Wigan Athletic 2 West Ham United 1

Ground 64

Match 61

Venue The DW Stadium

Nickname The Latics

Wigan Ath 2-1 West Ham Utd

Founded 1932

Capacity 25,133

Attendance 19,090

Ticket £20

Distance Travelled 14  miles

Wigan is in Greter Manchester - nearest rivals are Bolton Wanderers but in their non league days , Chorley were their main rivals . Since Wigan became a league club in June 1978 , replacing Southport , they have not played Chorley .

Wigan Athletic share the DW Stadium with Wigan Warriors Rugby League .Despite having lower attendances than most in the Premier League the Latics average home cowds  are higher than The Warriors . Wigan moved to the stadium in 1999 and were the first away side to win there , against Cambridge City in the FA Cup .  Orrell RUFC also rented the stadium for one season in 2003 .
The stadium design is based on cantilevered, prefabricated steel roof and terrace structuring . Four separate stands are of roughly the same height and are all single tiered. They are also quite steep meaning that fans are sat quite close to the playing action, although this is mitigated a little by the fact that the stands themselves are set back a fair distance from the pitch perimeter.

Both the side stands have large supporting steel frameworks visible above their roofs, whilst oddly both ends are different, having the steel framework located below the roof line. Unusually for a modern stadium, it does seem to be lacking in the number of corporate areas and executive boxes. There is an electric scoreboard above the Boston (East) Stand, on one side of the ground. 

West ham played the first five minutes and last five minutes . Wigan were far superior and deserved their win , dominating the middle of the park . The Hammers will have to improve their away performances ,  in particular , against sides like Wigan who are more likely to be in and around them in the league come the end of the season . The huge following from East London were unusually quiet for most of the game . The vocal chants included ' This grounds too big for you .' ' You're only here for the West Ham .'

In the distance you can see the Robin Park Arena - current home of Wigan Robin Park who play in the North West Counties League .

 

The Boston Stand + Electronic Scoreboard

 



The South stand Home Supporters

 

Springfield Stand

https://picasaweb.google.com/106951314873209777955/WiganVWestHamPhotosOctober272012?authuser=0&feat=directlink

LFA Bolton res 0-1 West Ham Utd res

Venue -  County Ground Leyland

Match 63

Barclays Premier U21 Development League

Bolton reserves 0-1 West Ham reserves

Admission £3

Programme 20p

Entertaining game .

Big Sam was on the LFA Balcony .

Stunning pitch

A draw would have been fair , both sides hit the woodwork and were evenly matched . Bolton were unlucky with several attempts on goal cleared off the line .  A couple of Internationals , Zat Knight , England and Piquionne , France ,  joined the youngsters for some match practice . A decent turnout on a pleasant night at the former home of Leyland Motors Athletic with a large contingent supporting The Hammers who triumphed with  a goal  scored by  Jordan Spence .
My man of the match was Rob Hall , at ease on the ball with  an aaccurate passing ability , short and long range . Knight had a decent run out and ws more than a match for Piquionne .

 

 

West Ham Captain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eagley FC

Ground 60

Match 62

West Lancs Premier

Venue Dunscar Sports Complex

Nickname The Eagles

Eagley FC 3 Fulwood Amateurs 3

Founded 1874

Admission Free

Att 120 est

Distance Traveled 20 miles



Eagley is a village near Boton in Greater Manchester . Also known as Eagley Mills and were the first opponents of Bolton Wanderers in an FA Cup tie which finished 5-5 .  Other records indicate Preston North Ends first recorded match was against Eagley .
A narrow cobbled road just off the main A666 leads to an impressive sports ground complex with a large car park . Another narrow road leads to the main club house at the far side of the ground .

Club house view

View from main car park

An entertaining game in which both sides played with  tremendous attitude .
 Eagley could have gone top but squandered a two goal lead .  Fulwood , stuggling near the bottom , will be the happier of the two teams .  Their  impressive number nine showed glimpses of '  Ronaldo '  style footwork in tight situations .
He was unfortunate to pick up a booking for contesting a decision not given in his favour . Certainly one to watch and not surprisingly fell victim to a few robust and questionable tackles from Eagley .
Certainly worth a visit - super set up and facilities .

Fulwoods Number 9 Hands On Hips - One to watch

Clubhouse Goal

Fulwood Score

25 yard shot nestles in the eagley goal

 

 

Bury

Ground 59

Match 61

Venue Gigg Lane

NPower League 1

Bury 1-2 Preston North End

Founded 1885

Nickname The Shakers

Attendance 5213

Capacity 11,840

Admission £21

Programme Not Obtained

Distance Travelled 29 miles

Bury is in the Greater Manchester area . Main rivals are Bolton and Rochdale .

Preston sold out their ticket allocation for this category 'A' game so Bury made more available on the day . The 'Shakers' made it a category 'C' match for their fans so there was a temptation to go in the Bury end for a cheaper price though i decided to sit with the North End contingent in the Main stand ;  situated past the half way line , close to the away end off  Manchester Road . Indeed , on my last visit to Gigg Lane in 1976 i sat in the same place - this is the oldest part of the ground . There seemed to be an over spill behind the Manchester Road goal but to be fair to Bury 's staff they appeared to handle the situation without taking more of the home 'Shakers' terrace in the Les Hart Stand . A section of  Bury fans could have been moved away from the Preston support situated near the scoreboard as the Les Hart stand was less than half full .
Parking - The main car park was £3 but i drove down Gigg Lane to the mini roundabout and parked up only a couple of minutes walk from the stadium . I did arrive early though .

North End created little in the first half but managed to find the net when Sodje headed home following corner after 29 minutes . Fortunately for PNE  , Bury lacked finishing quality in the final third albeit most of Preston's defensive problems were caused by their own sloppy play . H-T Bury 0-1  PNE

Manchester Road Away Stand

Main Stand Old Entrance

Les Hart Stand - long walk for the Bury fans

Resumption of the second half saw Preston stamping  authority on their opponents , creating far more chances .  No surprise when they increased their lead after  Cansdell-Sherriff  hit the target following a  corner from the scoreboard end . The Shakers had their moments and made it tense for the 3,000 Preston followers with a goal by Skarz in stoppage time . The Lillywhites were ' Shakin'All Over !'  I committed the ultimate sin and was on Gigg Lane when i heard the cheer -  i'd left early as did most of the Bury fans from the Cemetery Road end - many departing fifteen minutes before the final whistle with The Shakers looking dead and buried ! Westley's men will be shake , rattle and rollin' back to Preston .

Looking towards The Cemetery Road Stand

Apart from the obstruction caused by the Grandstand girders the view was fine but this added a little romance from yesteryear when stadiums had more character albeit not as many comforts .

A great day out , friendly staff and place to visit .

More photos  https://picasaweb.google.com/106951314873209777955/BuryFCPhotosSeptember92012?authuser=0&feat=directlink