Ashton Town AFC v Nelson FC 7/9/19 - NWCFL FIRST DIVISION NORTH

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAWN MARSHALL

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Charity No: 1151548

ASHTON TOWN AFC The Scott Rees & Co Stadium,

# Onward Onwards s & Upwards

Edge Green Street, Ashton in Makerfield, Wigan, WN4 8SL

COMMITTEE

President - Jimmy Cahill Chairman - Mark Hayes Vice President - Stephen Barrett Secretary - Stefan Ochwat Clubhouse Manager - Clare Peters Committee Member - Peter Williams Committee Member - Kieran Johnson Committee Member - Joanne Round Committee Member - Joanne Bourne Committee Member - Jayne Watkinson Catering - Denise Brady Advertising & Programme Editor - Ian Pomfrett All Advertising enquiries - i.pomfrett@yahoo.com Welfare Officer - Gordon Johnson Grounds Team - Jimmy Cahill, David Bourne, Keith Peacock

www.facebook.com/ashtontownafc Twitter - @ashtontownafc Life Member - Billy Pomfrett Club Photographer - Dawn Marshall

This Club is Unincorporated

PHOTO BY DAWN MARSHALL

www.ashtontownafc.co.uk

WELCOME TO OUR CLUB Good afternoon and welcome to the Scott Rees & Co Stadium for this North West Counties First Division North fixture against Nelson.

Today's visitors have had a decent start to their season, and like us, will be hoping to put aside their recent FA Vase defeat and get back on track within the league schedule.

Obviously any defeat is disappointing, and we were clearly second best last Saturday but that doesn't reflect on us at all. We know we must raise our game to back to what we know and there is no better way to do it than to take points off Nelson today.

Remember we are always out to improve our fan base and we are proudly linking up with Wigan Athletic fans again to offer free entry with your season tickets. Today sees Latics not playing due to the international break, and so here's hoping we have a few of you reading this and cheering us on too.

Today we also welcome Andrea and her Highfield Grange Vipers U10's who visit us for the game. It's the start of many teams from all over the borough joining us as mascots, but also for me more importantly showing them what to aim for as a young ambitious players, and that non league football really is a wonderful world, for both players and their families.

Enjoy the game., and thanks for your support as always.

Up the Town. Up the Tics.

Mark Club Chairman Ashton Town AFC

19/09/19 21/09/19 28/09/19 05/10/19 12/10/19

FORTHCOMING FIRST TEAM FIXTURES Lower Breck (A) 20:00 St Helens Town (H) 15:00 Chadderton (A)15:00 Atherton LR (H) 15:00 Steeton (H) 15:00

@northernpromise

NELSON FACTFILE Legal Entity: AFC Nelson Limited C/N 08062952 Ground: Little Wembley, Lomeshaye Way, Nelson, Lancashire. BB9 7BN Telephone: 01772 794103 Website: http://www.nelson-fc.com/ Twitter: @Nelsonfc1 Registered Colours: Blue Shirts, Blue Shorts, Blue Socks Registered Goalkeeper Colours: Yellow Shirt, Yellow Shorts, Yellow Socks Alternative Colours: Green Shirts, Green Shorts, Green Socks Alternative Goalkeeper Colours: Orange Shirt, Orange Shorts, Orange Socks Secretary: Abdul Khan, Chairman: Fayyaz Ahmed MBE Manager: Andy Harrison, Programme Editor: Shoaib Khan Committee / Directors: Abdul Khan, Fayyaz Ahmed MBE, Zul Hussain, Daniel Ogden County Affiliation: Lancashire FA, Year Formed: 1881 Record Attendance: 14,143 v. Bradford Park Avenue (Third Division North) 10th April 1926 Previous Leagues: Lancashire League North East Lancashire League The Football League Lancashire Combination West Lancashire League Honours: Hospital Cup Winners: 1888/89, 1891/92 Lancashire League Champions: 1895/96 North East Lancashire League Champions: 1906/07 The Football League Third Division North Champions: 1922/23 Lancashire Combination Division One Champions: 1949/50, 1951/52 Lancashire Combination Division Two Champions: 1925/26 Lancashire Combination Cup Winners: 1949/50, 1950/51, 1959/60 Lancashire Combination Bridge Shield Winners: 1975/76, 1981/82 Lancashire Combination George Watson Trophy Winners: 1978/79 Green Bank Shield Winners: 1988/89, 1990/91, 1991/92 Lancashire F.A. Junior Cup Winners: 1907/08, 1954/55, 1955/56 NWCFL Division Two Trophy Winners: 1996/97 NWCFL First Division Champions 2013/14

www.nelsonfc.co.uk

MANAGERS NOTES Good Afternoon.

Thank you all for attending today‟s game, it feels like a long time since we last played at home and we are looking forward to our home comforts and hopefully securing 3 big points today. Nelson are a very strong side and that is credit to Andy and his management team working tirelessly to get a good group of lads together. Nelson will be a tough test and hopefully it should make for a great game of football.

Our form of late has dropped slightly with only 1 win in 3 in the league, a win today however sees us go top after 8 games with Lower Breck not being in league action today. I felt this is deserving of the lads attitude and commitment since the start of pre season and something we hope to achieve by 5:30 this afternoon.

The players and myself were very disappointed to bow out of the FA Vase last weekend at the hands of Cheadle Heath Nomads. We simply didn‟t perform and my players now understand that no game is a formality and hard work and using the ball properly is a must if we are to win games. As a management team we extremely proud of the lads so far and we are putting last weekend down to it just being a bad day at the office.

The players have trained really well this week and we can‟t wait to get going today.

Once again, thank you for your support.

Demps

By Dave Dempsey

HALF TIME QUIZ QUESTIONS

By Gordon Johnson 1.Who went down in 1996-97 after being deducted three points?

2.Which striker made the PFA Team of the Year in 2004-05 despite being relegated?

3.Which team embarrassingly recorded the fewest points ever in a Premier League season?

4.Who was the first outfield player to play every minute of the season for a Premier League title-winning side?

5.In what season did Arsenal‟s „Invincibles‟ go the whole season unbeaten?

6.Who won the first Premier League title?

7.Which club conceded 100 goals on the way to being relegated in 1993/94?

8.Which club were relegated in their first season in the Premier League in 1997/98?

9.Who are the only team to have received a gold version of the Premier League trophy?

10.How many times did Alex Ferguson win the Premier League?

H O T

F O O D I N

O N

T H E

&

&

C O L d

D R I N K S

S A L E

C L U B H O U S E

www.ashtontownafc.co.uk

NWCFL FIXTURES 7/9/19

24/8/19

www.nwcfl.com

WEEKEND ROUNDUP 3 The weekend's action once again started on a Friday night for the NWCFL clubs as there was plenty of matches throughout the last 48 hours in the Buildbase FA Vase 1st Qualifying Round.

Unfortunately, though, on Friday evening First Division South side St Martins were defeated 3-0 by Shifnal Town.

However, plenty of sides made it through on Saturday, with 21 sides making it through to the FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round.

The biggest winners of the day were undoubtedly Sandbach United.

They ran out 13-0 winners against Wem Town, just two goals shy of the record 15-1 win by West Didsbury & Chorlton a few years ago. The game saw Thomas Powell bag five, Paul-John Hudson a hattrick, Will Goodwin netted a second-half brace and Aaron Knight, Thomas Williams and Matthew Pearson all netted one each on a superb afternoon for Andy Hockenhull's First Division South side.

Premier Division side Rylands were also big winners, beating managerless NCEL Premier Division side Athersley Recreation 6-0 - Jay White taking home the match ball with a trio of goals, whilst Freddie Potter netted a brace.

There were also wins for Abbey Hulton United who came from behind to beat Tipton Town 3-2. AFC Blackpool left it late for a narrow 2-1 victory against Redcar Athletic, whilst Ashton Athletic squeezed passed fellow NWCFL side AFC Darwen 3-2 - Adam Gilchrist grabbing a late winner, and Barnoldswick Town held on to defeat Whitley Bay 2-1-Zak Dale getting a brace.

Alsager Town held on to a 2-1 win away at Bewdley Town, whilst two further all-NWCFL ties saw Cheadle Heath Nomads come out on the right side of a 5-3 win against Ashton Town and Hanley Town edged Eccleshall after extra-time - Martin Stanyer with a 94thminute winner.

Stockport Town defeated Step 7 side Harworth Colliery 3-1 - Kyle Foley bagging a double, whilst a Paul Turner treble saw Longridge Town beat Newcastle University 5-2.

www.nw

31st of AUGUST 2019 A tough tie for Maine Road saw them overcome a stern test at home against NCEL Premier Division side Maltby Main 5-2.

Charnock Richard held on for a 3-2 win away at Cammell Laird 1907 who battled right to the end after they led at the break 2-1.

Skelmersdale United defeated First Division South side New Mills 5-2, Cheadle Town travelled to Inkersall Road and came back through to the next round after defeating Staveley MW 5-2 - the majority of the goals coming in the second half, whilst a Ben Holmes late brace from the penalty spot saw Vauxhall Motors them overcome NCEL Division One side Swallownest.

Wythenshawe Town saw themselves into the next round, coming from behind against Goole AFC - winning 5-2.

Pilkington had to wait until extra-time to defeat Atherton LR - as Callum Laird bagged his second of the match to settle the tie in the 95th minute.

In the late kick-off saw Matt Burton's FC Oswestry Town comfortably beat Bustleholme 6-0.

The final NWCFL winners were Padiham who saw a five-star win over Bedlington Terriers, Chadderton who defeated Parkgate 3-2 at Roundwood Park, and Prestwich Heys defeated fellow NWCFL-side 1874 Northwich narrowly 1-0 - a first half Justin Pickering finish settling the tie.

Unfortunately, the following sides bowed out of the competition, Avro lost 2-0 to Selby Town, Bacup Borough saw Grimsby Borough come from behind late on to snatch a 2-1 win, Garstang lost 2-1 to Sunderland West End, Winsford United were seconds away from extra-time but a late Gresley goal broke their hearts. And AFC Liverpool was defeated 4-1 by NCEL Division One side Nostell Miners Welfare.

Also, Holker Old Boys returned from Eastington Colliery having lost 4-1, Stone Old Alleynians spiritedly lost 3-1 away at Haughmond, Ellesmere Rangers lost 2-1 to Hinckley and Nelson were defeated after extra-time - 3-1 by Seaham Red Star. Whilst a 93rd minute Ollie Lawrence goal saw Retford United defeat Daisy Hill 3-2.

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NWCFL GOALSCORERS Upto 5/9/19

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MAN OF THE MATCH AWARD

The Scott Rees & Co Man of the Match, and another two goals ..

Dylan Glass, presented by committee member Gordon Johnson.

8 goals in 6 games. Top of the goal scoring charts for the league. Our player of the month this time around goes to Dylan Glass. Alongside his goals his workrate and tenacity have been tremendous every time he has put the shirt on. #no9 #UpTheTown

HALF TIME QUIZ ANSWERS 1.Middlesbrough

6.Manchester United

2.Andy Johnson

7.Swindon Town

3.Derby County

8.Barnsley

4.Gary Pallister

9.Arsenal

5.2003/04

10.Thirteen (13)

By Gordon Johnson

NWCFL NEWS The North West Counties Football League (NWCFL) has announced a new partnership with PlayerMatch.com to become the main headline sponsor of the First Division Challenge Cup tournament, which will be known at ‘The PlayerMatch.com Cup’ for season 2019/20.

Denmark based PlayerMatch.com is a unique social and professional networking sport‟s platform, with the aim to present to the world talents of today and stars of tomorrow.

PlayerMatch.com is a dedicated networking platform for those involved in sport to promote their profile and discover new opportunities. It gives Players, Coaches, Agents, Scouts, Academies and Clubs to get and create a network that is outside of your normal reach in your day‑to‑day life. Omar Chaudhary, CEO of PlayerMatch.com, said: “PlayerMatch.com is delighted to be partnering with The North West Counties Football League for this season at headline sponsors of The PlayerMatch.com Cup. “We strive to empower sport‟s people, especially players, to make all in sport much more reachable: Players, Coaches, Agents/Scouts, Academies and Clubs, in order to give them the opportunity to promote their owns skills and start to build the story of their own success. This also gives the club the opportunity to seek out a specific talent for a position by watching videos using our tool to search by position including the player‟s geographical position.” Its web, iOS and Android app‟s features include the ability for users to create their own profile, upload/share pictures and videos of matches, create/manage matches, follow/interact with PlayerMatch.com users, post and apply to jobs opportunities and many more. One of the mission of PlayerMatch.com is to open some doors in order to ensure that promising talent get their chances. The best way to describe PlayerMatch.com is a mix of Facebook and LinkedIn sport driven platform. NWCFL Chairman Paul Lawler said: “The League is delighted to be partnering with PlayerMatch.com for this season as sponsors of The PlayerMatch.com Cup, which is our League Cup competition for our 40 First Division teams.

We look forward to working with PlayerMatch.com to promote the platform to our 3,500 plus players and 60 clubs, who are looking to showcase their ability and opportunities on this social network.” The PlayerMatch.com Cup kicks off on Saturday 7th September with eight First Round ties involving Step 6 clubs from the North and South Division‟s.

The PlayerMatch.com Cup 1st Round Draw Abbey Hey v Bacup Borough, Abbey Hulton United v Ellesmere Rangers, AFC Liverpool v Shelley, Cleator Moor Celtic v Cheadle Town, Holker Old Boys v AFC Blackpool, Lower Breck v Vauxhall Motors, New Mills v Eccleshall, Steeton v FC Oswestry Town

www.nwcfl.com

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MATCH STATISTICS S MATCH PHOTOS ASHTON TO

Photos by Da

SEASON 2019-2020 & OWN AFC V EMLEY 20/8/19

awn Marshall

MATCH P

ASHTON TOWN AFC V PILKINGTON 26/8/1

Photos by Da

PHOTOS

19 + V CHEADLE HEATH NOMADS 31/9/19

awn Marshall

On this day 7th September 1960 On this day in 1960, Peterborough United played their sixth match in the Football League, against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park with a bumper 36,478 crowd in attendance. Five days later the return League match at London Road was played in front of a crowd of 21,171. Nearly 60,000 watching a new Football League side play two Division 4 matches in a week - that will surely never happen again! For the record Peterborough won both matches and went on to become the Division 4 champions that season too.

7th September 1977 Ron Greenwood selected six players from European Champions Liverpool, Ian Callaghan, Terry McDermott, Ray Clemence, Phil Neal, Ray Kennedy, Emlyn Hughes plus Kevin Keegan who had recently left Anfield for Hamburg, for his first match as manager of England. England however disappointed in a 0-0 draw in the friendly against Switzerland at Wembley. Liverpool's Ian Callaghan made his third appearance for England in that match; his previous match for England had been eleven years earlier in 1966!

7th September 2002 Scotland pulled back from being 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with the mighty Faroe Islands in a European qualifier, always worth remembering if there are any Scots you talk to about football!

By Gordon Johnson

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1ST DIV NORTH LEAGUE TABLE TABLE UPDATED 5/9/2019

www.nwcfl.com www.hallmarksecurityleague.com

WHO’S PLAYED AT EDGE GREEN ST Nicholas James Culkin was born in York on 6th July 1978, a goalkeeper by trade, Culkin signed for Premier League club Manchester United in September 1995, costing £100,000 from York City while still in the club's youth system.Culkin's first United match was in a Scandinavian tour, prior to the start of the 1997–98 season. He came on at half-time for Manchester United's first choice goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel.

Culkin kept a clean sheet against Norwegian team SK Brann, where Manchester United won 4–0. Culkin signed a new two-year contract with United in May 1999.

He holds the record for the shortest debut in Premier League history, replacing Raimond van der Gouw in stoppage time against Arsenal at Highbury on 22 August 1999, the referee blew up right after Culkin took the resulting free kick. Culkin also received two Charity Shield runners-up medals as he was on the bench for Manchester United in the 1998 and 1999 Charity Shields finals.

During his time at United Culkin was loaned to Hull City, Bristol Rovers and Livingston. Overall, he played 93 league matches, three FA Cup matches, and seven League Cup matches before being forced to retire from professional football in April 2005 due to a long-standing knee injury.

Culkin came out of retirement after signing for Northern Premier League Division One North team Radcliffe Borough in August 2010. During the 2011–12season Culkin was placed in the NPL First Division North team of the Year and was also nominated for the Fans Player of the Year only losing out to Cheyenne Dunkley.

He has also been voted the Supporters Player of the year on two occasions whilst at Radcliffe Borough and also the Club's Player of the Year in 2012, before leaving Radcliffe in 2012. He joined Prescot Cables in November the same year where he remained until March 2014 when he joined FC United of Manchester. This earned Culkin a record of becoming the first player to appear for both Manchester United and FC United of Manchester.

Culkin made his appearance here at Edge Green Street in the 2019 Joseph‟s Goal game between the Latics Legends and a Manchester United Legends team a tie which end one all with the one goal conceded by Culkin being an unstoppable “Bullet like” header from the Latics Dutch Legend Arjan De Zeeuw. The game was then decided by kicks from the penalty mark with the Latics side running out 5-4 winners on the day.

By Gordon Johnson

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 Jimmy is 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, Ian, Dawn, Peter, Clare and more recently, Keith 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.

www.ashtontownafc.co.uk

HISTORY OF NELSON FC Think of a club that was the first English side to beat Real Madrid away from home. A side that also won away at Old Trafford in the same season.

A side that has obtained positive results against six current Barclays Premiership clubs in league games (Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Hull City, Fulham, Southampton and Stoke City). A side that played in the Football League for ten seasons and has played competitive games against 34 current sides in the top four divisions. A side that has played many FA Cup ties in the competition proper with a record home attendance of over 14,000. All this, and more, has been achieved by „The History Boys‟ of Nelson FC, also known as „The Admirals‟. The origins of Nelson FC can be reputedly traced to a group of townspeople who in 1881, on witnessing a local football match between Burnley and Blackburn, were inspired to form their own team. However, it wasn‟t until 1889-90 that they competed in a senior competition, joining the Lancashire League upon its formation. The Blues started well, with a series of top six finishes, and claimed the title in great style in 1895/96, winning 22 of their 30 games and scoring 105 goals. However in 1898-99 the original club was disbanded. Just a few months after their demise, Nelson were reformed and accepted into the North East Lancashire League, later joining the Central League. When football resumed after the First World War, Nelson embarked upon the most remarkable adventure of their history. In 1921 the thirteen non-reserve teams of the Central League were voted into the Football League`s newly formed Third Division North. The first league match, on August 27th 1921, brought a record attendance at Seedhill of 9,000. The next season, 1922-23, saw the Blues lead a close race for much of the season, and five wins in a row during April saw them romp away to the title. One team was promoted from each of the Third Division North and South of the Football League at that time, and it meant Nelson were entering a nationwide league for the very first time. On the back of their title triumph, and in preparation for life in Division Two, Nelson took the remarkable step of an overseas tour to Spain, in May 1923. They performed with some success, winning two of their four games - a 2-1 success against Real Oviedo and a 4-2 victory at Real Madrid. Unfortunately Nelson`s time in Division Two was to be short-lived, lasting just the one season in which they finished second-bottom of the table. It was clear early on that they were struggling both on and off the pitch, but they achieved some remarkable feats on the way. They had a home victory over championselect Leeds United, one of only nine league defeats for the Yorkshire side. And their first away victory came at Manchester United. Few non-league clubs can claim to have won away at both Real Madrid and Manchester United! A return to Division Three North brought a drop in attendances, though big games saw new records established, such as 13,500 for the visit of table-topping Darlington. That first season back in the third tier of the Football League saw a second-place finish to the North-Eastern side, hence no promotion, and was to be the last time the Blues seriously threatened a return to the national stage. The next season brought a new and never beaten record attendance at Seedhill of 14,143 for the visit of leaders Bradford Park Avenue. The home team went two goals down but came back to draw 2-2. Two seasons later Nelson became serious strugglers, finding themselves £6,500 in debt. A rock-bottom finish meant a re-election application.

They had conceded 136 goals during the season, and all the problems seemed to be down to insufficient gate receipts during difficult times for the area. Re-election was granted in 1928, but three seasons later Nelson were back in the same situation,

www.nelsonfc.co.uk

OUR CHOSEN CHARITY Joseph Michael Kendrick was born on the 9th May 2009, after an unremarkable pregnancy at 42 weeks. After his birth, although Joe was very quiet, he was thought to be otherwise healthy by the doctors. However, over the next couple of days, Joe rapidly deteriorated, and fell into a coma. Joseph was immediately taken to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit where they began to test him to find the cause of his lethargy and low muscle tone. After six days, the Kendrick family found out that Joseph had a severe form of a very rare genetic disorder known as NKH. The Kendricks received the devastating news that Joseph was unlikely to live past 10-days old, and almost certainly wouldn‟t reach his first birthday. Luckily for the Kendrick‟s, they were surrounded by a very supportive family who helped get them through the dark first few days. Paul, Emma, and the family waited every day around Joseph‟s cot, praying that he would wake up, open his eyes or cry.

The family was informed of a special medicine (sodium benzoate), which may help Joseph to wake up, and remove some of the glycine from his brain, but not from his cerebral fluid. On day 13, to the relief of his family, Joseph finally „woke up‟, started to cry and act more like a „normal‟ little baby. Joe‟s parents were able to change his nappies, feed him through his tube and cuddle him, which meant everything to Paul, Emma and the family. Paul and Emma were told that he was very jerky due to a seizure called a myoclonic jerk, and if he lived, they would turn into other types of seizures. Joe managed to fight through the horrible days in hospital and was able to go home for the first time with his family around a month after his birth. Paul and Emma had a very worrying year waiting for him to fall very unwell as they were told by doctors and to stop breathing, but thankfully Joe never did. Joe is doing really well despite his condition. Joe still has frequent seizures but takes medicine to help control them. Having ate orally until he was 4-years-old, Joe now has a gastrostomy for milk and medicines which is much easier to feed him through. Joe still manages tasters of food when he‟s well, and really enjoys yoghurt and ice cream in the summer months. Joe is also a very proud big brother to Sam and Tom and is doing really well at school.

Joe‟s parents are very proud of their “strong and resilient” little boy and are proud on how well he has done to exceed all expectations. Joe made it very clear to his parents in showing that he wants to fight all the way, and his parents were inspired from this to fight on his behalf to help create awareness of this heart-breaking condition, find better treatment for him, and one day find a cure for NKH. Parents, Paul and Emma Kendrick formed the Joseph’s Goal charity in 2012 and have raised over £700,000 since their foundation just seven years ago. Joseph‟s Goal are fighting to find better treatments and hopefully, a cure for NKH, with raised funds being 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 for further research into the condition. Both doctors 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 finally some light at the end of a very dark tunnel, with real grounds for optimism that better treatments for NKH are not far away.

www.josephsgoal.org

BEN PURDHAM JOHN EDGERTON LUKE EDWARDS JAY TOMO MICHAEL WHITE ANTHONY SHINKS ANT POTTS JAMES SIGSWORTH JESSE DOWLING JOE WHITTINGHAM ALEX MCMILLAN WILLIAM DUNNE CHRIS HILL BRAD SMART TOM MOLYNEUX DAVID MOORES CHARLIE DUKE DALEY WOODS DYLAN GLASS JASON CAREY Manager: David Dempsey Asst. Manager: Lee Bignell Head Coach: Chris Stammers Coach: Karl Bell GK Coach: David Billington Physio: Kaydrion Drimmie Colours: Red Shirts, Red Shorts, Red Socks GK: Grey

TEAL AMOS LIAM BLADES MAX CANE HARVEY CLOSE JACK COOP KIERAN DEMAINE KIAN DEWHURST SAMUEL DICKINSON DANIEL FAGAN JOE GARVIN ALEXANDER GRICE (GK) GARETH HILL AARON HOLLINDRAKE ROSS KNIGHT CHARLIE LLOYD JAKE LLOYD BEN PARKINSON (GK) MARK SHARPLES JAKE TOWNSEND LEWIS WILKINSON GREG WILLS JAMIE WYNNE MANAGER: ANDY HARRISON COLOURS: GREEN JERSEYS, BLACK SHORTS, GREEN SOCKS GK ORANGE JERSEY.

Referee: Peter Leonard, Assistant 1: Kevin Kay, Assistant 2: Lyndon Jacqus NEXT FIRST TEAM HOME GAME - 21/9/19 3PM V ST HELENS TOWN AFC