Eccleshall FC vs Abbey Hey FC

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Abbey Hey Saturday 2nd October 15:00 pm Kickoff ///master.unites.education

Admission Adults - £6.00 Concession - £4.00

www.eccleshallfc.co.uk

Eccleshall FC

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Eccleshall Football Club - Season 2021/22 Pershall Park, Chester Road, Eccleshall, Staffordshire. ST21 6NE

Telephone 01785 851351 (match days only) Club Entity: Eccleshall FC is an unincorporated association.

Club Officials:

Chairman: Neil Washington Vice-Chairman: Antony Johnson Secretary: Jim Tunney Treasurer: David Heelis Programme Editor: Shaun Rogers Clubhouse Management: Bill Grinham Club Welfare Officer: Jim Tunney Commercial Manager: Media Officer: Shaun Rogers

Committee / Directors

Neil Washington, Antony Johnson, Jim Tunney, Bill Grinham, David Heelis, Paul Cox, Ernie Jackson, John Martin, Harvey Collins, Colin Leese, Diane Washington, Richard Marsh, Sid Kelly, Andy Gough, Paul Heler, Liz Leese.

Fundraising Sub-Committee Neil Washington, Antony Johnson, John Martin, Jim Tunney, Colin Leese First Team Management: Liam Kelly, Nathan Wilkes, Tom Farr, Evans Ofori Junior Section Chairman: Andy Gough Secretary: Gareth Davies Under 15s Team Manager : Paul Heler Under 13s Team Manager: Dave Hislop Under 13s Team Manager: Jon Edensor Under 12s Team Manager: Andre Parcian Under 9s Team Manager: Kieran Healey Members of the North West Counties League, Midland Junior Premier League, North Staffs Junior Youth League, Mid Staffs Junior League.

Affiliated to Staffordshire FA Eccleshall FC is an England Accredited Club

VIEW FROM THE DUGOUT

Good afternoon and welcome to Pershall Park for another tough fixture against play off hopefuls Abbey Hey FC. I’d like to welcome all players, management staff and committee members from Abbey for today’s game.

For those of you who were lucky to attend my first home game in charge on Tuesday against Wythenshaw Amateurs, I’m sure you were more than entertained.

After going 3-0 down inside 15 minutes, the lads stuck to the game plan we had set out and showed incredible determination and courage to fight back and win the game 6-4! I think you’ll all agree that this Eccleshall side looked a completely different outfit to the one that started the season, and that the hard work we have put in over the last two weeks is starting to pay off. It was a real squad effort from all involved on the night, including two of my new signings making their Eccleshall debuts. This result doesn’t mean that we have completely turned the corner and we still have huge improvements to make before we get to where we want to be at the end of the season. The squad are now starting to buy into the style of football and standards that I demand from any of my sides. I’m sure that the rest of the division didn’t see that result coming, but I have full belief in this group that on our day we are a match for any side in this league.

This afternoon I won’t be in the dugout as I’m in London ahead of running the London Marathon on Sunday. My assistant Nathan Wilkes will be taking charge with the help of a familiar face and excellent coach, Jake Robinson. We will be looking to build on from Tuesdays victory and build some momentum in the forthcoming home games.

I’d like to finish my notes to day by wishing our captain Harvey Collins all the best for tomorow as he will be running Chester Marathon, raising money in memory of former Eccleshall player, Jake Standbridge.

Liam Kelly

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Eccleshall FC There has been football in the town of Eccleshall for over 100 years but very little archive material is available from those early years. However, we do know that Eccleshall Football Club was reformed in 1971 with the team being made up of locals and staff from the Eccleshall Secondary School which also provided training and playing facilities. At that time, the club was called Eccleshall Old Boys Football Club.

In 1974, the team won their first trophies; the Mid-Staffs 3rd Division Cup and were also runners-up in that division, gaining promotion to Division 2.

Old Boys was dropped from the club’s name and in 1979 the first team joined the Staffordshire County League (North) and a third team was formed.

In 1981, with the help of grants, fund raising and a loan, a four-acre field was purchased at Pershall. Then manager, Ted Dickinson, was the driving force behind the fund raising. In the same year, the first team moved into the Premier Division of the Staffordshire County League (North). Work began converting the field into a football ground. In 1982, a building was purchased from British Telecom and, with a lot of hard work over the next couple of years on the building, car park and pitch, Pershall Park, as it was christened, was ready.

In the 1983-84 season, the first team won the Staffordshire County League Premier Division Championship, the Premier Division Cup and the May Bank Cup. During the 1989-90 season, the first team won the Staffordshire Senior League title and the 1990-91 season saw the club entering the FA Vase for the first time.

In 1991-92, the club reached the FA Vase 2nd round having gone through all the preliminary stages but lost at home to Wisbech Town 2-0 in front of a then record crowd of 368.

The first team fared well in the league in the mid to late 90’s, finishing 3rd (97-98), 6th (98-99), 2nd (99-00) and 3rd (00-01). Eccleshall reserves won the Staffordshire County League (North) in 1999-2000 moving to the West Midlands (Regional) League Division One (North) for the start of the following season. In the 2001-2002 season, the first team won the Springbank Vending Midland League Championship.

Eccleshall FC In 2002-2003 Eccleshall’s first team joined the North West Counties Football League after securing both the Springbank Vending Midland League title and Staffordshire FA Vase. In probably the most successful season in the club’s history, our second team were also Staffordshire County League champions and our Under 18s won the Sentinel Cup. For good measure, our Under 16s won the Staffordshire FA County Cup, the Mid-Staffordshire League Cup and the Sentinel Shield. Regarding the Sentinel competitions, the last time a club had won both trophies in the same season had been some twenty five years previously – a great achievement.

The 2012-13 season marked the completion of 10 years in the North West Counties League and saw the club achieve its highest ever placing of sixth in Division 1.

In 2017-18, our Under 17s had a very successful season, winning the Potteries Junior Youth League Cup, Staffordshire FA Youth Cup and finishing runners up in the league.

Over the years since 1981-82, significant work has been undertaken to develop both the ground and the facilities to the required standard of the National League Pyramid which the club now enjoys. This includes enclosing the ground, the installation of floodlights, building a covered seated stand and pitch levelling. In 2019, a new toilet block was installed and previously the clubhouse was refurbished and upgraded with the addition of a treatment room and a security system. Prior to the 2018/19 season, a new kitchen and refreshments bar was added. For the 2021-22 season the team dugouts have been replaced and more spectator improvements made. Further developments to the ground are planned for the future. All of this has been achieved by a strong committee management team behind the scenes, a number of which have given many years of service to Eccleshall FC together with the addition of new members who are helping to take the club forward.

The club has now added a number of junior teams as we look to develop a junior section. Our second pitch has been upgraded and improved to accommodate this.

2021 sees Eccleshall Football Club celebrate its 50th anniversary and, as can be seen from the above, much has been achieved over that time. We look forward to seeing what the future brings. We consider ourselves a friendly club and look forward to welcoming you to Pershall Park in the future and hope you will enjoy the facilities and the football.

Eccleshall FC Club Honours 1973-74 Mid Staffs Div.3 Cup Winners 1973-74 Mid Staffs Div.3 Runners-up 1975-76 Mid Staffs Div.2 Cup Winners 1980-81 Staffs County (N) League Div.2 Champions 1981-82 Staffs County League (N) Premier Division Champions 1981-82 May Bank Cup Finalists 1982-82 May Bank Cup Winners 1982-83 Mid Staffs Div.2 Cup Winners 1983-84 Staffs County League (N) Premier Division Champions 1983-84 May Bank Cup Winners 1983-84 Staffs FA Vase Finalists 1984-85 Staffs FA Vase Finalists 1986-87 May Bank Cup Finalists 1987-88 Mid Staffs Borough Cup Finalists 1989-90 Staffs Senior League Champions 1999-00 Springbank Vending Midland League Runners-up 1999-00 Staffs County League Champions 2001-02 Springbank Vending Midland League Champions 2002-03 Springbank Vending Midland League Champions 2002-03 Staffs FA Vase Winners 2002-03 Staffs County League Champions 2002-03 Sentinel Cup Winners (under 18s) 2002-03 Sentinel Shield Winners (u/16’s) 2002-03 Leek Cup Finalists 2005-06 Staffs FA Vase Finalists 2017-18 Staffs FA Youth Cup Winners (Under 18s) 2017-18 Potteries Junior Youth Cup Winners (under 18s)

Reformed 1971 Nickname The Eagles Ground Pershall Park Chester Road Eccleshall ST21 6NE Telephone 01785 851351 (Matchdays Only)

Record Attendances: League - 2,011 vs FC United 5.11.05

Cup - 368 vs Wisbech Town FA Vase Rd2 11.91 Previous Leagues Mid Staffs League Staffs County League (N) North Staffs Alliance Midland League (formerly known as Staffs Senior league, Refuge Assurance Springbank Vending)

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Welcome to ABBEY HEY Abbey Hey FC was formed in 1902 in the Abbey Hey district of Gorton, some three miles away from the centre of Manchester. During their formative years and through the two World Wars, the club was disbanded and reformed on a number of occasions. Starting in the Church Sunday Leagues, they progressed through the Manchester Amateur Leagues during the intervening years but the club really came into it's own in the 1960s after it took in the players of the Admiralty Gunning Engineering Department (AGED) following it's closure. Alf Gentry, the Manager of Abbey Hey at this point, decided that with the influx of new players he would step down in favour of the AGED Manager, Danny Danson. Alf, who had been for many years the prime mover of the club, stayed on in a senior position and shared in the success that the club would have in the coming years. The new players made up the backbone of the club during the decade with some staying on after their playing careers had ended.

Most notable of these was Allan Vaughan, who occupied the positions of Treasurer and Secretary. Ken Brown also stayed on; becoming manager after Danny Danson had retired, and won numerous honours culminating in 1978 with the club deciding to apply for a position in the Manchester League. The application was successful and the following year the club began playing in the 2nd Division of the Manchester League, achieving promotion in their first season.

Reaching this position meant that the club had to find an enclosed ground suitable for playing their home games. The nearest ground available at the time was in Chorlton at Werburghs Road. The ground was owned by a car dealership (Lookers) but was being used by a local school. It was agreed that if Abbey Hey FC carried out some improvements, such as installing showers in the dressing rooms, they could rent the ground. After two years, Lookers reneged on the deal and the club was forced out, this time to a ground nearer home at Godfreys (the area was named after a prominent local Councillor, Godfrey Erman, who donated the ground to the local populace of Abbey Hey for their use as a recreational area).

The next eighteen years were fairly successful with the club winning the Gilchrist Cup under Managers Jim Whittaker and Dave Denby and a League title but this ended when Abbey Hey FC were told that as from the start of the new season they would not be allowed to use Godfreys. This despite the large amounts of money that they had spent on drainage and despite assurances when they had taken over the derelict ground that as long as Abbey Hey had a football team this would be their ground.

A temporary home, at the old English Steel ground, was arranged on a season to season basis with the owners at theme, Clayton Analine but after only 2 years, the ground was sold to a local builder who required the land to build houses on.

Welcome to ABBEY HEY During the two years the club were based at the ground, negotiations with Crossley Motors Ltd had been taking place to buy a disused ground they owned in Goredale Avenue, Gorton.

Unfortunately, the land was not in good order and was becoming an eyesore with fences falling down and people using it for fly-tipping. Contractors working for the council had tipped 1,000 tons of hardcore onto the car park to prevent access to the ground.

Matters had reached an impasse between Abbey Hey FC and Crossleys when Manchester City Council stepped in, They informed Crossleys that if an agreement was not made with the people that they were dealing with, the ground would be the subject of a compulsory purchase order. This tipped the scales in favour of the football club who were asked to make an offer for the ground which was promptly accepted. Legal representation and a bank loan were quickly arranged and in 1984 the club at last had their own home.

The bank loan was paid off and the ground was improved including having the fly tipped hardcore removed from the ground. These improvements to the ground could only have been achieved by the hard work and dedication of the committee, who not only raised the money to carry out the improvements but also carried out 90% of the work themselves.

Jim Clark was to join during these turbulent times as manager, a position he was to occupy for the next 18 years. The club went on to gain success in the Manchester League during the late eighties and early nineties, winning the Premier Division Championship on five occasions during this period.

In 1997, after finishing 2nd in the Manchester Premier Division, the club applied for membership of The North West Counties League. Following a ground grading visit by League Officials, the club was accepted into the 2nd Division for the 1998 season. Abbey Hey's first season in the North West Counties League couldn't have been more exciting. Although Fleetwood Freeport had taken the Division Two title, the runners-up place was still to be decided. On the last Saturday of the season any one of three clubs could have taken second place, but it was Abbey's 3-2 win at Darwen that clinched promotion to Division One in their first season in the league.

Promotion to the 1st Division meant that the club had to install floodlights. True to form, they designed, ordered, erected and wired them within a couple of months. The biggest job during the ground improvements was the building of the new clubhouse and dressing rooms. Planning permission was given with the majority of work once again being carried out by the clubs own members. To finance this project, low interest loans were taken out from The FA with the remainder of the money achieved through fund raising schemes.

Welcome to ABBEY HEY In their first season in the top flight, Abbey Hey had a tremendous start, topping the table at one point early in the season, but a drop in form saw them finish mid table. Still, a highly creditable first season in Division One and they had more than proved themselves worthy of their rapid rise from the Manchester League to the NWCFL Division One. 2000/01 again saw Abbey finish in a comfortable mid table position, proving that the season before had been no fluke, but the following season started with a run of poor results including some heavy defeats. The second half of the year saw an improvement which lifted the club away from any relegation threat but at the end of the season, manager Jim Clark decided to resign. This ended an eighteen year stint in management in which he had overseen many of Abbey Hey's finest moments.

Jim's replacement for 2002/03 was Tony Hancock, previously Woodley Sports Reserve Team manager, who also brought Paul Kirkham from Woodley as his assistant. It was their first attempt at management at this level of football and Abbey Hey's final position of 13th showed that they rose to the challenge. During the season, Calum Dempsey won the NWCFL player of the month award for September and goalkeeper Liam Higginbottom won the October safe hands' award. However, at the end of their first season in charge, Tony and Paul left the club to retun to Woodley Sports as managers of the first team. There was some celebration as Abbey Hey reached their 100th birthday and also reached the 3rd round proper (last 64) of the FA Vase. The club has played in the FA Cup for the first time since the turn of the millennium, but have only won one tie, a victory over Bamber Bridge on penalties in 2002-03, to reach the First Qualifying Round for the only time.

Jim Vince took over for 2003/04 but after a good start to the season, things went wrong.

Despite only losing five out of their last ten games, the club ended second from bottom, only avoiding relegation due to the changes made to the non league structure. Jim Vince opted to resign and Chris Bailey took over knowing that a major team rebuilding job was required.

In 2004 ten members of the committee were given long service awards for their 25 years of service in Grass Roots Football by The Manchester FA. The 2005/2006 season improved their best league finish by two places, but both the team and the club then started to struggle. A lack of both financial backing and foresight saw the club slowly drop down the league table in the following seasons until 2009/10 saw them eventually hit rock bottom.

In 2009/10 Abbey Hey was half way through the season with only 4 points to their name and in the basement position in the league after 25 games. However, following the appointments of Barrie Walker as Manager and Andrew Harris as Assistant Manager in November 2009, Abbey Hey made several new signings with the likes of Jon-Paul Lewis, Gareth Wager,

Welcome to ABBEY HEY Daniel Cocks, John Hardy, Darren Evans, Lee Knowles and Nathan Finnigan joining the club.

This signalled a turn in fortune for the club as they picked up 30 points in the 2nd half of the season however it wasn't enough and they were relegated from the North West Counties Premier Division.

The form in the second of the season saw Abbey Hey going all the way to the final of the Vodkat League Challenge Cup beating the likes of Ashton Athletic FC and Bootle FC along the way. Abbey Hey beat Winsford Utd 3-0 in the final and lifted the trophy.

Walker and Harris made the decision to blood young local talent, realising that this would serve the club well in the future but that it would take time to reap its rewards. Abbey made a slow start to life in the NWCFL First Division 2010/2011 and departed all cup competitions at the initial stages. However, October signalled a change in fortunes and wins at Atherton Collieries, Daisy Hill and Wigan Robin Park pointed to a brighter 2011. The introduction of quality players such as Antal Tompos, Luke Gibson and Martin Pilkington started to pay dividends though the results did not always reflect this. Unfortunately, the team's home form was to be their downfall as far as progressing up the league table although the team were usually beaten only by the odd goal.

For the 2011/12 season, Walker's youth policy started to pay quick dividends as the team has made an excellent start to the league season, remaining in the top four of Division One from day one. Though a run of poor results saw them exit the NWCFL Challenge Cup, FA Vase and 1st Division Trophy they did take the notable scalp of Evo Stik North team Radcliffe Borough in the first round of the Manchester Cup. The season really stepped up a gear as they moved into 2012 with Abbey at one point pushing Wigan Robin Park and Norton United for one of the two promotion places. Though they were to ultimately finish in 3rd place, the season had been an undoubted success as Walker had built a promotion challenging team in just 2 seasons.

The 2012/13 campaign started better than anyone at the club could have imagined as the team went unbeaten in the league for the first 3 months. Although unsuccessful in the FA vase, they would eventually reach the latter stages of the FA Cup qualifiers and a plum tie at FC Halifax via fantastic wins at St Helens Town and Sheffield. Rarely stepping out of the top two in Division One, Abbey continued to rack up league wins whilst also moving thru the Challenge Cup, Div One Trophy and Manchester Premier Cup rounds. The first team success was also matched by the newly introduced youth team set up. Both Under 17s and 18s topped their respective Youth Alliance Divisions during the year and impressed many with their style of play and application. As the months progressed a few of the older youth players started to appear in the first team, boding well for the future. Come April and a win at Northwich Villa eventually sealed promotion back into the top flight of the NWCFL ladder.

Abbey Hey FC| Player Apperances 2021/22

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6-4 28.09.2021

LAST TIME OUT

ATT : 42

MATCH REPORT UNBELIEVABLE EAGLES TURNAROUND SECURES THE POINTS

Pershall Park with the visit of third placed Manager Liam Kelly faced a tough home return to Wythenshawe Amateurs. Skipper Harvey Collins and Jack Dundas were missing from the line up due to injury while new signings James Redford and Dan Taylor were on the bench.

Eagles made the worst possible start, going behind after six minutes when Amateurs’ Saul Henderson netted. Moments later, another effort fizzed past the post. It was 2-0 on ten minutes when Henderson was on hand again to strike the ball into the top corner. With less than twenty minutes gone, it was three when a corner from Louis White found Bradley Sullivan who made no mistake. It was looking bleak, but Eccleshall pulled one back within a minute when a mix-up between Amateurs’ keeper Thomas Scott and his defence led to an own goal. The impressive White then fizzed a free kick just past the post before a Liam Tomlin cross found Louis Downs and his header was tipped over by Scott. However, on 38 minutes, Luke Lewis was fouled in the box and referee Buckle pointed to the spot. Ever reliable Jordan Benton duly netted the penalty to further reduce the deficit with half time approaching.

HT: Eccleshall 2 Wythenshawe Amateurs 3 Eagles came out with a new purpose and a George Woodroffe cross picked out Lewis and Scott was forced to make a fingertip save to prevent the equaliser. However, on 53 minutes, it was 3-3 when Woodroffe’s initial shot was charged down and his cross into the box was firmly headed home by Jordan Hall, giving Scott no chance. Then a low cross by Brad Carr was palmed away by Scott but was almost deflected past him by his defence. Eccleshall’s turnaround was complete on 61 minutes when another Woodroffe cross found Lewis and he flicked the ball wide of Scott to find the net and give them the lead for the first time. Stung by this, Amateurs attacked in search of an equaliser and Eagles keeper Aaron Woolrich pulled off a great save before the ball was cleared. Lewis then cut in and his shot was saved by Scott, but the ball squirmed just wide of the post for a corner. From this, Lewis increased Eagles’ lead on 77 minutes as he headed home. Downs then chased a through ball, beating Scott and only a last-ditch tackle stopped him scoring. From the resulting corner, Samir Azam netted on 84 minutes to put Eccleshall 6-3 in front. This was not the end of the goal fest however, as Amateurs pulled one back two minutes later when Henderson stabbed the ball home to complete his hat-trick and make the score 6-4. With four minutes of added time, Eagles managed to see the game out to secure a welcome three points which took them out of the bottom three.

No-one present at this match would have believed the final score was possible after the first twenty minutes. Eagles supporters showed their appreciation as the team left the pitch and the effect of the result was clearly audible as the players celebrated in the changing room.

FT: Eccleshall 6 Wythenshawe Amateurs 4 It does not get any easier for the management as fourth placed Abbey Hey are the visitors to Pershall Park on Saturday, but this result will leave them in good heart.

Eagles: Woolrich, Tomlin, Woodroffe, Benton (Redford), Langdridge, Dunn, Hall (Azam), Feeney, Lewis, Carr, Downs (Taylor).

Unused subs: Riley, Brown Referee: Mr Joel Buckle Attendance: 42

Abbey Hulton United v Cheadle Town Alsager Town v Cammell Laird 1907 Brocton v Stockport Town Cheadle Heath Nomads v Barnton Eccleshall v Abbey Hey Ellesmere Rangers v FC Isle of Man New Mills v Maine Road St Martins v Rocester West Didsbury & Chorlton v Sandbach United Wythenshawe Amateurs v Stafford Town

Eccleshall FC | 2021/22 Fixtures and Results

Next @ Pershall

Next Road Trip

Saturday, October 9th 3:00 pm Kickoff

Saturday, October 30th 3:00 pm Kickoff

Eccleshall FC | Player Apperances & Goals Players Name

Samir Azam Jordan Benton Conrad Betton (GK) Ryan Brown (GK) Bradley Carr Harvey Collins Conor Docherty Andrew Dodd Louis Downs Jack Dundas Lewis Dunn Callum Feeney Jack Flanaghan Kyle Goodwin Jordan Hall Jake Langdridge Luke Lewis Jay Lovatt Joel Mills Peter Murphy Zak Noble (GK) Callum Parker James Redford Thomas Riley Liam Robinson Louis Sherwin Daniel Taylor Liam Tomlin Thomas Wakefield George Woodroffe Aaron Woolrich (GK)

Starts

Sub

Goals

5 12 1 3 1 11 1 3 11 7 6 10 3 3 1 10 6 2 3 4 6 1 0 3 0 1 0 10 0 6 2

2 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 3 2 0 1 3 2 2 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 1 1 1 0 0

2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0

Aaron Woolrich Zak Noble Ryan Brown Conrad Betton Liam Tomlin Lewis Dunn George Woodroffe Samir Azam Jake Langdridge Harvey Collins Luke Lewis Daniel Taylor Jordan Benton Jack Dundas Jack Flanaghan James Redford Callum Feeney Louis Downs Thomas Riley Bradley Carr Jay Lovatt Peter Murphy Callum Parker Jordan Hall

Manager : Liam Kelly

Ross Heywood Joseph Neild Dylan Norris Kyle McGonigle Aaron Fleming Sikirulahi Hamzat Jake Dunford Luke Hincks Rhys Clooney Jordan Lazenbury Dylan Fitzgerald Ben Halfacre Callum McGlynn Ross Abercrombie Harry Newton Rhys Webb

Manager : Terry Hincks

Today's Match Officials Ref: Jordan Brooks Asst A: LLoyd Berry| Asst B: Andrew Martin