Clitheroe v Leek Town

There were no signs of Premiership Football taking place in Wigan when I went to get to my train from Wallgate. There was only one Policeman at the station and not a single one of the 5,000 Mackems who were coming to town. There was no getting away from Premiership football when I got to Bolton though and I had to endure a large group of Arsenal fans, who were making their way to Ewood Park. Indeed, there is nothing like a bit of anti-Semitic singing to get the afternoon off to a good start.

I got on the train from Bolton to Clitheroe and managed to get a seat eventually, amidst the hoardes of Arsenal fans and, for some reason, 30 teenagers of got on the train at Darwen. I guess there’s not much to keep the kids entertained in that particular town, I guess it was because Darwen in the Northern West Counties League Division One weren’t at home. Obviously. The train emptied after Blackburn and I looked out on to the Pennine Moors as the train travelled into Clitheroe.

I managed to find the ground, eventually. I was a little bit complacent in thinking that Clitheroe was only a small place and a quick glance at Google Maps would be enough to see me on my way, but I was wrong. Into the ground I paid £7, plus £1.50 for a programme and £1 for a raffle ticket. The programme had stuff to read in it, which was nice; it was one with a colour cover that’s the same for every match and then black and white LaserJet insides, lovely. The raffle prize was 2 bottles of wine; I don’t begrudge a club like Clitheroe an extra quid though.

The ground comprises of an eclectic range of various stands and structures, with a pitch that sloped from side to side. The backdrop to the ground was also interesting, with views to the Pennine Moors, Clitheroe’s Castle, plus old and new housing.

A local asked me who I was writing for, as I had my pad and pen out, but I told him myself and it was for a blog. He told me that I would be writing about a Clitheroe win. Little did he know the kind of stuff I was writing down ‘Sloping pitch, stands, funny accents’.

The teams entered the pitch to ‘Sally Cinnamon’ by Stone Roses, I don’t know if there is any relevance to that, or whether it was just the song that was on at the time. The teams lined up and did that shaking hands bollocks, that seems to dog the game at all levels. I just don’t get it myself. Clitheroe were in Blue and White hoops and Leek Town in their change kit of red and black stripes. If I was ten years old, I would have decided that I was watching QPR v AC Milan, but, I’m not ten.

In the East Lancashire sunshine, both teams had countless chances. Clitheroe got plenty of good crosses in, but didn’t seem to have anyone their to tap them in. I stood, for most of the first half on what I would call the pop side, terracing all down one side, all under cover. The Clitheroe fans and their flags gathered here, in good voice shouting for Cli’ro. The visitors from Leek Town were also in good voice. One of the home fans decided to nip behind the fence adjacent to the stand and have a piss behind a fence, at least I think that’s what he was doing. I didn’t get a photo.

At half time, I got a cup of tea from the Grub Tub and sat in one of the structures opposite the pop side. I then spent most of the second half behind the goal that Clitheroe were attacking. They scored on 66 minutes when Johnson put a lovely finish on the end of a pass from the right, from about 10 metres out. After that, most of the momentum seemed to go Leek’s way and the Staffordshire team equalised on 83 minutes when Miller’s shot went across goal and in off the post. Both sets of fans got behind their teams in the closing minutes, but there will now be a replay at Leek on Tuesday night as the game finished 1-1. I will be keeping an eye on that.

I travelled back to Wigan via Blackburn and Preston, seeing plenty more Arsenal fans and a handful of Sunderland fans. I enjoyed my day out into the sticks, I would say I got my monies worth. It certainly was an interesting ground with bags of character and a strange array of stands. It will probably be the last game I go to until October now, so probably the last game with conditions that vaguely resemble summer.

And here are some photos:

Next Stop: Clitheroe

I think on Saturday, I shall make Clitheroe my next port of call. I imagine that it is a good place to go on a sunny afternoon, I've been to the town before to the Castle and I spotted the football ground from there.

There is a snag though. I did aim to go to a game at every level in the pyramid at this level, well the game on Saturday is an FA Cup qualifier. The first qualifying round proper, where Clitheroe of the Unibond 1st Division North play Leek Town of the Unibond 1st Division South.

Both teams are near the top of their respective divisions, so it should be a good game. Indeed Leek Town seem to have fallen from grace a little bit, being a Conference team not so long ago. I don't know too much about Clitheroe though, apart from that I imagine it'd be a good place to go on a sunny afternoon.

Obviously I'm picking games for the right reason. Bring on the magic of the cup!