Ramsbottom United (22-11-2014)

Ramsbottom United 3 - 1 Grantham Town, Saturday 22 November 2014

Manchester Metro ticket = £5
Toilet at Bury = 20p
Tea = 70p
Entrance = £9
Bus (Ramsbottom-Bury) = £3-80
Total = £18-70

On a potentially wet day in November, I headed off for Darwen's ground - another 'difficult to do' one worth a crack as winter approached. I was wary of postponements and kept a close eye on the Twitter feeds for the NWCFL and the club themselves. And lo and behold the FA Vase game at Darwen had been called off. Fortunately I had come prepared with alternatives, and as the train pulled into the edifice of Piccadilly, I decided to make a punt on Ramsbottom United. Sitting just north of Bury, I established that I could catch a tram out and walk/bus it from there. Irritatingly I had to catch the tram to Bury from Market Street, perhaps the busiest tram stop in Manchester. As the tram trundled through the streets and gradually cleared the city, I began to relax and look forward to today.

Arriving at Bury, I had to quickly see a man about a dog (paying 20p for the privilege) before setting off on a quick march to 'Rammy' as it is affectionately known. This must have taken just over an hour to walk, with the non-descript grey housing of Bury giving way to some glorious Lancashire countryside. This was a great time of year to visit as the Autumnal colours lent a certain rich tint to the fields and hills up to the town.

Ramsbottom is something of a non-league hoppers' favourite, and I can see why. Nestled alongside a railway line for a steam engine, and in the shadow of a nearby moor, this had a classic feel about it. As I have done so many NWCFL clubs recently, I completely forgot that this was actually an Evostik Premier match, until the £9 at the turnstile sent me a clear message! I then opted for an excellent cup of tea in the club-house to the right of the turnstile, served in a china mug with the club's emblem on the side.

It must have been a long trip for Grantham today, but they out-did themselves in the first half. I was particularly impressed by the accurate passing of the midfield and strikeforce, who had an early penalty shout when 6 went down in the box. On 11 minutes (according to my watch), Grantham's 10 had a free header which he planted centrally into the goal to make it 1-0. Ramsbottom looked like a decent side trying to get out, and created chances of their own when 11 fired wide with his left foot, and 10 had a one-on-one shot well-saved. Despite the vociferous support of the home crowd, Grantham went in at half-time a goal up.

After the break, it was pretty clear that Ramsbottom had received a clear message from their manager! They were all over Grantham, who were beginning to flag and display weaknesses in defence. The home side's 10 fired over from the left wing, before their right-back made it 1-1 on 53 minutes. I now got the impression that this was Ramsbottom's to lose. In the midst of all this pressure from the home side, one of the Grantham central defenders burped, and said 'excuse me'! I wonder what he had eaten as a half-time snack?! As predicted, 'Rammy' took the lead on 64 minutes with a goal from number 9, before 4 had a shot saved, and 10 fired wide again (clearly not his day). On 90 minutes one of the Ramsbottom subs (15) made it 3-1, and the home side then earned a penalty when 14 was scythed down in the area. Somehow their number 9 contrived to plant the shot onto the bar. Either way it didn't matter, and Ramsbottom were excellent value for their win. Grantham's solitary second-half chance came when 2 had a shot which flew just wide.

On the way back, I decided to catch the bus back to Bury, and was shocked at the rather steep £3-80 fare. Nonetheless it saved my tired legs, and although I had to share a busy tram with crowds of Bury FC fans, I made it back to Manchester (and Sheffield thereafter) at a reasonable time.

Nelson (08-11-2014)

Nelson 2 - 1 AFC Liverpool (NWCFL Premier), Saturday 8th November 2014

Bus (Manchester-Nelson) = £9
Toilet at Nelson bus station = 20p
Entry = £6
Programme = £1-50
Tea x2 = £2
Bovril = £1
Total = £19-70

Today's game pitted Reds (Liverpool) vs Blues, with a photo of Joe Fagan on the programme cover. No, this time I wasn't at Anfield, but Victoria Park in Nelson, just north of Burnley. Nelson have the honour of being on my 'difficult to do' list (at least from Sheffield), so I'd decided to take advantage of the reasonable weather to do this one. Despite wet weather forecast over in Sheffield, I'd noticed several encouraging Tweets from Nelson saying the game was definitely on. What did we do before social media?!

As with Colne and Padiham, I travelled up on the X43 from Manchester, far quicker than any equivalent train journey would be. Nelson itself has a fairly modern bus station, and a few rows of bustling shops, including one called the 'sweet centre', with some attractive and colourful confectionery on display. I wandered down the streets until I found the road down to the ground - actually this was a cul-de-sac, but there was a footpath at the end which ran under the M65 and brought me out near Victoria Park. This ground was nestled behind a couple of rows of beautiful stone houses, with a footpath running towards the entrance to the ground. At the turnstile I handed over £6 entry - it seems that a lot of clubs in the NWCFL now charge this level of fee, while some I've visited only require £3-£4. It's the small things that matter!

The ground was a real contrast to the compact terraces of Colne's Harrison Drive, with a general impression of an expanse of grass with a football pitch in the middle. I'd entered behind one of the goals, and to the left were the aforementioned stone houses, which seemed to pretty much open out onto the ground. The area in front of them was cordoned off, presumably for the new Joe Fagan stand which the club are hoping to construct. At the far end on the left were the changing rooms and to my right was a green stand with 5 or so rows of seating, plus some short terracing too. After a cup of tea from the refreshment hut and observing the minute's silence, I took up my place towards the end Liverpool were attacking. AFC Liverpool that is! They had been founded in 2008 by some disillusioned Anfield fans, and had done reasonably well in the NWCFL set-up in recent times. Liverpool were 4 points ahead of Nelson in what looked like a packed cluster of clubs in the Premier division.

The game was generally well-matched, with waves of possession and dominance for both sides. Liverpool's 11 had a soft early shot saved, and then Nelson took the lead when Peter Wright curled a great shot to the keeper's right (I had considered an awful pun here but thought better of it!). Inside 14 minutes, Liverpool were level when a speculative low cross was somehow flicked goalward by Jake Sinnott. This goes to underline the importance of getting shots away no matter the situation. Despite the set-back, Nelson looked the better of the two sides, and far more organised, playing and defending as a unit. I was particularly impressed with the passing and communication between midfield and defence. There weren't many more chances before the break, with a solitary header wide from Liverpool's 14 the only real one to speak of. The game was being increasingly contested in a busy midfield, where tackles began flying in.

Half-time, and after a bovril to keep warm, I took up my place next to the 'tunnel', behind the goal being attacked by Nelson. The first thing I noticed was that the Liverpool keeper was wearing a green t-shirt with a club emblem on the front, but no number on the back! He honestly looked like a spectator who'd fancied a go in the nets. Then the game was halted for 5 minutes whilst the referee asked for the goal-net to be re-attached to the bar - this was fixed by a chap standing on a chair with a piece of string!

Once underway, a physical battle resumed in midfield, and Nelson began to slowly dominate proceedings. A fantastic first time volley from Nelson's 8 (think Mark Hughes vs Barcelona!) was tipped around the post by the away keeper. Then 10 somehow contrived to scoop a shot wide after a neat interchange in the box, and 11 had a snap shot saved. This looked like it could be a frustrating one for the home side. Nelson's 8 (who was the absolute dynamo of the whole team) then had a free-kick deflected by the wall, which then looped onto the cross-bar. It reminded me of clips of the West Germany goal vs England in Italia '90. Nelson finally took the lead on 83 minutes when a low cross rebounded off George Melling, who literally stood there and watched as the ball hit him and rolled in. He seemed somewhat perplexed as the ball had flown in so fast that he didn't have time to react. Liverpool carried some counter-attacking threat in the second-half, but I didn't record many shots other than when 9 went through, only to have a rolling shot cleared away. Liverpool's keeper saved another free-kick, proving he was actually supposed to be on the pitch, but he couldn't save his team from a 2-1 defeat. The 'real' Liverpool had lost 2-1 as well, but I have to say that I preferred this rather laid-back and friendly ground to Anfield. By the time I left the ground, it was pretty much dark, and with leaves underfoot, I had a feeling that winter was on the way...

Market Drayton (01-11-2014)

Market Drayton 2 - 2 King's Lynn (FA Trophy 1st Qualifying Round), Saturday 1st November 2014

Train ticket (Stockport-Stoke) = £12-70
Bus (Stoke-Market Drayton) = £6-20
Entrance = £7
Programme = £2
Tea = £1
Total = £28-90

Around 18 months ago, I very nearly came to see King's Lynn against Market Drayton, but instead managed to get away tickets for Newcastle-Liverpool (where the away side won 6-0 in a precursor to the 2013-14 season). By complete coincidence, today's game also coincided with the repeat fixture at St James Park. Today I'd opted for the long trip to Shropshire instead to see my first King's Lynn away of the season. I absolutely love these away games in the FA competitions, and have happy memories of early qualifying rounds when we used to be drawn away - Maldon (2004/05), Banbury (2005/06), Tring Athletic (2006/07) and Lincoln United (2007/08). This was another tricky ground to do, so I was delighted to be able to double this one up with a King's Lynn away.

Market Drayton sits in an awkward location from a public transport point of view, nestled between Stoke, Shrewsbury, Stoke and Telford. From the East of the Pennines, this is probably best-reached via Stockport. Again maximising my season ticket, I changed trains at Stockport and arrived at Stoke just after 12, in time for the 12.20 bus out to the town. The ride was along winding country lanes, and its a good thing I'm not a queasy traveller as it was quite a bumpy ride at times! I arrived at Market Drayton just after 1pm, and went for a wander round the town. This was obviously a quiet market town, with not much going on, though I did find an impressive church when walking down a back street. After deciding there wasn't much worth seeing in the town I headed for the ground - Greenfields. This was buried at the back of a lane which led to a rugby ground, tennis club and finally the football ground on the right. This was a curious ground, with the turnstile/entrance, an entire stand and the dug-outs made from wood. This was well-crafted and must be designed to be long-lasting, so I have to take my hat off to the carpenter who put it all together.

Today's game should be a straightforward win for King's Lynn, who are a league higher - on paper that is. King's Lynn definitely started more strongly, with Jackson Ramm cutting inside before having his shot smothered by the home keeper. Thomson then missed a sitter, while Dan Quigley combined with Spriggs in a smart move. Market Drayton's tactic was clearly to counter-attack, and they did this effectively on several occasions. It was to the delight of the home crowd that they took the lead when Askey made it 1-0 on 18 minutes. The away side continued to pour towards the home goal, and shots rained in from Bridges and Thomson, who rattled the post with one effort. Market Drayton's best chance came when O'Reilly hit a volley wide. We then had an offside goal disallowed, and Thomson missed when clean through. Maybe this wasn't going to be our day? This feeling was reinforced when we won a penalty at the end of the first half, only for Thomson to have hits shot well-saved by the home keeper.

King's Lynn started the second half again full of aggressive attacking. Spriggs, then Jones, had shots saved early on, and it seemed as though the match might turn shortly. Again, against the run of play, the home side doubled their lead after some nifty footwork from Joe Wolley allowed him to slot in. King's Lynn looked fired up for it now, but Market Drayton were clearly determined to hold the lead and pull off a shock. King's Lynn's 10 again hit over from close range, Frew hit another shot straight at the keeper, while Smith had a header over. Both defences looked completely ragged at this point, and the game was clearly there for the taking. But we just couldn't score! Frew, who had worked hard and been effective for much of the game, rattled the cross-bar, with the follow-up effort swept up by the Shaun Rowley. Then the substitute Sam Mulready poked home from close range to make it 2-1. The light was closing in, and we now had a nervous final few minutes. The teams continued to fight for the game, but King's Lynn looked buoyed by the goal. On 87 minutes, George Thomson popped up in the box to smash a superb first-time volley into the top left-hand corner of the goal. This was definitely deserving of an equaliser at such a late stage. The game as a whole had been the most absorbing I'd seen all year, and I was pleased to be able to go to another obscure ground with 'The Linnets' once again!