Bacup Borough

Ground 20

Match 21

Founded 1875

Ground Venue The Brian Boys

West View Stadium

Capacity 3,000

Programme £1.50

North West Counties Premier division

Bacup Borough 2-1 Silsden

Attendance 75

Admission £6

Distance Travelled 33 miles

Bacup  is a town within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire . .It is 3.5 miles  east of Rawtenstall , 6.4 miles north of Rochdale, and 21 miles) east of Preston.
The name Bacup means or is associated with muddy valley and may give an insight why so many games are postponed due to a waterlogged pitch .














Silsden is near Keighley in Yorkshire .- founded 1904 .





Coffee/tea etc 60p Premiership award winning pies £2.00 as featured on sky news.




Certainly a ground with character , not just the surroundings , the folk here are welcomming , chatty and proud to enlighten visitors on the finer things in non league football . Award winning pies , reasonably priced drinks , a decent programme and yes , the raffle/golden goal . Theres a few neutrals here tonight and i can see why , the atmosphere is totally relaxed and the club lounge /bar is full of stories and friendly banter .

Met a Rossendale fan , Geoff , he'd supported them for 60 years and low and behold , i spotted an old sandwich board , Bacup v Rossendale . Next to the clubhouse a temporary fence surrounds a stone terrace , health and safety , don't want the possibility of stones being thrown at players and the stand behind the opposite goal is supported with scaffolding and encircled with barbed wire . At this level with gates not much more than 50, resources are tested to the limit but there's plenty to admire without dwelling on the negatives .

Bacup are in white shirts , black shorts and socks , Silsden are in Canary yellow green yellow . One point to pick up on , the keepers are wearing socks in the colours of their opponents : tactics ?
Both teams start well and theres not much between the sides . Silsden look sharp for the away team and after a few sorties forward , reap reward after sloppy defending and take a 1-0 lead through Timothy Hird . Bacup start to advance more frequently and make several decent chances .

Theres a few niggly incidents and at half time with the score 1-0 to Silsden , a

squabble almost develops into a brawl but the coaching staff are on the scene quicker than the referee and thankfully , control the situation . Good to see responsible coaching and managerial staff .
Bacup started the second half as they finished the first , showing more urgency , spreading the ball out wide trying to find gaps in the Silsden defence . On 57 minutes there was a rash challenge in the box and Bacup were awarded a penalty . Bellamy fired into the roof of the net to level the score . Silsden attacks were seldom as Boro looked more threatening .
On 76 minutes Turner capitalised on indecisive defending , breaking through towards the right edge of the penalty area and firing home after hood winking the keeper , hard and low from a difficult angle . Good finish as i've often seen similar situations were the forward fires in a weak shot .
Silsden pressed forward but couldn't find the equaliser and Bacup just about deserved the win . Final score - Bacup Borough 2 -1 Silsden .


Click the link below for more photos



https://picasaweb.google.com/106951314873209777955/BacupBoroughPhotosSeptember27th2011#

AFC Darwen

Ground 20

Match 21

Nickname The salmoners


AFC Darwen host AFC Liverpool

The Anchor Ground



AFC Darwen were reformed in 2009 (used to be Darwen )

Capacity 4,000

FA Carlsberg Vase 2nd Qualifying Round

Admission £5

Programme £1.50 obtained 2

Attendance 90

Coffee £1

Distance from home in Leyland 12 miles.

AFC Darwen play in the North west Counties division 1

Found the ground easily as its just 2 minutes from junction 4 of the M65 motorway heading towards Higher Darwen from the roundabout . There's an incorrect signpost (Darwen FC) pointing to the ground along the A666 ( Turn left and keep to the right past a social club . )
There is parking outside the ground but i parked near the social/sports cub and it turned out to be a great move when leaving as cars were blocked in the car park .

The ground is cheerful but you won't get much response from the turnstile operator who just got on with his duties .
There are steps leading to a balcony , snacks hatch and lounge bar with an excellent view of the pitch . I managed to avoid the raffle ticket seller and made my way to the toilets .
There's a decent grandstand running most of the length of the pitch with plenty of bucketseating ; ideal for those mini cooper fanatics ; they'd love this and the PA system was ideal for them too ! You could blast away a few tunes without any distortion or feedback . The view is superb from most seats . There are spaces reserved for players and officials .
There were loads of AFC Liverpool supporters who were extremely vocal and supportive .
Darwen , in all red , started like a horse bolting ; within a minute Langford opened the scoring and it was a bonny goal , sweetly tucked into the net .
Pool (yellow shirts/red trim black shorts,yellow socks) couldn't get into their stride and Darwen looked increasingly likely to add to their early lead . Pool 's first serious chance came after half an hour and was followed by several more forrays before Edwards equalised on the stroke of half-time . To everyones amazement Darwen went straight up the pitch from the kick off and scored a second through Turner to make the half time score : AFC Darwen 2-1 AFC Liverpool .
The second half was much closer , 'Pool had got to grips with the pace of the game and were matching their opponents in every department but had to wait 'til the 84th minute before finally finding an equaliser through Shaun Chart . The 'Pool fans were extatic and the hand held rattles were in full flow .
The game finished 2-2 and an extra 30 minutes was announced via the tannoy which was very clear not like others which distort and crackle !
Many in the crowd including myself were surprised as we thought that was it !
Tension mounted and a few late challenges and tackles surfaced . The AFC Liverpool fans telling a Darwen player to leave one of their players alone -' He's only a school kid , ' they shouted , much to the amusement of everyone .
The 'Pool coach admonished his team for not keeping their shape , ' I'm not being funny , how many times do i have to tell you ? '
Chances at both ends but neither side could find the winner .
No penalty shoot off either , a replay instead .
Final score AFC Darwen 2-2 AFC Liverpool .
Thoroughly entertaining game , a quick exit from the ground and home within 15 minutes .

Match Officials 8 out of 10 Sgt Major type but generally up with the play and most decisions seemed fair .

AFC Darwen photos September 24th, 2011

Oldham Boro

Ground 19

Match 20

FA Vase

Ground Whitebank stadium

Capacity 1,000

Oldham Boro 3-2 Wigan Robin Park

Distance Travelled 38 miles

Admission £5

Programme £2

Attendance  55

Arrived at 7.05 pm  parking on the small club car park opposite the turnstile entrance , met and chatted to the club secretary from WRP , a freindly chap . On entering the ground i purchased two programmes leaving one available . Only ten programmes were printed and sold out easily although poor quality laser copies . At least it was something but the price was steep at £1.50 . I purchased the obligatory raffle ticket that is part and parcel of the game now, especially at this level . The ground had three small seated stands , one on either side and one behind the goal , an array of portable cabins and a snacks hut . It needs an overhaul and is more like a building site in parts , finances are obviously tight . I had to use the chemical toilet , needs must i'm afraid . There is a TV tower near the half way line , subbuteo style , inbetween the dugouts . .
One side of the gound was illuminated sparsley by floodlights and in the seated stand was the Boro manager Mr Mills . He introduced himself and was very relaxed taking an interest , passing on his opinions regarding tonights tie . I mentioned both teams had started well in the league and he said it would have been more appetising for both clubs to face opposition from a higher level . We both anticipated an exciting game tonight .

Seated Stand

The rest of the floodlights illuminated the night sky as the teams emerged from the canopy entrance in the familiar Champions League style , side by side . I sensed the ground didn't seem quite lit up enough and i could hear WRP players complainig about not being seeing the ball properly and losing it in the dark night air . The referee shrugged his shoulders as if to point out , its the same for both teams . WRP seemed uneasy with this predicament but scored first , McNally netting after 11 minutes , pouncing on a rebound off the upright while Boro were appealing for offside . Boro were unlucky to go behind , passing the ball  briskly unaffected by going a goal down . After 18 minutes Andy Smith equalised with a blistering free kick from outside the penalty box . On 31 minutes Shannon made it 2-1 with a cross come-shot  looping over the keeper who lost flight of the ball . Boro were sharper , winning the second ball and in the 43rd minute Smith netted to make it 3-1 to Boro and grab a brace for himself . Half-time 3-1 to Boro and a fair reflection of the play .
WRP stepped up a gear in the second half and kept pushing forward at every opportunity . Eventually the pressure produced dividends when Mcnally looped a header into the corner grabbing his and WRP's second reducing the deficit to 3-2 . WRP pushed for the equaliser but were leaving gaping gaps at the back which Boro failed to capitalise on . The referee seemed to be adding plenty of injury time and the last few minutes were nail biting for both sets of supporters . Boro managed to hang on and formed a circle at the final whistle for a well deserved team hug.

Final Score Oldham Boro 3-2 Wigan Robin Park . Great game

More Photos

Oldham boro 23rd september photos 2011

Lostock St Gerards

Ground 18

Match 19

Ground Watering Pool Lane

Lostock st Gerards 0-0 Euxton Villa

Admission £1 including programme

Kit Black/White stipes

Distance Travelled 4 miles


Tom Watson Ground Maintenance and ex player i believe . LSG shirts black and white stripes shorts white socks white Villa are in orange and black . Both teams were competing against the conditions not just each other and with so many games postponed due to waterlogged pitches , at least we had a game . Not many chances in this physical encounter and both sides were guilty of poor finishing . Having seen Villa earlier in the season , i was expecting a good performance but they lacked the finesse to finish off their opponents . LSG were solid and well organised and put in a decent performance .LSG went closest with a header that came back off the upright . A few half chances before the interval but 0-0 seemed fair after the first 45 minutes . The hot cup of coffee was more than welcome at half time and i felt there was going to be goals in the second half as both sides needed a win . Villa did more pressing in the second half and were awarded a penalty after a clumsy defensive tackle in the penalty box when approaching a one on one with the keeper . The spot kick was lethargic , the keeper saving easily to his right , summing Villa up . LSG lost a player due to a possible ligament injury an ambulance had to be called ; it seemed to spur them on even more and they competed well making several half chances . In the end 0-0 seemed a fair result but LSG certainly looked a better outfit than i expected and should be safe if they put in the same effort and graft for the rest of the season . Villa are capable of more and should be looking to finish in the top three or four at least .
Best wishes to the LSG injured player .
Wanted - old LSG photos -programmes stekey sportsattax