Saturday 2th February 2026 ko 11:00

North West Counties League First Division North

FULWOOD AMATEURS 2 (Lucas 6 7)

GARSTANG 2 (Carter 43 Bajiraliu 45+3)

Att 519

Entry £5

Programme £3

Saturday saw us head back to a familiar stomping ground for the North West Counties Hop- Blackpool, although you could easily include the West Lancashire League too. That proved to be prophetic for our day sad to say. Our first stop saw us in Preston’s environs, to Fulwood and a side spending their first seasonat Step 6 but there was a little intrigue to start with!

Fulwood Amateurs’ Lightfoot Green ground lies adjacent to Preston Grasshoppers Rugby Union ground, and their most famous player was Wade Dooley at 6 feet 8 inches tall aptly nicknamed “The Blackpool Tower.” I met him once at rugby club function in Henley-on-Thames. He was the biggest bloke I’ve ever met, by some distance!

The ground is interesting not least as it’s a converted Golf driving range. There’s nothing unique in that- Alcester Town’s ground is, and famously Solihull Moors too. It’s been this way since 1979 and originally the golf finished at midday, in time for the football afterwards! Now I’m sure that made for an excellent pitch, but having seen a game abandoned due to safety pins, the worry must have been tees, balls and other golf paraphernalia! These days the golf has gone but the club do make excellent use of what they left behind!

This in the club’s first season in the North West Counties League although I’m sure we’d have picked them up on the West Lancs Hop in due course. Here though the fun was seeing how they’ve added lights and the open seated stand in one corner which apparently they found for a song on the internet- can you buy a stand on eBay?

The quirks didn’t end there, no-one seems to know whether they are Fulwood Amateur or Amateurs, and does it really matter? But the quirk I’ll take to the grave concerned visitors Garstang. They have a midfielder with the name Osawemwengie Imadiyiosatohanmwen- they’d make a fortune is the sold replica shirts with the players name above their number! Sadly Garstang have struggled this season and looked to be on the wrong end of a hiding here when Spencer Lucas scored a quick fire double early on. But Garstang found two goals just before half time that gave them a hard earned point. I suspect the first 10 minutes may have been a fair analogy of their season, so they are relying on a reprieve to maintain their Step 6 status.

The rains returned during the second half, which literally and metaphorically dampened the action. The weather did proved to be hugely significant as to what happened next…