Saturday 1st March 2025 ko 11:00

North West Counties League-Division One

STOCKPORT GEORGIANS 3 (Wych 48 McFadyen 65 81p)

SANDBACH UNITED 1 (Greenop 52)

Att 532

Entry £5

Programme £2

Part of me wished we were in Wales, it was St David’s Day after all, and GroundhopUK owner Chris Berezai is Welsh after all. But it wasn’t Chris that was given daffodils over breakfast in Bolton, no that was Robyn my wife! She’s from Bristol and the joke started when she visited Tirana and our friend Ditmar commented, “Bristol, isn’t that nearly in Wales?” That was 2 years ago and the joke has well and truly stuck..

Of all of the host clubs on this year’s North West Counties Hop, it was Stockport Georgians that intrigued me most. Part of it was their enthusiastic presence at Brocton on the 2023 Hop and part the fact that they were one of the two clubs on this event I’d not visited before.

This is Georgians’ third season in the NWCL after being mainstays of the Manchester League ever since they absorbed Abswood Amateurs in 1987 and took their place in the league. The step into regional football did come with a sense of crossing the Rubicon. The erection of a new stand and floodlights to keep the ground graders happy is a major investment, and one where a return to the Manchester League would represent a massive step backward. Thankfully this doesn’t look likely and this win pushed Georgians further towards safety.

But please don’t see this as just a piece on a small club adapting to a new league. This was a superb example of a club making the best possible use of the space available to host brilliantly. Look at how the food offering was moved outside, therefore keeping queuing to a minimum, and as a result the amount of breakfast rolls sold, and money made was staggering- and in marked contrast to Ramsbottom the previous evening.

I do wonder whether Georgians asked visitors Sandbach for advice, they too were fantastic hosts to open up the 2020 hop and this time round we didn’t have to worry about wet pitches or mystery viruses! What we did get though on both occasions was eminently watchable games that both finished 3-1 to the hosts.

And as much as I enjoyed Sandbach’s company on both occasions I don’t think anyone could begrudge Georgians their win. But from my perspective the win was more than just on the pitch, off of it they showed what a darned good club they are.