Bus (Manchester-Nelson) = £9
iPaper = 40p
Raffle = £1
Programme = £1
Entrance = £5
Tea = 60p
Total = £17
Located just North of Burnley, Colne is one of the trickiest grounds I planned to visit this year. There is a train station, but even direct from Manchester this would involve a couple of changes, According to a friend in the rail industry, the absence of a direct Manchester-Burnley train line is frequently a point of debate, particularly as Burnley itself has two rail stations. So, today I opted to catch the wonderfully named ‘Witchway’ X43 to Nelson, which at £9 was considerably cheaper and quicker than braving the branch line to Colne. On the hour and a half’s ride from Manchester to Nelson, I got a real sense of reaching the furthest reaches of Lancashire as we rode through Rawstenall and Rossendale. I’d picked a sunny and clear day to make this trek so it proved to be a scenic ride through a string of Lancashire towns with stone houses and cobbled yards. I arrived at Nelson at about 1.30, which gave me plenty of time to make the 3-4 mile walk to Colne, which was even further up the road. The two towns seem to merge together, though I’m sure the locals would argue there is a clear dividing line!
Colne’s stadium is located on Harrison Drive, at the end of a cul-de-sac and up a hill, and set against some impressive scenery with a view across the town and nearby moors. Technically the ground was called the XLCR stadium for sponsorship reasons but I prefer to refer to it as Harrison Drive. After all, the road name is unlikely to change for years to come, whereas sponsorship deals come and go. As expected, entry was £5, and I wandered around the ground taking photos, before settling down in the main stand for a well-deserved sit-down. The ground had covered terraces behind the near goal, and a long sweeping stand to the right, with the rest uncovered and open to the elements. The nicest feature was what looked like a huge stone bench on the far side, where one man and his dog sat surveying the players as they warmed up.
Today’s teams were separated by 5 points in mid-table, with Colne just above Stockport in the NWCFL Premier Division. Neither team had anything to play for, but you wouldn’t have known that from the game. Colne opened the scoring inside 7 minutes, with a scuffed shot from Barski. Shortly after, the Colne goalkeeper put himself under pressure when he tried to dummy and shimmy a back-pass round an oncoming striker – he just got it away on time! Stockport edged back into the game, with Halfacre having a side footed shot saved, before the home keeper pawed away a free-kick heading for the top corner. Barski could and perhaps should have made it 2-0 when he rounded the away keeper and could only slide it agonisingly wide from close range. Half-time arrived, and I wandered around for some more pictures, and enjoyed the music on the PA system – ‘Hey Baby’, ‘Rock DJ’ and ‘Mambo Number 5’.
The game re-started fiercely, and some contentious tackles went flying in. A rough two-footed tackle from Stockport’s Tom Bane brought a furious reaction from the Colne right-winger, who literally stamped his feet on the ground like a toddler having a tantrum. The referee hadn’t looked like he would react to the incident until this, but when he spoke to his linesman, he handed the unfortunate full-back a straight red. While he had gone in high and with two feet, I don’t think it was a straight red. I think the decision was reached because of an earlier incident when he had been warned in the first half. An even game now turned in Colne’s favour, and they doubled the lead on 53 minutes with a curling free-kick from Chris Anderson. The vocal home crowd (the Red Army) were relaxing now, and some hilarious chants came from the terraces – in reference to their right-winger, and to the tune of ‘He’s Got the Whole World’, they sang ‘He’s got a pineapple on his head’. I had to crack a smile as I still struggle to understand why current haircuts leave so much hair uncut!
Stockport looked dead and buried, but got a lifeline on 66 minutes, when Crowe rifled in a superb free-kick hit with pace. This set the game alight again, and Stockport had a spell of unlikely pressure. Incredibly, they levelled when Walley headed in after a cross from Crowe caused chaos in the home penalty area. It was anyone’s game now. Just as Stockport looked like they had got back into it, they were reduced to 9 men when Jordan Young was red-carded on 82 minutes. He’d shoulder-barged a player in what looked like an innocuous challenge, but some mouthing off at the referee resulted in a punishment for dissent. Colne took charge, and were rewarded with a penalty in the last minute of the game, which was coolly converted by Berwick to make it 3-2. My long journey had been rewarded with a great ground and an open and unpredictable game of football. A sprint to Nelson bus station, and I made the 17.27 back to Manchester. I even discovered that the ‘Witchway’ bus service has free wifi on board – a sign read ‘Free wifi on this bus…you won’t get that on a broomstick’!
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