans due to the heavy hail.

The entertainment was very good at Irlam with both teams competing greatly for the ball in an end to end game. The hail and rain did make it difficult to enjoy but it made the pitch like the traditional non-league game. At half-time we sampled the food on offer, the Cornish pasty we had was great for the price at £1.30 along with that we had a 60p sausage roll. The prices for the food at Irlam is really reasonable.

There is a large amount of parking outside of the ground which catered fully for the crowd at the game and would cater well for the larger crowds throughout the season. The staff at Irlam are really friendly which always enhances the experience of the match. The admission/programme/pasty combo costs £7.80 at Irlam.

Price: 7.5pts

Programme: 7pts

Food: 9pts

Entertainment: 8pts

Parking: 4.5pts

Staff: 3pts

Facilities: 1pt

Total Score: 40pts

Match Pictures

Squires Gate 1-2 Stockport Sports

Saturday 15nd March

NWCFL Premier Division

Attendance: 42

Admission: £5/£3

Squires Gate were formed in 1948 and they play their home games at the Royal British Legion Stadium which consists of three main covered areas. Firstly behind the goal near the clubhouse and the changing rooms is a small seated stand, the other stands were long covered stands across the side of the pitch with one having more seating.

So it was another Stockport Sports away game, after two wins in the last two games there was somewhat an air of confidence with our trip to Squires Gate. The admission at Squires gate is £5 for adults and £3 for concessions which is the norm at this level. We grabbed a programme priced at £1.50 and went for a walk around the small ground. The ground seemed very low, maybe why so many balls were kicked over. There is a nice clubhouse at Squires Gate where we had a flick through the 28-page programme which maybe lacked some original content but it did include a lot of colour. We sampled the hot-food on offer in the clubhouse, so we asked the all-important question, ‘What hot-food do you have?’, the response of ‘hot dog or pies’. So not a huge variety considering they had just the one type of pie. The meat and potato pie was the food we sampled, honestly wouldn’t of known it was meat and potato unless they had told me. It was nice enough, definitely filled a hole and for £1.50 it wasn’t too bad.

 

The entertainment was of a good standard with Stockport Sports starting well from the off, scoring early on from Sam Pollard and then just before half-time through a header from Ben Halfacre. Squires Gate did get back into it just after break with a goal of their own but a scrappy second-half meant it resulted in a 3^rd consecutive 2-1 win for Stockport.

The parking outside the ground is great for the club, the car park catered for the amount of fans that turned up also facilities overall were pretty good at Squires Gate. The staff all around the ground seemed really friendly which always makes the game experience better. The admission/pie/programme combo costs £8 at Squires Gate.

Overall the visit to Squires Gate was a good one, a ground I’m glad I could get to this season and would happily come back soon to watch some football.

Price: 7.5pts

Programme: 6.5pts

Food: 6.5pts

Entertainment: 7.5pts

Parking: 5pts

Staff: 3pts

Facilities: 2pts

Total Score: 38pts

Match Pictures

Altrincham 2-1 Stalybridge Celtic

Tuesday 5^th March

Cheshire Senior Cup

Attendance: 186

Admission: £10/£5/£2

Altrincham FC were formed in 1891 and they play their home games at Moss Lane. The ground as 5 stands, the ‘Golf Road’ end which is a terrace stand behind the goal, the popular side terrace, the largest terrace which runs along the side of the stadium. There is also the away end behind the other goal which is an open terrace stand. Along the opposing side to the popular side there is the main stand and the family stand, which are both seated.

Altrincham were hosting Stalybridge in the Cheshire Senior cup so we weren’t expecting the overall experience which you get at a league game. A local game to us so we headed down, the admission was slightly reduced for all people. £10 is a good price considering both Altrincham and Celtic were playing a competitive side. We grabbed a ‘Robin’s Review’ which was just a couple of sheets of paper but there was no set price just a donation, so £1 was fair enough. It would be unfair to judge this as their programme, their normal programme is £2.50 and is a very good standard of programme.

The match was of a good standard, Altrincham took the lead in the first half and doubled it early in the second half. Stalybridge cut the deficit and Altrincham missed a penalty. The game was an extremely feisty affair with the Stalybridge manager being sent to the stands late on into the game.

At half time we picked up our chips but there was large queue for food, not because it was a busy game, no. There was no hot water so there was a backlog of fans waiting for their half-time Bovril. So after waiting all of half-time and missing the second goal we managed to get some chips. For £2 you got a fair portion but the chips are quite bland, the condiments were all out but the I can’t imagine the wait made it any better. The admission/programme/chips combo was £13 for this match whilst normally in the terrace for a home games its £17.50. The staff are really friendly around the ground, there is a large bar underneath the main stand and near that is a fairly large club shop selling a plethora of old programmes.

 

Overall the visit wasn’t the best, but having been previously on league match days, it’s not comparable. On league match days the atmosphere is great at Altrincham. So I would advise you to get down to Moss Lane, especially if they’re still playing  one of the local sides like Hyde or County. So we’ve judged it fairly on a normally experience as well.

 

Price: 6.5pts

Programme: 7pts

Food: 4pts

Entertainment: 8.5pts

Parking: 2.5pts

Staff: 3pts

Facilities: 2pts

Total Score: 33.5pts

Match Pictures

Atherton LR 2-1 Chadderton

Saturday 22nd February

NWCFL Division One

Attendance: 38

Admission: £5/£3

Atherton Laburnum Rovers were formed in 1956 and they play their home games at Crilly Park. The ground has 2 stands, the main seated stand at the side of the pitch behind the dugouts which is a large raised blue stand. Opposite to that is a small covered standing area.

So we were heading to Atherton. The Barnoldswick Town v Stockport Sports game was called off but the options were plentiful for another game; a 3 train trek from Hyde and Atherton Laburnum Rovers was the destination. £4.20 on the train, particularly cheap fare, but when getting into Atherton came the adventure as honestly, we didn’t know where we were going. Eventually we did find Crilly Park, 25 minutes after leaving station, (we realised on the way back to the station it was just around the corner). We got into the ground paid the admission usually £5 for adults, £2 for me with my NWCFL director’s pass, grabbed a Crilly Park Review and went for a little tour of the ground.  The admission is pretty standard at this level, £5 for adults, £3 for concessions and under 16’s. £3 seems a bit much for under 16’s though.  The programme is pretty good, a 24 page programme which decent content for £1. Early before kick-off, we picked up a Steak pie for £1.50 which was quite nice for the money it cost.

The entertainment available was of a good standard, the game started to be quite scrappy but the actual drama came late on into the game as Chadderton equalised in the 92^nd minute but Atherton managed a win with a 94^th minute win. At half time we picked up a cone of chip for £1 which were all right so the admission/programme/chips combo is £7 at Atherton. There was some parking just outside the ground and of course some good transport links with a bus going right past the ground and the train station just around the corner. The staff all around the ground were really friendly and the playing staff seemed really friendly people. There was a nice, large social club in the ground which was showing the sky football.

Overall the visit to Atherton LR was a long one, but one which was worth it, a really nice ground and backdrop to watch the match and I should be coming back soon. 

Price: 6.5pts

Programme: 7pts

Food: 7pts

Entertainment: 9pts

Parking: 2.5pts

Staff: 3pts

Facilities: 2pts

Overall: 37pts

Match Pictures

Droylsden 1-5 Ilkeston

Saturday 8^th February

Northern Premier League

Attendance: 136

Admission: £10/£6/£2 (Adults/Concessions/Under 16s)

As many matches fell victim to the weather, on Saturday came that time looking for any game in the local area. We were due to be going to the Winsford v Stockport Sports game but that got called off so I found myself on the way to Droylsden by Tram.

Droylsden were formed in 1892 and play in the Premier division of the Northern Premier League, with their home games being played at the Butcher’s Arms ground. The small ground has 3 stands, a seated stand housing the player’s facilities so the seats have a heightened view. The other two stands are terraces with the large terrace behind the goal sheltering the Ilkeston fans from the heavy rain and the small stand to the side housing some more of the fans. The attendance at the game was 136 with many of the fans coming from Ilkeston.

 

The admission at Droylsden was £10 for Adults, £6 for Concessions and £2 for Under 16’s which is average from what I’ve seen in this division and decent value especially for the children attending. The ground was close to the Droylsden tram stop making it an easy ground to get to. When we got into the ground we picked up one of the programmes which has some good content but it was hardly professional and lacked some colour but for £2 it wasn’t bad.  The game was entertaining enough with result pretty much pre-determined with Droylsden’s winless season. Ilkeston bossed the first half but for much of the second half Droylsden were much the better side.

At half-time we sampled the foods on offer and went for Chips which came (to us dreaded) cone but it was overflowing with chips so the portion size was nothing to complain about, they were average, they had the normal condiments of salt, ketchup and vinegar. The prices were good for chips at £1.50, whilst the pies were also £1.50. So the Admission/Programme/Chips combo in the ground is £13.50 which is very good for the things available, maybe as a home fan it would be hard to muster giving this money away each week when your team cannot win.

Overall the ground had character with a very big social club and the good value food makes the day all better, a pretty good day.

Price: 7.5pts

Programme: 6.5pts

Food: 7.5pts

Entertainment: 7.5pts

Parking 2pts

Staff: 2pts

Facilites: 2pts

Total Score: 35pts

Match Pictures

Kidderminster Harriers 0-0 Peterborough United

Saturday 4th January

FA Cup 3rd Round

Attendance: 3,800

Admission: £14/£5 - Adults/Children (Terrace)

As a non-league supporter I have supported non-league clubs in the FA Cup such as Altrincham in their campaign last season but today was a different experience, being amongst the Peterborough fans when they visited Skrill Premier side Kidderminster Harriers.

Kidderminster Harriers, formed 1886 play in the Skrill Premier and their home is at Aggborough which is a 6,250 capacity with two seated stands along the lengths of the pitch and two terraces behind both goals. The Peterborough fans were placed in the South Stand terrace with some seated in the East Stand, with around 800 making the journey across to Kidderminster.

The admission in the terrace was £14 for Adults and £5 for children, which was no increase from their league prices so it’s pretty good value for when a league side but maybe less so in the league games. Around there ground there is large amounts of parking though it was quite expensive but it was good to see it facilitate for the large crowd at the game.  When we got in the ground we picked up ‘The Harriers’, the match programme on offer at Aggborough, the professional programme with good content but some mistakes when it came to the Peterborough line up. There were many adverts but the 52 paged programme is good value at £3 and on par with all the football league programmes.

The game itself was very entertaining despite the misleading 0-0 result may suggest, there was a near full crowd and a good atmosphere from both supporters.

At half-time we sampled the food at Aggborough. We went for the ‘Famous Aggborough’ which is loved by all except I didn’t like it. It was so hot so whilst waiting for it too cool down it had skin growing on top. We went back got a pie and they were out of the Cottage pie so we went to a Cheese, Onion and Potato. It was nice  and massive but because of the size it becomes boring after a while. For the size £4 is good but I would much rather a pie half the size at £2. So the Admission/Programme/Pie combo in the terrace is £21 which was very good for the entertaining game and the calibre of the away side in comparison to their normal league games.

Overall a nice ground but there didn’t seem to be anything special to this day out and famous food was quite disappointing.

Price: 7pts
Programme: 6.5pts
Food: 6.5pts
Entertainment: 8.5pts
Parking: 3pts
Staff: 1.5pts
Facilities: 1pt

Total Score: 34pts

Stadium Pictures

Trafford 3-3 Witton Albion

Saturday 28^th December

Northern Premier League

Attendance: 234

Admission: £8 Adults / £5 Concessions

 

Trafford FC welcomed Witton Albion to Shawe View in the Northern Premier League. Both sides are flirting with relegation danger in the league, it was going to be an entertaining affair. Trafford FC, formed in 1990, play their home games at Shawe Lane. The ground is made of 3 covered stands. Two of them are seated stands along the length of the pitch, the main stand housing the refreshments and bar and opposing that is the other seated stand with small section of standing behind the seats. Behind the goals there is a covered terrace and an open end. Trafford gained promotion last season through the play-offs after beating Cammell Laird in the final.

The admission at Trafford is £8 for Adults, £5 for Concessions, £2 for Under 18’s and free for Under 12’s which is very reasonable for the league and the quality of the teams. There were many kids at the match a true reflection of the value for Under 18’s. There is a large car park directly outside the turnstiles to the ground.  After getting into the ground I parted with more cash buying a ‘Trafford Review’ and a golden goal ticket. The programme offered a lot of information across the Northern Premier League, premier and northern division and also the NWCFL. It also gives good detail on the playing squad of both teams and also has the match reports from previous games. It maybe lacked colour in the programme as it is primarily black and white. There was a large group of vocal Witton Albion fans who had made the trip.

 

The game was very much end to end, Witton opened the scoring 5 minutes in, messing up my golden goal of 49 minutes, the rest of the first half was even throughout. The action came in the second half as Trafford levelled the match up a few minutes in. Witton took control of the match after that and inevitable came when they went 2-1 up and that looked to be the winner until the 87^th minute when Trafford equlised and just minutes later Trafford took the lead for the first time in the match. It didn’t end there. Witton with the last attack of the game equalised to end the game 3-3.

At half-time we sampled the food on offer at Trafford. We went for the burger, parting £2.50 for Cheeseburger with onions, a nice burger; the value for other things such as cans was good, at 60p. We decided against having a pie. So the Admission/Programme/Burger combo costs £12.50 at Trafford which is pretty good value especially for the entertaining match on offer.

Overall it was a great game to watch, with good value food and admission. The programme was good and overall it was a good overall experience.

Price: 8pts

Programme: 7pts

Food: 7pts

Entertainment: 9pts

Parking: 4.5pts

Staff: 2.5pts

Facilities: 1.5pts

Total Score: 39.5pts

Match Pictures

Ashton United 2-1 FC United Of Manchester

Thursday 26th December

Northern Premier League

Attendance: 1,008

Admission: £9 (Adults)/£6 (Concessions)

Boxing Day was upon us, the football derby day, and Ashton United welcomed FC United Of Manchester to Hurst Cross, in what was definitely an entertaining game. Ashton United, nicknamed The Robins were formed in 1878 and they ply their trade in the Northern Premier League, premier division. They play their home games at Hurst Cross in Ashton-Under-Lyne and managed a 10^th place finish in the league last season. Hurst Cross is made of 4 main sections, one seated stand to the side of the pitch and opposite that was the large covered terrace which housed much of the visiting fans for the match. Behind one goal was a large open terrace stand and opposing that was a curved terrace where the refreshments were.

This match was a very attractive affair for us to do an ‘Away Chips’, short trip, new ground and a largely supported visiting team. The admission was £9 for adults which seemed very reasonable but it was £6 for concessions, so U16’s pay £6 which seems very expensive, especially in non-league where they should be trying to attract more younger fans to come along. There was a small amount of parking directly outside of the ground and not far from the ground there was many cars parked along a long road, just minutes away. With an average crowd there would be an adequate amount of parking but there was an extremely large attendance for the match. We picked up a programme from those selling them outside the ground and the ‘We are United’ programme is pretty good, giving a good insight about the visiting team and has a lot of content looking back at previous matches with pictures and also general football columns and for £2 it’s not bad value. The ground has a nice charm and it’s a very traditional looking ground which is great for taking pictures, and after a walk around the ground we headed into the club shop, which had loads of old programmes on sale and Ashton merchandise and the person running the shop was very friendly. There was a very good atmosphere building in the ground with many of the FC United fans watching the Manchester United game in the clubhouse prior to the match and the match winner was greeted with a very loud celebration heard from the other side of the stadium. Ashton United have had an average attendance of around 150 this season but this match attracted just over 1000 people and the FC United faithful in the terrace where vocal throughout the game.

 

The game was a very even affair with chances for both sides and it was FC United’s keeper Ed Wilczynski’s saves that denied Ashton opening the scoring. As the game was approaching half-time we decided to grab something to eat. The opener came from the visitors through Michael Norton. The queue was considerable in length and it took 40 minutes before parting with £3.10 for pie and chips. The steak pie we had was nice enough and the chips were great for £1.50, they were better than most that we’ve had this season but nonetheless 40 minutes is way too long to wait for pie and chips. Supposedly they usually have more food and drink outlets open but being a bank holiday they weren’t and considering the crowd size, it had a huge effect. The second half saw Ashton take more control of the game and they equalised through a Gary Gee penalty after Tom Davies was sent off for handling on the line. Ashton’s pressure paid off after they found a winner on 82 minutes as Dale Johnson poked home after the visitors failed to clear. It ended 2-1 and it was a very entertaining game. The Admission/Programme/Chips combo at Ashton United for adults cost £12.50 which for the overall match is very good.

Overall Ashton United was a good visit with an entertaining match. It’s been a while since we’ve had chips so that’s a plus. Hurst Cross is a great ground for a match and the atmosphere was brilliant adding to the game.

 

Price: 5pts

Programme: 8pts

Food: 6.5pts

Entertainment: 9pts

Parking: 3pts

Staff: 2.5pts

Facilities: 2pts

Total Score: 36pts

Match Pictures

Knutsford 1-1 Rylands

Saturday 21^st December

Cheshire Football League

Attendance: 30 (Head Count)

Admission: £2 – Adults / £1 – Concessions

Knutsford FC were founded 1888 and currently play in the Cheshire football league and they are the current champions of the division.

The admission at Knutsford was £2 for Adults and £1 for concessions which is the lowest for any of the football matches we have attended this season, very much good value. We picked up our 50p programme, small in content but you pay for you get and it tells you all the current league details that you need to know especially as a neutral which makes it a worthy buy. The facilities on offer were of a good standard, there is just the one covered stand at the side of the pitch but there are many chairs placed a points in the ground. There is a very nice clubhouse which has media reports and other interesting things placed on the wall. The area where the refreshments were provided was very nicely set up and so the pie was the first item on the ‘to do’ list. The steak pie was very nice and priced at £1.70, good value as well. Also on offer were chocolate, crisps and various drinks, all at reasonable prices.

 

The Admission/Programme/Pie combo costs just £4.20 at Knutsford, the lowest of the season for us and well worth the cost considering the entertainment on offer. Rylands FC, from Warrington, were the visitors and it was end to end throughout with both sides having some good build-up play but they were unable to finish. The game’s two goals came in the last 5 minutes of normal time as Knutsford took the lead, just 2 minutes later Rylands equalised through a mix-up in the defence, overall a good game. Nearby parking was aplenty, and the staff were extremely friendly in the ground.

This ground was great to see, nice facilities especially the clubhouse, great admission prices for the entertainment. Definitely worth a visit for the groundhoppers and would happily come back again for a match.

Price: 8pts

Programme: 6pts

Food: 8pts

Entertainment: 9pts

Parking: 5pts

Staff: 3pts

Facilities: 1.5pts

 

Total Score: 40.5pts

Match Pictures