Saturday 1st March 2025 ko 16:45

North West Counties League First Division South

NEW MILLS AFC 2 (Woods 13 Pavley 19)

Shawcross penalty saved 7

CHEADLE HEATH NOMADS 0

Att 558

Entry £6

Programme £2.50

We moved from Manchester’s environs for the last two games of Saturday’s North West Counties Hop. The scene moved from the urban to the countryside of the Derbyshire High Peak, as we approached New Mills.

The town was built around coal, spinning and calico printing, and was also a centre for Methodism. That fact partly explains why sweet manufacturer Swizzels Matlow are based here, taking over an old mill in 1940 and sweet treats such as Refreshers and Parma Violets are still produced in New Mills today. Confectionery and Methodism do seem to go hand in hand, Fry Club in Keynsham and Cadbury Athletic in Bourneville are other examples.

I’d visited Church Lane back in March 2007 for a North West Counties game against now defunct Castleton Gabriels. I’m bound to say the ground hasn’t changed massively since then- cover at the top end and seats in the stand being the main differences- and the pitch has definately improved!

Craig and I arrived about 20 minutes before the coach and the decision was quickly made not to put the kick off time back. We’d delayed proceedings 10 minutes at Stockport Town but with the coach arriving before kick off we decided to get the event back on schedule. If nothing else the ground was packed, so letting Millers’ volunteers deal with who was there before putting another 50-or-so there was no bad thing!

If we throught the scale of the crowds at the two Stockports were huge then we we saw here was at another level entirely. All credit to everyone at New Mills for coping, and keeping the queues moving. While I’m sure a few would have found a darkened room after we’d all left, the fact was the club did make the most of their opportunity- and my chilli was delicious!

I’d enjoyed Cheadle Heath Nomads’ company on the 2020 hop when their catering was stretched to the limits due to the previous host club doing virtually nothing. That said, I’m not sure they like seeing me! They lost 1-5 that day and lost this one, with William Shawcross’s early missed penalty being quickly made redundant. I am very aware I’m a jinx…

Unquestionably though this was New Mills’s early evening, both on and off the pitch. As for those watching, we even got a spectacular sunset too. What more you could you want? Another game? Oh go on then…