Train ticket from Manchester: £4.10
Entrance: £5
Programme £1
Teas (x2): £2
Raffle: £1
i Newspaper: 30p
Total: £13.40
So finally the competitive season had begun, and I'd opted for Atherton (which sits just west of Manchester, near to Leigh and Wigan) to kick it off. This was the home of two NWCL teams - Atherton Collieries and Atherton Laburnum Rovers - who apparently shared a fierce rivalry, and it was not far from what used to be Leigh RMI (or Leigh Genesis). Atherton Collieries was also the ground where the immortal phrase - 'the brown sauce is off' - was coined, forming the title for Mike Blackstone's seminal book on North-West grounds in the 2003-04 season. So this felt like a good place to start the season!
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Atherton is fairly accessible by rail, and the station is a convenient distance from both grounds. I was just about able to get a snap of the empty Atherton LR ground before looping back round towards the Collieries ground. On the way to the ground I passed a locksmith training centre, a sofa hypermarket, and a shop window with two lizards sitting on a branch - this was certainly beyond my expectations of what might be in the town! The ground itself was pretty much what I expected, with an uncovered walkway behind both goals, and a smattering of seats on either side. There can only have been a score of spectators as I entered the turnstiles, though the number did increase as we approached kick off.
The match was entertaining, rough and aggressive, and probably typical of this league. On 8 minutes, a back pass from Atherton's number 8 fell short, and Irlam's Iniesta lookalike rounded the keeper and slotted home to give the home side the lead. The game continued at a fast pace, with plenty of 'over-zealous' tackles flying in. Atherton equalised on 36 minutes, when an excellent free-kick by their number 11 flew into the net.
Shortly after, Irlam's wiry number 10 reacted badly to a late tackle, putting his studs down the player's leg - I wouldn't call it a stamp, but it was uncalled for. An Atherton 'fan' made his views known about the offending Irlam player, using what is best described as industrial language. At this point, the player's father shouted angrily from the back of the stand, but the 'fan' took no notice, and continued his tirade against anything and everyone. As the game continued, both stood next to each other muttering all sorts of unrepeatables, before the Atherton 'fan' decided it would be a good idea to attack the player's father (apparently for having the gaul to defend his son). They stood grappling with each other for a couple of minutes, and it took several calls before they separated. I'd not seen this kind of behaviour at such low-key games like this before! There was still a game going on here - Atherton's number 6 made it 2-1 with a well-taken penalty.
The second half was as frenetic as the first Atherton were really testing the Irlam defence now, with number 11 hitting a stinging short just wide, and number 10 hitting the post. They made it 3-1 on 67 minutes with a headed goal before Irlam's number 5 gave the away side hope at 3-2. Atherton then scored a second penalty, this time taken by number 7, to reassert their 2-goal cushion. Shortly after, Atherton's number 7 was taken down inside the box to give penalty number 3 to the home side! This time it resulted in a red card. Maybe the home striker was feeling sorry for poor Irlam, as he hit the ball straight down the middle only to see it bounce off the keeper's toes. Unbelievably, I then heard a distinct call from the sidelines of 'keep your discipline to the end'. This had been an exciting and competitive match, but it was certainly not a disciplined one. Maybe the new season had filled both teams with enthusiasm to tackle anything which moved, and to maybe be 'better late than never'.
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