Manchester-Flixton train ticket: £5-80
Ciabattas: 80p
Chewing gum: 50p
Entrance: £5
Tea x2: £2
Total: £14-10
Flixton is one of a cluster of clubs in the West side of Manchester which border the M60. These include Irlam (which I’d visited a few weeks previously), and Trafford (where I’d been on a cold January evening in 2009). Technically, the full title of the club is Northwich Flixton Villa, as they are a number of clubs who have sprung up after the demise of Northwich Victoria (at least in their present form). I’m sure there is a book to be written about the history of non-league football in Northwich, which seems to have had a colourful history in recent years.
Tonight’s game was accessible via the same Northern Rail service I had caught to Irlam. After a wander around the vicinity, and discovering the ferry route across the Manchester Ship Canal, I headed to the ground to try and get a photo in the light. This was primarily because my iPod and camera phone seem incapable of taking decent photos at night! The turnstiles weren’t open so I headed into the bar for a cup of tea. I soon parted with £5 for entrance, and wandered out through the doors from the bar into the ground. This was a nice set-up. The bar/office building had a balcony on the first-floor, and further up to the right was a small stand of blue seats. The changing rooms were on the far side, where I found a couple of classic signs from past eras.
As kick-off approached, there was a steady hustle and bustle as more spectators arrived. Everyone seemed to know everyone else, which gave a real sense of community, refreshing to see these days. Northwich were currently near the foot of the table, while Hanley looked like they would be pushing for promotion, so this could be a tough night for the home side. However, they completely defied expectations, and started the game at an astonishing pace, which seemed to catch the team from Stoke off guard. Jonathan Poizer up-front was at the centre of a lot of the action, having a volley deflected wide early on, before opening the scoring after the away keeper mis-controlled the ball in his area. This put the cat among the pigeons (always ideal for the neutral) and Hanley (playing in blue) barely registered a shot, with the best one a snap volley from number 8 flying wide. The pace slowed up ever so slightly after the goal, and there were a lot of high and long balls. On one occasion, the ball arched over the balcony outside the club-house, and I couldn’t quite catch it. Almost immediately, a cheeky chap above shouted ‘You can’t try for keeper, but we are looking for a right-back!’. Back on the pitch, Hanley grabbed an equaliser almost from nothing when a simple cross caused havoc in the home box, and 7 headed in.
1-1 at half-time, which was quite unfair on the home side. Their bad luck continued after the break when an unfortunate Northwich left-back miscued a clearance and sliced the ball into his own net. Suddenly all their hard work from the first-half had been undone in the space of 5 minutes. This lot were a spirited side though, and grabbed an equaliser when Yousef (number 4) looked like he had taken too many touches before slotting home. Hanley didn’t look all that much better now, and the biggest threat they posed was a vague penalty shout (for hand-ball I think) late on. Northwich nearly took the lead when a dipping cross dropped just underneath the cross-bar, only to force a superb tip from the away keeper. At this point, I had to leave for my train back to Sheffield, and was disappointed to learn that Hanley had won this 3-2, thanks to a 90th minute goal from Josh Hall. For all their endeavours and fine efforts, Northwich had just come up short against a slightly sharper team in the shooting department. If the home side continue to play like this, they should get goals, and can take great confidence from this gritty and determined display, even if the result didn’t go their way. My trip back to Sheffield was smooth until Piccadilly, where I had to wait for longer than expected due to the trains being packed full of Wednesday fans. They had been thrashed 7-0 at Manchester City in the League Cup. Chins up Northwich – it could be a lot worse!
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