Train (Sheffield-Skipton) = £22-60
Entry = £5
Programme = £1
Apples = 80p
Sausage butty & tea = £2-20
Bus ticket = £8-70
Pasty = £5-29
Total = £45-59
Barnoldswick - or Barlick for short - has to be one of the hardest to reach outposts of the NWCFL. I'd chosen to do this and Eccleshall back-to-back as I wanted to get through the harder trips before winter. It proved to be even worse than I'd expected!
To reach Skipton would usually be two trains from Sheffield. but today engineering works meant a bus ride to Shipley first. After arriving in Skipton at about 1.30, I managed to locate the bus station, and the 28 bus (across to Colne and Nelson). The fare of £8-70 seemed a little steep but it was too far to walk (8.4 miles apparently).
Barlick is a small market town, and is lined with beautiful stone houses up and down windy streets. After the usual perambulation - past the Bancroft engine - I headed up to the ground at West Close Road. I entered the ground via a cluster of football pitches with games in full swing, and crowds of people armed with cameras for an aeroplane display overhead!
After initially struggling to find the turnstile (located down a winding grassy path), I finally entered. I couldn't quite believe I'd made it to such an out-of-the-way ground, and the day after an England game too. The ground was nicely laid-out, with two covered areas behind the near goal, in front of the dressing rooms and the clubhouse. To the right running alongside the pitch was a stand constructed from grey stone - very Lancastrian.
In the away corner for today's game were AFC Liverpool, who I'd seen last year at Nelson. The club had Hillsborough flames and the '96' emblazoned on their shirts, and were supported by a passionate group of fans. They were only actually 4 points behind Barlick, but dominated the game for the first 20 minutes, with 9 looking most dangerous, and then 11 opening the scoring on xxx minutes when played clean through. The home side found a foothold in the game, with Mark Threlfall curling wide and Ben Gorman rattling the post with a left-footed strike. Shaun Airey and Joseph Gaughan then both had shots which were easily saved by the keeper. All during the half, a burly man in the Liverpool dug-out was shouting encouragement, and barely stopped for breath. I thought he was the manager, but he was apparently the physio, which became clear when he ran on to help an injured player! The coach/manager was actually a quieter character on the bench, who vaguely resembled Saddam Hussein when he had a beard.
Barlick came out looking determined to over-turn the deficit. From about 45-70 minutes the game was fought out in midfield, with not many chances of note. Barlick's Ellerton, Ridehalgh and Gaughan were particular dynamos, driving the team forward against a resilient opposition. Despite their control of the game, the best chance nearly fell to the Reds when the home keeper made a hash of a clearance and only just cleared at the second opportunity.
Then Barlick's Airey made it 1-1 when he calmly slotted it into the net from a well-worked corner. They began to lay siege to the away goal at the 'Sewer End', and Gaughan fired straight into the keeper's body, while Thomas Henderson - with an apparent tap-in - was foiled by a brave block by the away keeper Ryan Jones. Passions, as ever, began to get the better of the players. Liverpool's Michael Williams was booked for an over-exuberant challenge on Ellerton, and narrowly avoided a second yellow when he booted the ball away later on. Liverpool still had a final chance to win it when Cox headed across goal, only for it to be slightly too far for Matthew Williams to reach. 1-1 was a fair result, and well-worth the journey.
The trip back was disastrous. As I was about to get on the bus, the driver said 'that's it', waving his arms across. It transpired there had been an accident on the main road into Skipton, and all buses were being sent back. When I asked about alternatives, he said 'catch a plane', before giving the real option of going down to Colne and across to Keighley. At this point, foolishly or not, I decided to walk it cross the country. Needless to say that after trekking across fields, graveyards and country lanes for 8 miles (some of it in the dark), I arrived in Skipton at about 7.30, just in time for the 7.47 train. Only 2 hours later than planned! I really do get myself into some situations.
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