DCBL Stadium
Widnes
Cheshire
WA8 7DZ
Ground Number: 1348
Wednesday 18th September 2024
Widnes 2-0 Mossley
NPL D1 West
NPL D1 West
WIDNES FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
The club can trace its roots back to 2003 when it began as a junior club called The Dragons. They'd have to wait a decade to play senior football when in July 2012 it was agreed that they would become part of Widnes Sports Group, the main part of which was the Widnes Vikings Rugby Club. There was a 12-month transitional period where they played friendly games before in 2013 the newly named Widnes Vikings FC entered the North West Counties League after being accepted into the pyramid. Their first season saw an unremarkable 14th-place finish in the NWCFL D1 and they dropped the 'Vikings' part of their name after just one season.A couple more disappointing seasons happened but the appointment of Joey Dunn in 2016 proved inspirational. Widnes were champions in his first season. Although Dunn resigned early in the next season, the success continued the following season in the NWCFL Premier as they finished as runners-up to Runcorn Linnets and earned promotion to the NPL D1 West. They've been there ever since, generally finishing around mid-table.
Widnes have reached the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round on three occasions. They've never made any great progress in the FA Trophy or FA Vase either, failing to get past the Qualifying Rounds. In terms of local competitions, they've reached the Liverpool Senior Cup semi-final three times and won the North West Counties League Cup in 2018. The town of Widnes of course is most famous for Widnes Vikings Rugby Club. It is located on the Chesire/Lancashire border and has a population of 62.000. The motto of Widnes is the Latin phrase Industria Ditat ("Industry Enriches"). The most famous people from Widnes are footballer Gary Taylor-Fletcher whilst Spice Girl Mel C went to school in the town.
MY VISIT
When I booked my trip to Northern Ireland, I was frustrated to find that all the games were on Tuesday, making an extended trip away unviable. The flight times didn't work with doing anything based around London either so I decided to fly to Liverpool. They had a load of games on Wednesday night, albeit highly uninspiring options in South Liverpool and Litherland REMYCA. I initially chose South Liverpool as at least you were close to the pitch. But then a late contender came up at Widnes and I was sold. This was a huge rugby stadium and mightily impressive although I'd imagine the small crowds that Widnes would be swallowed up by the cavernous ground. Either way, the main attraction was the chance to visit Liverpool again with its many great pubs and other attractions.
I awoke in Belfast after a poor night's sleep due to traffic noise and found my flight had been cancelled. Luckily, it was still just 7 am and the early bird got the worm or to be more accurate, the first choice on the flight change. I selected a flight three hours later, meaning I got less time in Liverpool, but I still got to see my game. I don't know if I will be due compensation but the main thing was, I'd still be getting home overnight. I decided to leave early and have breakfast. I wanted to give Belfast as much of a chance as possible I went to the Causeway Cafe next door, the Ulster Fry was slightly more expensive than Wetherspoons but it had some items I'd never tried before. Along with a bottle of American pineapple soda, it came to £12.50. I then walked down the Titanic Mile and Quarter which was really pleasant. It was a nice peaceful place for a stroll before I headed back to the bus station. I stopped at Wetherspoons for a £3 pint of Strongbow as it gave me time to cool down and relax. It was then a ten-minute walk to get the 12.20 bus to the airport.
Everything went smoothly through security with decent, efficient and friendly staff. The airport was quite small, very limited choice of food and drink places. There was only crappy sugary Orchard Thieves cider so I decided not to bother. I was most disappointed that my afternoon in Liverpool had been ruined, I had plans to visit the Beatles statue, the Museum of Liverpool and a couple of pubs including a great meal planned. Now I'd just have whatever Widnes had to offer and all the better pubs in Liverpool would be closed before I got back. There was a further delay with people arguing the toss about bag size, just Easyjet trying to rob them of a few more quid by being pedantic. Yet more delay was added when we couldn't take off due to a technical / paperwork issue and I was looking forward to taking these orange bastards for every penny of the £220 that I was apparently due. There were a couple of false dawns before we finally got going at 4.15. We were on Liverpool just after 5. I was off the plane and out of the airport by 5.20. Unlike Easyjet, Arriva provided an impeccable service, leaving at 5.29 on the dot. There was a few minutes delay due to traffic but I was in Widnes just after 6. I got off at ASDA as I wanted to replace the ones I'd lost earlier. A decent JVC pair cost me £12.60 after a discount and I also got a drink. It was then a ten-minute walk to The Premier, the town's Wetherspoons, my 359th. There I had a couple of pints and a sticky Korean fried chicken bowl for around £12 the lot.
From there it was to the ground, a huge stadium where I met fellow groundhopper River for the first time and we had a good chat. Entry was £10, very reasonable. The stadium was impressive but only a tiny part was in use. Widnes were on top at the start, backed by their young Ultras who did their best to create a good atmosphere. Mossley came back and had chances, missing when it seemed easier to score. Widnes took the lead on 12 minutes with a shot into the top of the net by Sean Miller. They continued to be on top and doubled their lead through Steve Irwin on the half hour. Unlike his more well-known Australian namesake he held off a couple of defenders rather than a crocodile. It continued to be a fairly even game, though on 84 minutes Widnes hit the angle of post and bar.
That was that for goals, much to the delight of most of the 202 crowd. It all seemed quite surreal, though it's a shame that the town doesn't support their team more. Plans to build a more suitable ground are taking shape, they were a friendly club and had some enthusiastic young fans. Both River and I had tight transport links to make, so we said a quick goodbye. In my case, I made the last bus of the day with a couple of minutes to spare. To get from the airport to the game, then back to Liverpool cost me just £4 in total, great value. The plan was to head back to Liverpool and stay in Wetherspoons until midnight. I'd still have another 50 minutes to wait for my coach on which I'd bought a double seat to try and help with sleep. Indeed, I arrived in Liverpool at 11 and went to the Spoons near Lime Street Station. I was in excellent company with Ollie, who I'd met a number of times before and Sean, who was on our groundhopping group. They had to get a train, so I waited until they'd gone to finish this blog.
THE GROUND
The DCBL STADIUM is an impressive arena with a capacity of 13.350, primarily the home of Widnes Vikings Rugby club. The stewards were nice and friendly as were all the club people. It's the standard slightly pricey food and drink that you'd expect from a large stadium but I didn't try that or the bar. The town is 15 minutes walk away and has lots of places including a Wetherspoons.
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