13: Maghull 1-3 Southport Trinity

Maghull 1-3 Southport Trinity
West Cheshire League 1st Division
Saturday 27th October, 2012
Att: 55

Maghull is a town of some 22,000 people, situated north of Liverpool and south-east of Southport. It is one of the nearest towns to my current base, and so - with money running a little tight - I elected to watch a game at step 7 of the non-league pyramid for the first time.

The West Cheshire League is a feeder to the North West Counties League, but promotions have been rare in the past. Only Cammell Laird, Runcorn Town and Vauxhall Motors have made the leap up in the past twenty years.

Admission was free, so the total cost of my outing was £2.10 - the return Merseyrail fare from Ormskirk to Maghull, a journey lasting 9 minutes.

Teams in the West Cheshire League are not required to have floodlights or a stand, and Old Hall Field had neither of these things, but was still recognisable as a football ground. The pitch was fully enclosed by a fence (sporting a solitary advertising board), there were two dugouts opposite each other on the half way line and finally, a clubhouse building which held the changing rooms, toilets, a refreshment kiosk and also a smart little bar.

It was a most picturesque setting, with the town church visible behind one goal along with the towpath which hugs the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. The rest of the ground (and adjacent public park) was enclosed by trees.

Today's game saw two lower half of the table teams come head to head, needing both their respective seasons to take a turn for the better. Maghull had 13 points from 11 games and Southport Trinity 7 from 9. The latter had won just two of their opening nine encounters.

To be honest though, from the first kick, Southport were the better side and should have taken the lead when the Maghull keeper spooned a clearance from the corner area straight to a Trinity player. He shot at goal first time, and the Maghull keeper did brilliantly to leap back to flick it off the line. Some of the away bench were adamant it went over the line. I don't think it did.

On 27 minutes, the away side did take the lead. Suicidal defensive play ended with a backpass which was played criminally short. A visiting forward pounced on it to poke it past the furious home keeper. 0-1 at half time.

The second half was a half of two halves...if that makes sense? Maghull were on top for the first 20 minutes or so of the second half, and got a deserved equaliser on 55 minutes. A cross was whipped in from the left and headed expertly home for 1-1.

After this though, Trinity started to expose Maghull at the back, but their shooting was either weak or non-existent.

Just as it looked to be heading for a draw, the Maghull defence switched off, and the right winger of Trinity cut inside with everyone in the ground expecting him to cross. He didn't. He shot, it caught the keeper by surprise, and on 80 minutes the away side held a 1-2 lead.

Maghull heads dropped and on 87 minutes the game was up when they conceded a penalty. The video (open it in full screen and click HD for best effect) shows the resulting spot kick, which was saved but then pounced upon immediately by the a team-mate for 1-3.

The drama wasn't over there. In the 92nd minute, a Maghull player in an attempt to get his head on a ball in the box, ran straight into a post and knocked himself unconcious. Thankfully he was OK, and the referee shortly blew up on what was an entertaining game of football.

Four goals, attacking football, comedic defending at times, an unconscious player and lots of entertainment. For free. A lovely afternoon out at a very scenic ground.

12: Daisy Hill 1-2 Atherton Collieries

Daisy Hill 1-2 Atherton Collieries
NWCL Division One
Saturday 13th October, 2012
Att: 67

For one reason or another, the trip to Thackley wasn't possible for me today to see Boro in action. Probably a good thing in the end, as we ended up being dumped out of the FA Vase 3-2.

Instead, I had a large list of potential fixtures to choose from, all within a 20 mile or so radius of Ormskirk. Thankfully, some of them finished 0-0, but the one I chose had a few goals.

Daisy Hill - the name sounds appealing, perhaps like something from a Bronte novel. The village is located roughly 6 miles east of Wigan, and 14 miles or so west of Manchester. They are one of three clubs in NWCL Division One within 2 miles of one another: the other two being Atherton Laburnum Rovers and Atherton Collieries. It was the latter of these who were the visitors to Daisy Hill today.

The entrance to the clubhouse, pictured left, looks like something from the American Wild West. The sign is showing its age, but it was certainly something a little different.

The ground was accessed further along the perimeter fence, through a single turnstile. The turnstile operator didn't see me stood there for a moment, until one of his colleagues said "Eh up - you've got a punter!".

The ground itself is very basic, but does just the job at this level of football. Behind one goal is the clubhouse. In front of this, three or four rows of seats have been added as well as a roof which covers this area. The only other stand of note is near the dugouts along one side of the pitch. The rest of the ground is hard standing and grass. One entire side of the ground is grassed over, and I think access was restricted. I didn't try and do a full circuit.

By kick off, Daisy Hill's largest crowd of the season - 67 - had amassed inside the ground. I'd say that half of these had travelled the 2 miles or so from neighbouring Atherton. As the locals will tell you, this is rugby country. The demise of nearby Leigh RMI/Genesis will perhaps testify to that.

Daisy Hill began the game having won 1, drawn 4 and lost 4 of their opening nine league matches. Suffice to say they hadn't had the best start. The 'Colls' had started the season with 4 wins and 3 defeats, so inconsistent is perhaps the best word to describe their early form.

The away side started the brightest and should have taken the lead on several occasions during the first half. Daisy Hill had the odd glimmer of hope, but Atherton were the better footballing side. The first half (and second) was marred by one of the most incompetent officiating displays I've seen for a long while. The players let them know about it too, and I believe 3 or 4 finished the game on yellow cards after lengthy rants at the man in the middle. The larger than life chap running one line was pleasant enough though, and kept smiling throughout.

0-0 at the break, and it was clear that Daisy Hill were the side most pleased with the scoreline.

The half time break included a home-made Lancashire hotpot and a mug of soup served in a real cup. All for less than £2.50. That's why non-league football is great!

The second half began with the home side on the front foot, but a freak goal put the visitors ahead on 51 minutes. Aaron Cringle went to cross the ball in from the right wing, but he sliced it. Unfortunately for the home keeper, it caught him out completely, and ended up nestling in the top corner. It was similar to the goal Brazil scored against England a decade or so ago.

This goal spurred on the home side, who equalised on 67 minutes after defensive indecisiveness let in Daniel Gregory who side footed home for 1-1.

It looked as though the home side, despite the ongoing dominance of Atherton, were going to get an unlikely point. That was until the 87th minute, when a cross in from the right was headed over his own keeper by a Daisy Hill centre back. He had to do something, as an away forward was ready to pounce, but he caught it all wrong and the ball bounced agonizingly into the back of the net. The game was lost for the home side, and they'd scored the winning goal for the opposition.

To be honest, anything other than an away win would have flattered Daisy Hill and been unfair on Atherton, but it was unfortunate way to concede.

The game finished 1-2, and it was an enjoyable day out at the football. It's just a shame that no more than 67 people turned up to see an entertaining local derby between two Lancashire towns just 2 miles apart.

11: Pickering Tn 3-2 Scarborough Ath

Pickering Town 3-2 Scarborough Athletic
NCEL Premier
Saturday 6th October, 2012
Att: 648

I hate football sometimes. Honest, I do.

Games come along that you genuinely look forward to, and the North Yorkshire derby away at Pickering Town is always one of them. This season, like last, we entered the game in the top two of the division knowing that our opponents, on paper, were weaker. Basically, we were very hopeful of a nice day out in front of a big crowd, and three points. I'd also taken along two family members, including a 6-year old who was attending his first ever Boro match, to show them what good football we are playing this season...

After being dropped off near the ground at about 2:20, you could sense there'd be a big crowd for the game, and this was confirmed by kick-off, with the three-sided ground looking very full indeed. 648 had made it to this NCEL Premier division match, an attendance which will most likely be the highest in the division until Boxing Day when Boro and Bridlington lock horns. It was also around 100 up on last season's respective fixture, though that one was played midweek.

Boro kicked towards the small seated stand behind the goal in the first half, and were 2-0 up by quarter past three through Bennett and Blott. It was going to be a nice comfortably three points to keep the pressure on Bridlington. When will we learn that football can often upset the apple cart?

By half time, Boro had been pegged back to 2-2 through some woeful defending, and probably complacency. Not to worry, we thought, Rudy will fire them up at half time. Many fans around me were talking of a 4-2 or 5-2 away victory. Again - wrong.

The only goal of the second half fell to Pickering, after some AWOL defending, and Boro would fall to only their second league defeat of the season. Robbie Hawkes, who'd had a decent enough game, ended the match with a straight red card as he brought down the Pickering forward as he advanced on goal in the 90th minute.

On the day, you have to hold your hand up and acknowledge that Pickering wanted it more, and they probably got what they deserved. A 3-3 draw wouldn't have been unfair on either side though, had Boro converted one of their many crosses in the second half.

Food for thought as a tough away trip to Barton on Wednesday night looms.

Boro stayed 2nd after Worksop lost, but Bridlington now have a three point lead over the Seadogs. It's a lead that we shouldn't really be letting get any bigger if we're to keep immediate pressure on the landlords.

10: Liverpool 2-3 Udinese

Liverpool 2-3 Udinese
Europa League Group A
Thursday 4th October, 2012
Att: 40,092

What a difference four days can make. On Saturday, I was one of 31 people watching Wigan Robin Park hammer Stone Dominoes in a NWCL Premier Division match. Tonight, I was at one of the legendary arenas in world football in a crowd of over 40,000.

After visiting Goodison Park earlier in the season, it was only fair that I show equal desire to visit their neighbours across Stanley Park, and so it was that - with the help of an old friend providing me with a spare ticket - that I found myself heading down towards Kirkdale on the Merseyrail train on a autumnal Thursday evening.

Liverpool have had an interesting start to the season. They were lingering in the relegation zone before hammering Norwich 5-2 away from home in the last round of Premier League fixtures. In the middle of their indifferent start, a 'weaker' side also put five past Young Boys away from home in the Europa League.

Tonight's visitors Udinese, who Boro locked horns with in the 1970s (and beat 4-0!), also find themselves at the wrong end of the Serie A table in 15th position with six points from as many matches.

I was delighted to find out that my seat would be in the Kop, one of the most famous stands in world football, if not the most famous. The view (above) was decent, as I'm sure you'll agree.

I won't make a direct comparison to Goodison Park, but the two grounds have very different 'feels' to them. Goodison Park has retained some of the 'good old days' traditional football ground feel, whereas Anfield feels very much more like a modern day football stadium, whilst maintaining it's impressive views inside.

In Group A of the Europa League, Liverpool had 3 points going into this game, with Udinese on 1 - having drawn with the Russians Anzi Machakala. It would be a tougher prospect than the Young Boys game, and everyone I overheard in the Kop was expecting a tough evening for Liverpool's side of second-string players - with a few exceptions.

When You'll Never Walk Alone began playing, and the scarves were raised, it made me realise that I was at an iconic moment in football. It happens at every home match for Liverpool fans, but to be in the Kop as 40,000 people sang along to such an emotive club song, it was truly a spine tingling moment which will live with me for a long while.

The game kicked off with Udinese attacking the Kop, and Liverpool attacking the opposite end where the 600 or so vocal Italians were housed in a corner of the lower tier.

The first half was even enough, with lots of possession (over 70%) for Liverpool, but with no real end product. Udinese looked to be playing on the counter attack.

The deadlock was broken when Jonjo Shelvey got on the end of a 23rd minute Stewart Downing cross with a thumping header to send Liverpool in 1-0 up at the break. The game hadn't come to life yet, really.

The second half brought an immediate response from the Italians. Just 36 second half seconds were on the clock when Antonio di Natale, an Italian squad member at Euro 2012 and Udinese's best player on the pitch by a mile, got on the end of a great cross from the left wing to equalise.

This spurred Liverpool into action, and some great passing just didn't have an end product. The game looked to be heading towards a draw as the last twenty minutes approached. The next five minutes would bring three goals.

Much to the amazement of Anfield, the first two went to the away side, and by the 72nd minute, Udinese found themselves improbaby 3-1 up at Liverpool. The two goals were fantastically built up, with their third being a crisp driving shot into the bottom corner of Reina's net, but it wasn't a 3-1 sort of game, and the stunned Liverpool supporters couldn't believe their luck. Admittedly, neither could the Udinese supporters who were delirious.

Luis Suarez, love him or hate him, provided the final goal of the five minute crazy spell, and indeed the final goal of the game. A free kick 20 yards out was expertly finished to raise the hopes of the Liverpool faithful. As much as they huffed and puffed though, it was just not going to be their night. Udinese celebrated a famous victory at the final whistle, as the Liverpool supporters - without a boo or jeer to be heard, but rather a ripple of polite applause for their team's efforts - wound their way through the streets of Merseyside, wondering how they didn't get at least a point from the game.

Three points from two matches for Liverpool in Group A, with it still all to play for. They will have to hope they can turn their possession into goals in future though, or their league and cup form will suffer.