Bacup and Rossendale Borough (NWCFL Premier Division)

So it is, so it goes, so it went. By the time you read this Abbey’s fate will probably be sealed in one way or another. 
So what of the club’s first season back in the NWCFL top flight then? Well as it’s been said before in this column, competing in this league has been akin to fighting with one hand tied behind our back.
With star players leaving for the money and our small-but-beautiful gates not delivering enough revenue to match rival clubs on wages it’s been tough. But I tell you what, in spite of the 20 league defeats, the club spirit and never-say-die attitude has been there in abundance on the pitch.
The August home victory over eventual champions Norton United was one to savour as was Sam Jones’ late equaliser seven days later away at Stockport Sports on the Saxons’ plastic pitch. 
Runs of defeats that look admittedly worse on paper than they did in person punctuated victories over Curzon Ashton in the Premier Cup and Eccleshall in the league. The latter game saw Kwame Barnett bag a classy hattrick with three quick goals either side of half time.
Games against AFC Liverpool brought two very different matches. The match at their place frustrated and as the ‘scousers lite’ banged in goal number four it proved just that bit too much to take for Abbey’s travelling fans. The season’s definite low point.
The return fixture proved to be a completely different affair however. A well earned two-two draw in a match that came to an end under the floodlights will be remembered for a goal scored by one Desmond Matt Busby Flanagan. 
Our self-confessed diehard United fan in the centre of park unleashed his powerful shot in the dying seconds, turned and slid on his knees in celebration in front of a jubilant home bench. A warm moment indeed.   
The highlight of the entire campaign though for me was the comeback against Alsager Town. At 2-0 down heads didn’t drop and two well taken Tom Murray penalties brought the game level before captain Des and Eder Ruiz made it four. 
Today’s result will either ensure survival or send us back to where we came from. The good news appears to be that, regardless of our fate, Gibbo will be staying on at the helm to continue the good work he started last summer. It’s an uphill struggle being the boss at a club of this size but he does a great job under the circumstances. Let’s just hope he refrains from singing at the players’ awards do in three weeks time.
Have a good summer, Gorton.
 

AFC Blackpool (NWCFL Premier Division)

Today marks the last home game before Easter so this week I’ll be talking quite topically about eggs. 
And when I say eggs I really mean egg chasing.
Yes, the Super League rugby season is back again and this time around, at the ripe old age of 33, I’m starting to see the faintest glimpse of what it’s all about.  
I already know Abbey website gurus Tim and Paul are big fans as is bartender extraordinaire Keith, who got snapped at a Salford match the other week and found his picture doing the rounds on Twitter.
I normally steer well clear of rugby, mainly down to the bad impression of the game I was treated to at school. 
Rugby was on the curriculum but all we wanted to do was play football. We’d duck out of the rugby games until one day we were rounded up and forced to play one game to tick some boxes. That was one game too much. 
But it was the St Helens verses Leeds match last week that did it for me. With no football on the box I reluctantly decided to give the top of the table clash a go. And what a game to pick.
In front of a packed ground under intense floodlights the 26 monsters from either side of the Pennines went hell for leather right from the off. 
After paying good money to watch United amble through defeats this season, seeing a team put a real shift in is something that can be forgiven if they end up on the losing side as Abbey unfortunately have many times this season. 
I’ve left the Abbey Stad on several occasions in 2013/14 thinking: “Good effort but unlucky, lads.”
That same desire and work rate was there from both rugby sides and as the hooter blared out after 40 minutes I was texting my Salford Red Devils season ticket-holding friends asking: “Are you watching this?”
They were and within two hours of the game wrapping up I’d already agreed to go to the match with them over summer. “You’ll love it, they sing reworked versions of United songs. And you can drink.” Sounds good to me.
There’s not a hope in hell that football will be usurped in my heart by the sport with the odd shaped ball but as the warm summer months approach I can quite easily see what could be gained by a day out on the train to Huddersfield for a daft away day.
You never know, I might run into Keith and then who knows what manner of madness could occur.
Happy Easter.