Chorley F C

Ground 44

Match 45

Ground Victory Park

Ground Capacity 4,100

Founded 1883

Nickname The Magpies

Evo-Stik Premier

Chorley 5-1 Hednesford Town

Attendance 945

Programme £2 Obtained

Admission £9

Distance Travelled 8 miles



My last visits to Chorley's Victory Park were in the late 70's and the character of this ground is still alive and kicking . There are three covered stands , one behind each goal the main stand along the touchline which is all seated and extremely charming .



Todays opponents are Hednesford Town from Staffordshire - nickname The Pitmen .
There's a few of them chanting remarks about West Brom while the Magpies are more concerned singing about Chester .



Chorley are fast off the blocks and score after 2 minutes when a one on one with the keeper is neatly tucked away by Foster . The score stays at 1-0 for a while and you begin to wonder if The Magpies haven't finished Town off while they're on top . Not to worry , just as the Pitmen seem to be finding their feet , three more goals follow before half-time and Chorley are beaming like the mid-afternoon sun . The Pitmen have performed like their kit ; washed out , dull and all over the place . They haven't been able to deal with corners from Chorley , not just the big men , even Chorley's smaller players have got in front of defenders and caused problems . To be fair Town position two men on the goal-line and the six yard box is packed so some credit has to go to Chorley's rapid movement and lethal finishing .

Time for a pint, Carlsberg £2.40 - the bar ran out of proper glasses so i got mine in one of those plastic flexible efforts that overspill as soon as you pick it up . I gave the ice cream and pies a miss although they looked tempting . A special soup of the day was advertised too .

After the restart Town pull one back and almost fire in a second soon after . Had that gone in there might have been a few nail-biting moments . Chorley continued to create chances only finding the net once more to finish the job 5-1 .
Chorley are in a third position in the league and looking a good bet for promotion . They looked strong from the beginning of the match , well drilled with the added advantage of a few tall defenders .
Their finishing in the first half was top drawer against a side just below them and no mugs themselves . Good to see plenty of families taking advantage of the sunshine , attending in numbers to help the club through its difficult financial period .

Covered stand near the Social Club and entrance



Chorley's on fire players celebrate amother goal







Hednesfords left back Shaw , number 3 , seemed to get a few decisions in his favour much to the amusement of The Magpies , even the player saw the funny side which wound the Chorley fans up even more !





Chorley fan - behind , to the left , is the grass embankment , i remember watching the Wimbledon game from here in 1977 with Steve Galliers in the Chorley team and Dave Bassett and Dickie Guy playing for Wimbledon . - Galliers ended up playing for The Dons for a number of years . This area is boarded off to comply with health and safety .



Some of The Pitmen contingent - a dour , uninspiring performance from their team particularly in the last fifteen minutes of the first half .

Great day out - love Victory Park .



Main entrance via a small alleyway leading to a car park for players and officials .



1977 Chorley v Wimbledon



1977 Chorley v Dagenham & Chorley v Wimbledon @ Walsall Wanted

Chorley FC photos March 24, 2012">