AFC Blackpool 3-0 Holker Old Boys, Saturday 28th February 2026

AFC Blackpool 3-0 Holker Old Boys, North West Counties League First Division North, Mechanics Ground, att. 410

It’s the final game of the day for the Saturday of the North West Counties League groundhop and it’s only a 5 minute walk from the previous game at Squires Gate. It’s almost like they planned these things! As luck would also have it, I’ve parked my car inbetween the two, which is handy for my mate Stu. He’s a little cold and wants to don his big coat.

At Squires Gate, I asked another groundhopper where AFC Blackpool was. He pointed towards some houses. ‘You can see the floodlights!’ That was handy, as it meant no rush, so while most of the groundhoppers made their way over, we watched a bit of Der Klassiker in the social club. (Well, it beat watching Dirty Leeds – Man City.)

I was worried about crowd numbers at AFC. Would fans have had enough and be drifting home after 3 matches already? There were certainly fewer, but 410 was a more than respectable attendance for a Satdy nite 10th tier game. The social club was a lot pokier than Squires Gate however, and the queue was out the door for food and warm drinks. Stu would have to come back for our tea. Last season’s shirts were a bargain tenner a pop, but I just couldn’t ever foresee myself needing to wear a tangerine AFC Blackpool shirt, other than to point out to bemused folk that it wasn’t Blackpool FC, but AFC Blackpool.

The name of the ground intrigued me. ‘The Mechanics Ground.’ Wasn’t there a side called Blackpool Mechanics? Indeed there was. Inside the entrance to the social club, a display case showed off various trophies and other paraphernalia linked to Mechanics. Had they gone bust? A bit of digging found that no, they’d simply re-named themselves ‘AFC Blackpool’ in 2008. Much more prosaic and less romantic.

The small seated stand beside the social club was busy, but I spied the stand behind the goal. It looked a higher vantage point and it’d be cosy (warmer) under the roof. We bumped into Nathaniel, again, the Hednesford groundhopper. ‘Have you noticed anything?’ he asks. No. ‘Look up.’ There was no roof. So much for cosy. The stand had sides, a fascia, a back, stanchions, but no roof. Still, we stayed, as the home side were attacking (and scoring) at this end. 2 nil after 15 minutes.

Stu brought me a tea, then we went for a wander. The long side to our right had the most spectators. A small stand with a couple of steps straddled the halfway line. There was another covered stand behind the goal, but this was virtually empty save for a couple of lads on drums, making up songs to their hearts’ content. Indeed, there were more drums than they had ensemble, perched on chairs. Good on ‘em, even if no-one else wanted to join them.

Half-time arrived, the home side still being 2 goals ahead. I knew Stu was chilly, and although I faced a drive of over an hour, he’d have another hour drive after that. ‘Shall we call it a day?’ It was up to me. We’d done our stint, had a most enjoyable day, but I didn’t expect we’d miss much if we were to go home.

Thanks, North-West Counties Football League, and thanks GroundhoppersUK.

The Damage:
£6 ent
£2 prog...and a very sparse offering at that. Talk about punting one out just cos the groundhoppers are in town!
= £8

FC St. Helens 2-0 FC Isle of Man, Tuesday 29th July 2025

FC St. Helens 2-0 FC Isle of Man, North West Counties League Premier Division, SMS Pro Soccer Park (Windleshaw Sports), att. 195

It’s matchday 2 of the North West Counties League and my first chance after their eastern equivalent on Satdy. I’ve done my homework and am offering Darlo Kev Prestwich Heys, Atherton LR, Irlam or Whythenshawe, all venues I’ve yet to visit. He’s easy and the family’s not home, so he’s up for slightly further afield. Let’s do FC St. Helens, I suggest. Bit further, but manageable. I put the Kevnav on and off we go.

We arrive an hour or so before kick-off. I fancy a pub rather than straight into the ground. Up here looks promising (a main road). A pedestrian starts waving frantically. It’s only a one-way street. The area around the SMS Pro Soccer Park is full of them. Thank you random pedestrian. We park up and walk to The Gerard Arms, a grand building off said main road. A fruity pale ale and an IPA for the pair of us. Good start.

Time runs away with itself though and I find myself giving some of my pint away as we’re in danger of missing kick-off. We scrabble ourselves together and get in just as the players are coming out. Seven quid in, but the programmes ‘have just sold out’. Once in, we are met with a 50 yard pathway and through what looks like a tunnel. It’s almost like we’re the players entering the field of play, but it’s just a sign proclaiming the ground’s sponsor over the roofs of two 50 seater modern stands that get delivered by lorry. It’s a far cry from St. Helens rugby league ground, but therein lies the problem for a conurbation as big as St. Helens playing virtual village teams. That and its proximity to Liverpool and Manchester.

Mind, tonite it’s international nite. Or the ‘FC derby’ as nobody calls it. FC St. Helens versus FC Isle of Man. ‘Will they bring any fans tonite?’ asks a local. Actually, they bring a few, as I counted 5 or 6 replica shirts around the perimeter. No flags tho. The ones pinned to the net (the net preventing ball loss, rather the net fixed to the goalposts) are St. Helens. We walk past these, see the players enter the pitch, then head into the social club for a drink. As ever, it’s pretty large, and probably has as many seats as the ground, as well as a pool table. Handy if the game’s rubbish, or it rains.

It’s a mild summer’s nite though. Some folk are sat at the picnic tables betwixt club and pitch while most fans are standing on this side. The attendance of 195 is about par for this division tonite, barring a couple of clubs. The pitch is also one of the bumpiest I remember seeing. Excellent. Balls rolling along the floor pop up and surprise players whose ball control is limited as it is. The islanders threaten early, but soon St. Helens take control and thereafter look the better team, helped by a 9th minute opener. It stays like this till half-time, whereby we retreat to the bar so Kev can have another beer.

Second half, we continue our walk around the boundary. There’s a tiny stand behind the goal, the only standing cover, though it’s not needed tonite. Otherwise, it’s open all the way around to the aforementioned seats, which are nearer to the corner flag than halfway line. St. Helens press on and grab a second around the 70 minute mark. Game over, but a pleasant enough start in our North West Counties League season. Just be careful with one-way streets.

The Damage:
£7 ent
£4.70 Veltins lager (x2)
= £16.40

Cheadle Town 0-0 Stockport Town, Wednesday 21st August 2024

Cheadle Town 0-0 Stockport Town, North West Counties League Premier Division, The Ground Up Solutions Stadium (Park Road), att. 272

I am all excited. I have acquired a new (‘previously loved’) car and I am blasting out the tunes. It’s good to have a working sound system again. After the last one gave out, Audi quoted me £4600 for a new one. ‘Well, that’s not happening.’ ‘No, I guess not.’ Anyway, a part-ex later and here I am. Same make, same model, same colour (has to be red). I am a happy bunny once again. Let’s ignore the fact that if I don’t find that damn V5 form it’s gonna cost me another £500. It’s fine, I’ve narrowed the search down to 40 boxes in my house/loft/garage.

I drive via Ashton to pick up Kev, fresh from the Darlo’s defeat at Buxton the nite before. Hopefully he can enjoy tonite’s game. ‘Should I take my car?’ he asks. What? On my first drive out in my new car? No chance. I hope he likes The Prodigy. No need to use the satnav, Kev finds us there on his own and we park up in the lane to the ground and return to the main road to find a pub. Handily, there;s one just down the street, though it’s a ‘Robinsons’. The last time I saw that name, I was in a dismal pub in Barrow-in-Furness where time had stood still. I was not hopeful. However, the Red Lion turned out to be a cracking pub, just the right ambience and a half decent choice of ales.

Tonite is the big Stockport derby – Cheadle Town v Stockport Town, in the North West Counties League Premier Division. Both sides have made promising starts in their opening 5 games, though I note 2 of Cheadle’s 3 wins were narrow victories over the bottom 2. 9 pts after 5 games, they’re a point behind the visitors, newly promoted but looking to press on. An exciting game is in prospect.

Ah, prospect. We walk down the lane towards the ground as two young lads discuss one’s taste in women. ‘You do love a blonde’. Who doesn’t? We enter the turnstiles and as you turn to your right, the ground is dominated by the main stand, a tall, yet thin structure in the halfway line. It looks huge, but there’s only about 100 seats in it. The back few rows are terracing though, with the highest steps I’ve ever encountered. It’s like when you come across some ancient Roman amphitheatre. After getting a beer from the social club (a half for me) we climb to the back of the stand. What a grand view this is, if we ignore the two pillars at either side holding the roof up. At no point can both of us see both goalposts, but there’s plenty of space to crane a neck, shuffle along, etc.

The game is not a classic. The effort is there, but a goalless draw is summed up by two crosses, one from a free kick, that barely reach the first defender. This is never mentioned in punditry, amongst the superior technique, or physique, of the professional footballer, but the higher up the leagues you go, the harder they can kick a ball, the further they can kick a ball. This is the 9th tier and it showed. I remind Kev of the rules. ‘If it’s a goalless draw it doesn’t count. You have to come back.’ ‘I’d come back here. I really enjoyed it.’

The Damage:
£8 ent
£2.50 prog
£6.50 some pale ale or other
= £17

The Tunes:
Their Law (Prodigy)