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...
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