Train £10-30 (Stockport-Northwich)
Programme £1-50
Entry £5
Tea £1
Total £17-80
Today was my final October game, and the 12th new ground of the season (excluding South Melbourne FC). October has been a slightly crazy month, with a few double-header weekends, an England game and some insanely late journeys back home. Northwich is one of the slightly easier places to reach by public transport, so Barnton vs Bacup today was a perfect one to conclude the month. Northwich is served by an hourly service from Stockport, and I arrived nice and early today at 13:13. I have visited the town once before - just over 2 years ago, when Kings Lynn lost to Witton Albion. I didn't see much of the town that day so was pleased to be able to explore a bit more on the walk out to Barnton. The area was scenic and involved crossing over the River Weaver. I even managed to wander up to the Anderton Boat Lift. After a walk alongside the canal, I found a bridge across and a path up to the village. Like last week the brown and golden Autumn colours looked beautiful and crisp. Barnton's Townfield ground was next to a doctors, with the entrance bounded off by a builders' fence. There was a delightfully named 'Pay Box' where I parted with £5 entrance and £1-50 for a programme. The club have only recently joined the NWCFL, and the ground reflected this. There was one small stand of seating, consisting of 3-4 rows of seats, with a covered terrace opposite on the halfway line. The toilets were portakabins which had clearly been used on a building site previously with several signs about health & safety.
Barnton, in black and white stripes, started today top of the league. The away side Bacup were on the fringes of the playoff positions so today would be a good indicator of success over the season. The first 20 minutes was a closely fought affair, with few chances and a midfield battle taking place. Kayde Coppin's rifled shot was well saved by Peter Montteth, and then Micheal Gervin's free header flew over. Gradually Barnton began to dominate, winning the physical battles in the middle and squeezing Bacup as tight as they could. There were then a catalogue of chances for the home side - Malone's curler evaded everyone and went just wide. Then a smart move on the left resulted in a shot which cannoned off the angle of post and bar. Coppin was busy and proactive up front, heading and then firing wide with his right foot. The breakthrough came almost bang on the interval, when Jason McShane headed in to make it 1-0.
The Villagers continued as they were from the first period, with Towey, Coppin and Malone showing excellent pace and aggression. Malone charged in the the left at one point, playing a 1-2 and very nearly scoring a superb goal. The Lancashire side looked completely overrun, and frustrations began to show when Adrian Bellamy and Gareth Wager were booked in quick succession. The only bright spot was Yves Zama, who managed to carve a couple of shots on target from their occasional attack. It was no surprise when Coppin made it 2-0 after being put clean through.
This was one game I've seen so far this year where tempers didn't fray or boil over. The referee was a particularly calm and authoritative figure, who had a rapport with the players but didn't take any nonsense. At times his instructions were rather like orders to train a dog - but it actually worked!
I now feel obliged to report on the trip back as so many have been eventful. Today was fine - I made the 17:28 from Northwich, and made the next train across t' Pennines. As usual I'd managed to synchronize with other football fans travelling across, and stood up on a crowded train with Sheffield United and Man City fans.
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