v Cleator Moor Celtic 3/11/18

FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE NORTH WEST COUNTIES FOOTBALL LEAGUE & LIVERPOOL COUNTY FA

MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

ONWARDS & UPWARDS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAWN MARSHALL

SEASON 2018 - 2019

PRICE - £1.50

HALLMARK SECURITY FIRST DIVISION NORTH Saturday 3/11/18 KO 3:00pm ASHTON TOWN AFC V CLEATOR MOOR CELTIC FC

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ASHTON TOWN AFC The Ashton Town Stadium, Edge Green Street, Ashton in Makerfield, Wigan, WN4 8SL President - Jimmy Cahill Chairman - Mark Hayes Vice President - Stephen Barrett Secretary - Stefan Ochwat Clubhouse Manager - Clare Peters Committee Member - Peter Williams Committee Member - Keith Peacock Committee Member - Kieran Johnson Committee Member - Nikki Dean Committee Member - Joanne Round Committee Member - Joanne Bourne Catering - Denise Brady Advertising & Programme Editor - Ian Pomfrett All Advertising enquiries - i.pomfrett@yahoo.com Welfare Officer - Gordon Johnson Groundsmen - David Bourne, Jimmy Cahill www.pitchero.com/clubs/ashtontownafc www.facebook.com/ashtontownafc twitter - @ashtontownafc Life Member - Billy Pomfrett Club Photographer - Dawn Marshall

This Club is Unincorporated FORMED IN 1953 AS MAKERFIELD MILL FC RENAMED ASHTON TOWN AFC IN 1962 FOUNDING MEMBERS OF BOTH THE NORTH WEST COUNTIES FOOTBALL LEAGUE & THE LIVERPOOL COUNTY FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION 2

www.pitchero.com/clubs/ashtontownafc

WELCOME FROM THE CHAIRMAN Good afternoon, and welcome to all to this North West Counties First Division North game against Cleator Moor Celtic.

Today's game is another unknown with another new face in the Counties, however as we know, all new teams have been extremely strong with today's visitors also sitting at the right end of the table.

Last week was frustrating to say the least with performances, yet midweek against AFC Liverpool we didn't half make amends. Up to them scoring we were awesome, and perhaps the best I have seen for sometime. Add on the additions we have signed this week and we are looking very good, and the poor performances last week are soon forgotten about.

Hereâ€&#x;s hoping we can keep momentum today is this win-able game to continue a march in the league, and onwards to a place where we deserve.

Onwards and upwards as always.

Mark Club Chairman

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@northernpromise

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MATCH REPORT V AFC LIVERPOOL 31/11/18 FT

AFC

Liverpool

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Ashton Town 3 A fine win tonight helps put to bed last weeks poor performances..

It was a defeat owed to AFC too whom we played at the start of the season and were 3 1 up only to be defeated. AFC then went on a great run and so makes todays win even more sweet.

Two great goals from James Sigsworth, and a penalty from Daley Woods helped sealed the points, however Town keeper Tom Goodwin was on point on a couple of occasions tipping over the bar with some great saves.

AFC did come back into the game following a mistake, and a short pass from captain Mikey White letting in their front man but Town stood strong, and earned a very well deserved victory.

The game did have an unsuspected long pause though, and potentially an abandonment. The game was stopped for 13 minutes when the linesman complained of an injury. Luckilly for us he got on with the game and saw out the 90 minutes, and we saw out our victory. #UpTheTown

photos by @@paulmoran62 5

www.hallmarksecurityleague.com

By Mark Hayes

HALF TIME QUIZ QUESTIONS

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Which five AC Milan players featured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals?

Which three players have scored Premier League Hat-Tricks for Fulham FC? How many times has the FA Charity / Community Shield been decided on penalty shoot-outs?

Which four players from Gabon have played Premier League football?

Which was the last FA Community Shield match not played at Wembley Stadium?

Which two Clubs have lost both FA Charity Shield matches they have played in?

Which five players affiliated to Stoke City featured in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals?

Which six players from Paraguay have played Premier League football?

Which two 2017-18 Premier League games each produced nine goals?

Which four Italians have scored Premier League Hat-Tricks?

Which Club has the worst All-Time Premier League Goal Difference?

Which three players from Togo have appeared in the Premier League?

Which four West Ham United players featured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals?

Which six Premier League Clubs has Harry Kane scored seven or more goals against?

Which four Turkish players appeared at FIFA World Cup Finals while with English Clubs?

Who are the last three non-Spanish Clubs to win the UEFA Super Cup? Which three goalkeepers wore Ipswich Town's number one shirt in the Premier League?

Which European National Football Teams are nicknamed The Wunderteam, The Eagle Owls and The Knights?

Which two South American Nations have never won the Copa America?

Which three Italians have scored the most goals at FIFA World Cup Finals Tournaments?

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By Gordon Johnson

FIXTURES FIRST DIVISION NORTH 3/11/18

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www.hallmarksecurityleague.com/fixtures.php

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HALF TIME QUIZ ANSWERS 1.

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Lucas Biglia (Argentina), André Silva (Portugal), Nikola Kalinić (Croatia), Cristián Zapata (Colombia) and Ricardo Rodríguez (Switzerland).

Andrew Johnson (Fulham 6-0 Queens Park Rangers), Clint Dempsey (Fulham 52 Newcastle United) and Pavel Pogrebnyak (Fulham 5-0 Wolves).

Eight times: 1974, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2017.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal), Daniel Cousin (Hull City), Mario Lemina (Southampton) and Didier Ndong (Sunderland).

Manchester City 3-2 Chelsea at Villa Park, Birmingham in 2012.

Queens Park Rangers (1908 after replay & 1912) and Ipswich Town (1962 & 1978).

Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Jack Butland (England), Badou Ndiaye (Senegal), Mame Biram Diouf (Senegal) and Ramadan Sobhi (Egypt).

Antolín Alcaraz, Paulo da Silva, Diego Gavilán, Juan Iturbe, Cristian Riveros and Roque Santa Cruz.

Manchester City 7-2 Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur 5-4 Leicester City.

Fabrizio Ravanelli (Middlesbrough 3-3 Liverpool & Middlesbrough 6-1 Derby County), Gianluca Vialli (Barnsley 0-6 Chelsea), Gianfranco Zola (Chelsea 4-0 Derby County) and Mario Balotelli (Manchester City 4-0 Aston Villa).

Sunderland with minus 292 goals (Goals For 612, Goals Against 904).

Emmanuel Adebayor, Yoann Folly and MoustaphaSalifou.

Cheikhou Kouyaté (Senegal), Manuel Lanzini (Argentina), JoãoMário (Portugal) and Javier Hernández (Mexico).

Leicester City (11 goals), Stoke City (9), Arsenal (7), Everton (7), West Bromwich Albion (7) and West Ham United (7).

Alpay Özalan (Aston Villa 2002), Tugay Kerimoğlu (Blackburn Rovers 2002), Hakan Ünsal (Blackburn Rovers 2002) and Mustafa İzzet (Leicester City 2002).

Bayern Munich, Germany (2013), Zenit St Petersburg, Russia (2008) and AC Milan, Italy (2007).

Craig Forrest (1993-95), Richard Wright (2000-01) and Andy Marshall (2001-02).

Austria, Finland and Malta.

Ecuador and Venezuela.

Roberto Baggio, Paolo Rossi and Christian Vieri all scored nine goals each.

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By Gordon Johnson

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SPONSORS OCTOBER 2018

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www.pitchero.com/clubs/ashtontownafc/d/sponsors.html

PLAYER PROFILE ARON MCGRATH Name:

Aron McGrath 29/1/1999

Date of Birth:

Warrington

Place of Birth: Position:

Forward

Do you have any hobbies/interests other than football?

Manchester United

What football team do you support?

Ronaldo

Who was your footballing idol growing up?

Most Memorable moment you Playing for Wigan, 2-0 down were involved in? v Everton away and won 3-2 0

Dave

Best Manager you have ever played for Best Player you have ever played with &why?

If you were stuck on an island name one teammate you would take and why?

If you have a sister, what player would you dread her bringing home to the parents and why?

What Teammate is the loudest in the chang-

Jack

ing rooms before a game?

Who's longest in the shower?

Finally, Why Ashton Town?

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www.pitchero.com/clubs/ashtontownafc

WORDS ON THE WEEK W/E SATURDAY 27TH OCTOBER 2018 All looking up for Alport One of the form teams in the Premier Division at the moment are Whitchurch Alport, who extended their unbeaten league run to eight games with a 3-2 win over Charnock Richard at Yockings Park on Saturday. In manager Luke Goddard's 100th game in charge, two late goals from Arron Johns sealed the points for Alport and cemented their position as one of the form teams in the division at the moment. The run of form that saw five defeats in six games in late August and early September is very much a distant memory now, and from a comfortable 7th place position, the foundations are very much place for Alport to push on further.

Ashley's back in the groove One player who made an immediate impact on his return to familiar territory is Daisy Hill's Ashley Stott. After a high scoring first spell a couple of seasons ago, Ashley returned to New Sirs just over a week ago, and in the three games since then, has scored all six of Daisy Hill's goals, including both in the club's 2-0 win over Garstang on Saturday, their first league win of the season. With points desperately needed to move clear of the First Division North relegation zone, everyone at New Sirs will be hoping that Ashley can keep up the good work to help propel the team up the table.

Town shining brightly It was a notable week for Wythenshawe Town, with the floodlights at Erictsan Park used in a night match for the first time on Thursday night, when Town beat Stockport Town 2 -1. The week was rounded off nicely on Saturday with another victory on home soil, 3-1 against Vauxhall Motors, that moved them up the table into sixth place, just six points behind leaders Rylands. With progress being made on and off the field, the future looks bright for Town.

Six of the best from Chadderton With seven defeats in the last nine games, and no home league wins since early September, Chadderton's 6-1 win over Cleator Moor Celtic turned the form book upside down.

It was all the more impressive given that Celtic came into the game on the back of two good wins, against Winsford United in the Macron Cup and away to Steeton in midweek.

Now, with the biggest win of the season under their belts, manager David Fish will be looking for more of the same in the coming weeks.

A good day's work for Jay On the field this season, Jay Hart of Longridge Town has played a key role in his side's ascent to the top of the table, scoring 13 goals in 17 games so far this season. However, although he was injured on Saturday and unable to play in Town's 5-1 win over St Helens Town, the striker still turned in a good shift at the Mike Riding Ground, by selling two football cards to raise funds before serving a stint behind the bar. In an era where a player's loyalty to a club can often be questioned, Jay's efforts on Saturday on behalf of his club are refreshing to hear about, and were clearly much appreciated by everyone at Town, with the club's Twitter feed putting out the message: "Some lads are suited to play for a Club, this lad is one of them".

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www.hallmarksecurityleague.com/news-articles.php?id=7062

HALLMARK SECURITY WEEK The final weekend of October is traditionally the last time that Saturday afternoon games will finish without the need for floodlights, and there were some bright moments for several clubs across the three divisions.

In the Premier Division, City of Liverpool extended their lead at the top to five points with a 3-1 win at West Didsbury & Chorlton, with two second half goals from Craig Cairns eventually seeing off the home side.

Congleton Town moved into second place, with goals from Daniel Cope, Dean Warburton and Emini Adegbenro earning them a 3-1 win in the Cheshire derby at Northwich Victoria.

They leapfrogged over Runcorn Town who overcame the loss of two early goals to draw level with Burscough at home, but Jordan Lorde struck the winner for the visitors six minutes from time.

Silsden and Barnoldswick Town remain in fourth and fifth place respectively but both lost ground after going down to heavy defeats.

1874 Northwich slammed home five without reply against Silsden, two of them penalties from Scott McGowan, while Barnoldswick Town went 4-0 at Bootle.

The most dramatic finish of the day was at Yockings Park, where Whitchurch Alport came from 2-1 down with 12 minutes remaining to eventually defeat Charnock Richard 3-2 thanks to two goals from Arron Johns, the second coming in stoppage time.

Both Abbey Hey and Hanley Town remain in the bottom four after both fell to 5-1 defeats, with Padiham winning 5-1 at home to Hanley Town, and at the Abbey Stadium Ryan Riley and Dean Ing both scored twice as Abbey Hey fell to a 5-1 home defeat at the hands of Squires Gate.

Two games ended in draws, with Irlam and Ashton Athletic failing to find a goal between them, and Litherland REMYCA were held 1-1 at home to Winsford United.

In the First Division North, Longridge Town continue to set the pace at the top after a 5-1 home win over St Helens Town. Daniel Gardener's two late goals put the game to bed for Town, whose lead over Carlisle City at the top remains at two points.

The Cumbrians won 3-0 at Ashton Town, with the prolific Robert McCartney adding another two goals to his already impressive tally for the season.

Avro remain in third place but are now ten points behind Carlisle City, after a 90th minute equaliser from Duncan Knott salvaged a point from a 3-3 draw at home to AFC Blackpool.

Goals from Daniel Keane and Mathew Waller earned Shelley at 2-0 win at Atherton LR that moved them into fourth place.

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BY IAN TEMPLEMAN

www.ha

KEND ROUND UP 28/10/18 Two goals from Mason Nevitt helped Lower Breck to a 3-0 win over Prestwich Heys that moved them up into eighth place, and the highest scorers of the day were Chadderton, whose 6-1 home win over Cleator Moor Celtic was their biggest of the season.

Anthony Hall scored twice for Bacup Borough in a 4-0 win at Nelson that moved them into mid-table, and there was some good news at last for Daisy Hill, who recorded their first league win of the season with a 2-0 win over Garstang. Both goals were scored by Ashley Stott, taking his tally to six in three games.

The win for Daisy Hill also moved them out of the bottom two as Holker Old Boys lost 2-1 at AFC Darwen. The Stags had taken the lead through John-Paul Stanway, but goals frm Daneil Taylor and Elliot Pond secured the points for the home side.

There was one game played on Friday night, with AFC Liverpool taking a point from a 3-3 draw at home to Steeton thanks to a stoppage time equaliser from Jordan Foster.

The top of the First Division South table continues to look congested, with just four points separating the top five teams. The top spot is occupied by Rylands, who continued their run of goalscoring form with a 5-0 win at home to Barnton, Jay White's hat trick being the highlight of the afternoon.

Abbey Hulton United are level on points with Rylands but stay second on goal difference following their 2-1 home win over FC Oswestry Town, earned by two goals from Joshua Tune.

Cheadle Heath Nomads are in third place after Karl Bailey's 88th minute equaliser earned St Martins a 1-1 draw at the Venue. Nomads had led through a first half opener from Philip Yuille.

Wythenshawe Amateurs are in fourth place, eventually having to settle for a 3-3 draw at home to Stone Old Alleynians after two goals from David Wright had helped them to 3-1 lead eight minutes into the second half.

A few miles away across town, goals from Brad Byrne, Chris Middleton and Dylan StringerMoth ensured a 3-1 win for Wythenshawe Town over Vauxhall Motors that moved Town into sixth place.

Sandbach United's good run of recent form was temporarily halted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to New Mills. All the goals came in the first half, with Jordan Milne and Adam Farrand scoring for the Millers, while Kieran Garner-Knapper and James Kirby from the penalty spot replied for United.

Stockport Town were the division's highest scorers, Matthew Hanson and Adam Etches both scoring twice in the 5-1 home win over Eccleshall, and Stone Dominoes dropped into the bottom two after going down 2-0 at home to Alsager Town.

Ellesmere Rangers remain bottom after losing 2-1 at home to Maine Road, and in the other game Cheadle Town shared a 1-1 draw with Cammell Laird 1907 at Park Road, with Ben Dutton-Kelly earning a point for Lairds with a 79th minute equaliser to cancel out a first half goal by Luke Hincks for Town.

allmarksecurityleague.com

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WHO'S PLAYED AT Continuing with our theme of retired professional footballers who have appeared at our Edge Green Street ground, today we feature Wigan Athletic record scoring striker Graeme Jones.

Graeme was actually born in Gateshead and he began his footballing journey in 1991 with North Shields FC before moving onto Bridlington Town after just one season in 1992. It was whilst playing for Bridlington that Jones‟s potential was spotted and he was duly transferred onto Doncaster Rovers, a move which commanded a £10 00 transfer fee.

Jones subsequently joined Wigan Athletic in 1996, after scoring a total of 30 goals in his 3 years at Doncaster Rovers. Jones became an instant success with the Latics faithful, scoring 31 league goals in his first season, a tally which to this day remains a Wigan Athletic League goal scoring record. Included in his first season tally for Wigan Athletic were a total of 4 hat-tricks.. Jones went on to score 18 more goals in the next two seasons, before leaving to join Scottish side St Johnstone, in a deal that commanded a £100 000 transfer fee. It was whilst in his playing time at Wigan Athletic that Jones met and became close friends with current Belgium national team manager, Roberto Martinez, who he would later join in a remarkable management duo journey.

Up in Scotland Graeme Jones scored on his debut for St Johnstone, but his time with the Saints was sadly disrupted by injury. He returned to England in 2002 to sign for Southend United and went onto join Boston United in 2003, before signing for Bury in 2004, where he again scored on his debut in a game against Yeovil Town.

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By Gordon

T EDGE GREEN ST? Jones continued to suffer from injury problems at Bury, and after only 3 appearances in 6 months, he returned to Scotland to join Clyde. Yet again he managed to score what was the winning goal of the game on his debut for Clyde but only went onto score one other goal for the club before he left to join Hamilton Academicals in July 2005. Jones was forced to retire in March 2006 due to injury, but remained and became assistant manager at Hamilton Academicals.

Jones joined Swansea City in March 2007 where he again teamed up with Roberto Martinez as his assistant manager. He then followed Martínez to Wigan Athletic in June 2009, where they famously led Wigan Athletic to an FA Cup Final victory over Manchester City in May 2013 before joining Martinez again at Everton in July 2013. In August 2016, Jones was announced as Martínez's assistant coach at the Belgium national football team, along with former Arsenal player Thierry Henry and they went on to lead the Belgium national side to their best ever finish in a World Cup Finals tournament earlier this year, with Belgium beating England in the third place playoff game to take the tournament Bronze medal. On 1st August 2018, it was announced that Jones would leave the Belgium national team to join West Bromwich Albion as assistant coach to Darren Moore.

Graeme Jones first appeared here at Edge Green Street in the Latics Legends team that beat a Hollyoaks celebrity team in the first ever Joseph‟s Goal Charity fund raising game in May 2015. He has subsequently appeared here again in both 2016 and 2017 teaming up once again with Roberto Martinez in the Latics Legends team which took on the Dutch Masters side led by Arjan de Zeeuw.

n Johnson

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LEAGUE TABLE 1ST DIV NORTH

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www.hallmarksecurityleague.com/league-tables.php

HISTORY OF ASHTON TOWN AFC Ashton Town Association Football Club originally joined the Div 2 of the Lancashire Combination in 1903 and were promoted Div 1 in 1st season.

However, relegated back to Div 2 after finishing 16 in first season of Div 1. Towards the end of 1910/11 season club withdrew from league and fixtures taken over by Tyldesley Albion. The Club was reformed in 1953 as Makerfield Mill FC and after a short spell in the Wigan Sunday School League, they played in the St Helens Combination League for three years before joining the Warrington and District Amateur League in 1958. The founder was a persistant man named Derek „Mick‟ Mycock.

In 1962 the Club was forced to move from its original ground at Windsor Road because of land development and it was at this point the Club name was changed to Ashton Town AFC. Home games were played on a public park pitch at Whithill Street Recreation Ground in Bryn until 1964, at which point the Club purchased a piece of land at Edge Green Street, previously the home of Stubshaw Cross Rovers. This became the Club`s new home, and development of the ground began. In 1969 the Clubhouse was completed, and was opened by Liverpool and England star Roger Hunt, and in 1975 the present dressing room facilities were built. During this period the Club joined the Lancashire Combination in 1971, and then in 1978, they left to join the Cheshire County League for four years.

The formation of the North West Counties Football League 1982 saw Ashton Town join as founder members, and the Club has remained in the league since then with the exception of season 1985-86, when they played in the Manchester League while essential ground maintenance work was carried out to bring the ground up to stringent ground grading requirements for the NWCF League.

Throughout the years there have been many custodians of the club, owned by no-one, powered by volunteers. I‟ll surely miss out a host of names here but….Notable is the involvement of Jack Longstaffe, Pat Dooney, Barry & Sandra Longstaffe, Gordon Ellis,, Les Bailey, Len Riley, Malcolm Magrath, Billy Pomfrett and Jimmy Cahill. The latter two who have clocked up over a hundred years service to Town and are still here on a daily basis.

In more recent times, Clare and James Horner made a massive boost to the club with the long overdue formation of a Junior section. As did the arrival of our current Chairman, Mark Hayes, who has helped build the profile of the club both locally and nationally. Other volunteers to mention are Steve, Stefan, Denise, Peter, Clare and more recently, Keith (Kitman/Physio) whose dedication and workrate is second to none on quite often a day to day basis. It would go amiss if I didn‟t mention at this point Brian Cunliffe, who has on and off, over the years worked behind the scenes painting, digging or mending often without the right resources for the job…..it‟s people like this who really make a place what it is. So Many to mention, others to forget, but we are here and that wouldn‟t exist if it weren‟t for those who give up their time and effort to keep the club alive. Our motto „Onwards & Upwards‟ sums us up as we now strive for promotion.

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HISTORY OF CLEATOR MOOR CELTIC FC Association Football arrived late in the West Cumbrian town of Cleator Moor. The game was formed in 1863 when the Football Association laid out the first rules of the game. The Cumberland F.A. was formed in 1884 with its Senior County Cup first being played for in 1885/86. Cleator Moor United won the County Cup in 1903/04 with a team based at Bowthorn, made up with up to 10 players who had left Frizington White Star for monetary reasons. But all this was to change with the Formation, in the summer of 1909 of the Cleator Moor Celtic Club. The following article entitled “Football prospects at Cleator Moor" appeared in the Cumberland Paquet dated September 2nd 1909. "Great interest seems to be centred this season in football on Cleator Moor. An Association club has been formed called the "Celts" and a field has been acquired near to Cleator Moor Railway Station. Practice has been in progress, and the executive have got together a promising lot of youngsters, and hope to be rewarded by the general patronage of the public.” Cleator Moor Celtic joined the Egremont Divisional league for the 1909/10 season with their inaugural match taking place on Saturday 4th of September 1909 at home to near neighbour Keekle. Despite the inclement weather 400 spectators witnessed a 2-1 victory to Keekle. In the 1950–51 season, Cleator Moor reached the first round of the FA Cup, where they lost to Tranmere Rovers 5 –0, in a match played at Workington. The club has also competed in the FA Vase, reaching the second round in 1986–87. The club joined the Wearside League in 1988–89 and spent seven seasons in that league, their best finish in this period being in 1990–91 when they finished in eighth place. They re-joined the Wearside League in 2004–05. Cleator Moor Celtic celebrated its 100th birthday in 2008. In the 2017-2018 season Celtic achieved their highest ever placing in the Wearside League, coming 2nd and gaining promotion to the North West Counties League Division One North. Their most successful season ever also saw them win the Cumberland County Senior Cup with a 2-1 victory over Northern League side Penrith at Carlisle United‟s Brunton Park ground. Celtic are very much the focal point for football in their locality, and host a number of teams from under 6s to open age, including a reserve side that play in the Cumberland County Football League. They now swell the number of Cumbrian clubs in the league to three, alongside Holker Old Boys and Carlisle City and the 40 mile trips of over an hour to Rakesmoor Lane and Gillford Park will be by some way the shortest away journeys the club will make. Aside of the two Cumbrian clubs, there are some long away journeys ahead for Celtic, the longest being the trip to Shelley in West Yorkshire which is 166 miles and around three hours and ten minutes away, and even grounds like AFC Blackpool and AFC Darwen, traditionally seen as being closest to Cumbria, are around 120 miles distant and journeys will take over two hours on a good day with no delays on the M6. None the less, club Secretary Herbert Briggs insists that everyone at the club is looking forward to their new experience. "We are going to enjoy this season and see where the journey takes us, and it will be a journey as our miles mount up", he said. "We have worked out we will cover 4465 miles in 19 league games now that is a European tour. "After several years in the Wearside Football League we have made the big step up into the Hallmark Security League, and it's a challenge for the young squad under the new leadership of John George and Craig Routledge. "They and I are looking forward to it, and I am taking the challenge head on, as this is a big job. "I have seen this team grow and I think they will hold their own, but in our first season we have to aim to consolidate and build on what we have achieved in getting to this stage".

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OUR CHOSEN CHARITY The Joseph’s Goal charity was set up in October 2012, by Paul and Emma Kendrick, to raise funds for research into NKH, (Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia), the life-limiting genetic condition that their son, Joseph, was born with. NKH is caused by an excess of glycine on the brain. Joseph was given five days to live but reached his ninth birthday in May this year. He is severely disabled and suffers from seizures. But he is resilient and is a fighter, and we, in turn, are fighting to find better treatments and, hopefully, a cure for NKH, which is very rare, with only fifteen children still surviving in the UK, and less than five hundred worldwide.

Joseph’s Goal is a Wigan-based charity, run by a small group of family and friends, who all volunteer their services. No-one is paid. We have received support from Wigan Council, Wigan Warriors and Wigan Athletic, as well as schools, local organisations and the business community.

In four years we have raised over £340,000, largely from charity balls, football matches, bike rides, marathons and 10-Ks, swimathons, spinathons, Xmas jumper days, numerous other fundraising events, and hundreds of donations from generous people.

The funds raised have been sent to Dr Johan Van Hove at Colorado University, Denver, USA, and Professor Nick Greene at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in London. Both have presented their research findings to NKH families at conferences in the North West organised by Joseph‟s Goal, and trustees of Joseph‟s Goal have twice attended NKH conferences at Harvard University in Boston, USA. The many varied defective genes that have been found in different children/families in the brain that causes NKH have been identified, and the task now is to find a route to replace it with a healthy gene. There is, at last, some light at the end of a very dark tunnel, with real grounds for optimism that better treatments for NKH are not far away.

Since Joseph‟s Goal began, Joe has become a little celebrity locally: - in 2013, he was the mascot for Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup Final and was carried out onto the pitch at Wembley by the captain, Emmerson Boyce, which resulted in television appearances on BBC NW, Granada, and Sky News; - in 2013, Joseph‟s family were the WISHFM „Local Heroes Family of the Year‟; - in 2014, Joseph switched on the Xmas Lights in Wigan Town Centre; - in 2014, Joseph‟s Goal was recognised by Wigan Council as contributing to the „Believe in Wigan” campaign; - and in 2016, Joseph‟s Goal was a Finalist in the GM Chamber of Commerce Wigan Business Awards.

If you are looking for a charity to support, then please consider our charity, and help Joseph to achieve his Goal.

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www.josephsgoal.org

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THOMAS GOODWIN (GK) JOHN COURTNEY (GK) GEORGE ATKINSON JACK BAKER RYAN BOTELL JACK BROMILOW JASON CAREY NICHOLAS CHAMBERS MICHAEL CUSHION JOHN EDGERTON HENRY GASKILL DYLAN GLASS CHRISTOPHER HILL MATHEW JOHNSON ROBERT LAMONT ROSS LOWEY JAMES LUDGATE ARON MCGRATH DANIEL MCLOUGHLIN ALEX NOONAN JACK RICHARDS HARRIS SAUNDERS JACOB SHIELD JAMES SIGSWORTH BRADLEY SMART LIAM SMITH DYLAN SWEENEY MICHAEL WHITE DALEY WOODS SEAN YELDREM

CRAIG RULE (GK) JOSH CHARLTON RHYS LITTLE CRAIG CORKHILL JORDAN LITTLE LUKE CLOSE AARON KELLY TOM MAHONE (C) CALLUM BIRDSALL MARK CAMPBELL JAYKE CATTANACH STUART SHAW CRAIG DEVINE (GK) BRAD TATTON LIAM JOHNSTON LEIGH DUNN TOM WARD JAMIE GLOVER MANAGER: JOHN GEORGE ASST: CRAIG ROUTLEDGE

Manager: David Dempsey Asst. Mgr & Coach: Lee Bignell Coach: Michael Smith Coach: Lee Thompson Physio: Keith Peacock Colours: Red & White Shirts, Red Shorts, Red Socks GK: Purple

Colour: Green/White Shirts, Green Shorts, Green Socks GK: Yellow 24

Referee: Abid Hussain, Assistant 1: Miss Courtney Hughes, Assistant 2: Ed O'Donnell