TOWN BEAT TOWN ITS WYTHENSHAWE IN THIS ONE

ALSAGER TOWN 1 WYTHENSHAWE TOWN 4
NWCFL 1 SOUTH @ WOOD PARK STADIUM
1 DECEMBER 2018 --- 3PM

STEVEN YARWOOD BRINGS THE BALL AWAY FOR WYTHENSHAWE TOWN

It is the season to be jolly well if your a Wythenshawe Town fan it is anyway third successive away victory as the newbies to the NWCFL start the month in third position and their potential was backed up by this dominant win at Alsager Town.
Its not quite the season to be jolly for non league hoppers the start of the week saw this as plan A but by the time the heavy rain had appeared TNS in the Welsh Premier had become a fair choice a somewhere down the list but with 4g on hand. So what happened?  Well no blog would be complete with a transport story the good old XCountry service that would leave me with a 17 minute change in Birmingham got delayed to around 35 minutes late and the best laid plans etc.

WOOD PARK STADIUM HOME OF ALSAGER TOWN

After a prompt reply from Alsager to confirm no pitch problems its was back to the original choice with a change in Derby for the one carriage bus, train, awaiting on platform 3 heading through the
Potteries and just one stop short of Crewe arrival was shy of 1pm and would allow a nice time to have a quick meander around the Cheshire town.
The first impression is of 'well to do' houses and as the Lakeside chippy was sought out a quick look at The Mere, a large lake by which the food establishment had named itself I guess.
The expansive water apparently only has a couple of public viewing areas with the rest of its waters edge boundaries being associated to the private houses surrounding it.  Food sampled was good and a recommended visit before a brief look at the centre which is dominated by a medium sized Asda it was time to set off down the dubiously named Shady Grove and immediately the area changed into a social housing estate and the natural base for the working class game.

THE UNDERSTATED ENTRANCE TO ALSAGER TOWN FC

Looking down Woodland Court a small cul-de-sac with a circuitous road you could see the ground but the entrance was far from clear however much like Athersley Rec up in Barnsley the small track between two houses lead to the field of dreams that is Wood Park Stadium.
A warm greeting at the turnstile and you then got the full vista that the site was on three levels with our next drop down to the clubhouse and changing rooms from out immediate entrance and then the final level to take you pitch side, its certainly a unique entrance and adds to the quirky experience of Alsager Towns home ground.

THE DUG OUT SIDE

Having arrived pitch side there are plenty of time worn structures to keep you more than interested immediately at the front of you is a long stand featuring bucket seats, bench seats and old style slatted seats with sides I cant think of a better way of describing them and sadly failed to ask where they came from.  To the right the stairway from the middle level down which the players enter the pitch and behind the goal a hospitality cabin, snack bar, medical room and I guess grounds mans garage.
The far side had a deep covered terrace offering good cover before the dugouts lead to an uncovered walkway that leads behind the far goal and to our entrance side a further covered terrace below the initial multi seated stand.  A quirky ground but its definitely a ground of character that is worth visiting at different times of the year.

A WIDE SELECTION OF SEATS INCLUDING THESE FROM WHO KNOWS WHERE BET THEY CAN TELL A STORY OR TWO

Alsager go by The Bullets nickname which is related to the town employing 3,000 people in the ammunitions industry during the Second World War at Radway Green.  The club are just below mid way in the table and managed by Andy Turner working with the Port Vale Academy and formerly a Republic of Ireland U21 international alongside a domestic career including Tottenham, Portsmouth and Rotherham United.  The visitors today Wythenshawe Town are new to the NWCFL and are on a promising run away from home and sitting in third place with an immediate interest in promotion again.
Before the game it was nice to receive a nice greeting from not sure if it was the grounds man but a gentleman doing some work around the pitch side fencing always goes a long way thank you for your introduction to the club.

0-1 LEE GREGORY FAR LEFT BLUE CELEBRATES HIS GOAL

Onto the action and it was not a good start for the home side who were one down in seven minutes what looked a poor corner, but of course it could have been a training ground classic, was low to the near post evading everybody except for Lee Gregory who converted from close range.  Alsager went close to levelling the scores when Shane Williams fired a shot across the face of the visitors goal but the ball fell inches wide.  It was proving hard for Alsager to get a foothold in the game and the experience and tenacity of the Wythenshawe side was bossing the play and they increased their lead on 37 minutes with a lovely deflective header from Brad Byrne via a Justin Pickering cross.

GREAT BALL CONTROL MATTHEW LANDREGAN

The start of the second period saw Turner make two substitutions for Alsager and they needed some inspiration to get back into this game, that wasn't to be and Wythenshawe showed their intention when a lovely move just five minutes into the second period saw Pickering feed Byrne again but this time his effort scraped the post.
It was three nil on 58 minutes when the visitors player of the match Steven Yarwood get a deserved goal for his afternoons contributions 25 yards out he hit a nice shot which took a deflection to wrong foot Rhys Bills in the home goal.  It was a containment exercise now for the home side and it all went nicely until five minutes from time when Wythenshawe made it 4-0 thanks to Ben Steer who turned his defender on the edge of the box and strode on to fire past Bills.

ALSAGER PONDER THEIR MATCH

Alsager had a late flurry and got a consolation goal in the first minute of stoppage time thanks to Dom Smith before a powerful free kick from Ryan Goodwin stung the hands of Jake Aldred in the visitors goal.
A comfortable win for the Wythenshawe Town who continue their push for a second consecutive promotion and who would back against them?  They have the experience with a nice selection of handy players who will see them through many a game before the end of this season. 
A homely steady club to visit in a ground of interesting features and one of those grounds that has enough for any hopper who fancies a look at one of the more quirky grounds in The NWCFL.
Return to base had the luxury of two carriages to Derby, of which the lights went out for ten minutes after Blythe Bridge British spirit saw us all sit there waving our mobile phone lights about like big kids.  A well timed change saw an arrival back at base station just before 7pm.