WAKEFIELD AFC (Belle Vue)

PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY, WAKEFIELD AFC 3-3 NORTH FERRIBY FC, ATTENDANCE: 339

This afternoon I headed to the Belle Vue, the home of Wakefield Trinity Rugby League, and for season 2023/24, the home of Wakefield AFC. 

This was my first visit here since March 2006 when Wakefield & Emley FC were the 'home' team. I have absolutely no memory of that night but Farsley Celtic beat them 1-0. The ground is currently undergoing some major changes with a new terrace behind the goal and a new main stand still under construction.

This current club to represent Wakefield was founded in 2019, they were promoted to the Northern Counties East League in 2022. They have moved to Belle Vue for season 2023/24, having played at Post Office Road in Featherstone since their formation. 

This afternoon North Ferriby were the visitors for this friendly and it was a decent encounter as Wakefield came from 0-2 and 1-3 down to draw 3-3.

Danny Earl (11) and Joshua Dennett (21) gave The Villagers a 2-0 lead before a Billy Mole penalty (37) halved the deficit. Earl (39) bagged his second to give Ferriby a 3-1 lead at half time.

Mole scored his second on the hour before Mason Rubie (70) ensured the game ended with honours even. A good workout for both teams.

Danny Earl heads home North Ferriby's opening goal.

BURY FC (Gigg Lane)

SATURDAY 8th JULY 2023, PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY, BURY FC 0-6 BRADFORD CITY, ATTENDANCE: 2,135

There was only one place to be this afternoon and that was at Gigg Lane as The Shakers made their return home for the first time since May 2019.

1,526 days if you are counting.

Appropriately, before kick off James' 'Come Home' and Thin Lizzy's 'The Boys Are Back In Town' boomed out from the PA system.

The trials and tribulations of Bury FC are well documented but back in May the two separate supporter-led groups, set up after the club’s expulsion from the Football League in 2019, agreed to merge.

97% of Bury AFC supporters (the club who had represented the town in non-league since 2019 and played at Stainton Park, home of Radcliffe FC) and 90.1% Bury FC supporters (the original club which continued to exist as a fan-led business entity and completed a purchase from the administrator last year but, until now, they had not had a team to play at the ground) voted to come together as one, under the name Bury FC, a decision ratified by the FA in June. Another tune played today - The Beloved 'Sweet Harmony' 

Hopefully with this coming together the wounds can be healed and, going forward, the club can regain it's position in the 92.

Not that the result matters in these games, they are all about fitness and trialling new players, but Bradford, currently managed by ex-Everton and Southampton striker Mark Hughes, ran out comfortable winners thanks to goals from Alex Pattison (7) Andy Cook (12) Emmanuel Osadebe (27) and Liam Ridehalgh (28) then, after completely changing their team at half time, further goals from Matt Derbyshire (53) and Jamie Walker (88).

Highlights of the match can be seen by clicking here

NATIONAL SPEEDWAY STADIUM (Gorton, Manchester)

SATURDAY 1st JULY 2023, PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY, ABBEY HEY 2-0 PADIHAM, ATTENDANCE: 81 (h/c)

Welcome back. It's been a while. Firstly, are you OK? I hope so...

A mere eight days after season 2022/23 ended, I was back in the saddle once again as season 2023/24 commenced. 

I could not resist heading to a pre-season friendly at a venue that is not normally used for football (that isn't a ubiquitous 3G pitch in a cage). I wasn't the only one as hoppers probably made up about 40% of the crowd, and there were more than a fair few familiar faces in attendance. 

This afternoon Abbey Hey played Padiham at the National Speedway Stadium, the home of The Manchester Aces. The National Speedway Stadium is less than ten years old. Construction began in 2014 and it opened in 2016 as part of the Belle Vue's £11 million regeneration scheme. The new stadium was built close to the original Belle Vue Stadium, which closed in 2020 and was demolished for housing.

Not that the result matters in these games, they are all about fitness and trialling new players, but Abbey Hey won 2-0 courtesy of second half goals from Rhys Clooney and Will Shawcross.

LONGFORD TOWN (Strokestown Road)

LEAGUE OF IRELAND DIVISION ONE, LONGFORD TOWN 1-1 CORK CITY, 

ATTENDANCE: c350

After spending Friday evening in Limerick I headed back to Dublin in order to catch a train to Longford.

As the crow flies, Longford is about 100 miles north of Limerick but for the fast train connections it meant returning to Dublin before heading to the county town.

The journey back to the capital gave a small insight into the standing of domestic league soccer in Ireland. Whilst most soccer clubs struggle to get four figures, the train was rammed with GAA supporters as over 34,000 people headed to Thurles for two hurling quarter finals.

Temperance dude!

The train from Dublin to Longford took around two hours and I arrived around 5pm. I managed a brief walk around town, passing St Mels Cathedral (pictured above right) before stopping in a pub for a non-alcoholic Guinness and a non-alcoholic IPA. They both tasted alright.

Longford Town were founded in 1924 but it wasn't until 60 years later, in 1984, the club joined the League of Ireland. They finished bottom of the league in their debut season and were relegated into the newly formed League of Ireland Division One. The club spent the next 15 seasons in the second tier but in 2000, with current Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny at the helm, the club returned to the top flight of Irish football.

This was the catalyst for cup success over the next few years when the club reached both domestic cup finals in 2003 and 2004. In 2003 they lost the League Cup to 1-0 to St Patricks Athletic before beating the same team 2-0 in the FAI Cup Final. They then claimed both trophies in 2004, beating Bohemians 2-1 in the League Cup Final and beating Waterford United 2-1 to lift the FAI Cup. Incidentally, talking of Bohemians, that is after whom Longford adopted their Black and Red coloured shirts.

Longford Town's home ground is a few of miles out of town on Strokestown Road, alongside the main N5 road. For sponsorship purposes the ground is currently known as Bishopsgate. The stadium was inaugurated in 1994 and redeveloped in 2001, with the completion of the 1,400 capacity main stand.

As much as I was tempted to, I decided against walking from the town centre due to the proximity of the main road, and the lack of a pavement in certain parts. I played it safe by taking a taxi to the ground. A random stranger sorted one out for me, which was great as the clock was ticking past 7pm. The taxi driver that turned up was a Manchester City fan so, naturally, he was still quite pleased as punch after pipping those loveable neighbours of Everton to the Premier League title! Coincidentally, another groundhopper was in the crowd and they were a City fan heading back to Manchester after the game. They very kindly dropped me off back in town afterwards. Apparently this made me a "lucky, lucky bleeder" according to a mate of mine. The luck of the Irish rubbing off on me, perhaps?

I arrived at the ground with loads of time to spare. Cork City were the visitors tonight, knowing that a victory would put them top of the table. However it was the homesters who started the brightest and had the best of the early possession. De Town's Sam Verdon hit the upright early on but it was somewhat against the run of play that Cork took the lead, and what a stunning goal it was too. Cian Baragary cut in from the left hand side and let fly from just outside the area, the ball curling past Luke Dennison in the Longford goal.

Longford still kept pressing and created good chances but the equaliser just would not come. Verdon had an effort cleared off the line and Cristian Magerusan fluffed a golden opportunity. With 5 minutes remaining, the goal that Longford thoroughly deserved finally arrived when Karl Chambers headed home a corner to ensure the game finished all square. A really good watch and I thought the standard of football was better than the previous night's game in Limerick.

It was good to be back in Ireland once again and I thoroughly enjoyed my few days over the water. Sláinte!

click here to see the goals

Here endeth season 2021/22 for me. Thanks for popping by and taking a look at my pictures and scribblings. All being well, I'll  be back in August. Until then, have a great summer and enjoy the sunshine! 🌞