Lightfoot Lane
Fulwood
Preston
Lancashire
PR4 0AE
Ground Number: 1518
Saturday 28th February 2026
Fulwood Amateurs 2-2 Garstang
NWCFL D1 North
NWCFL D1 North
FULWOOD AMATEURS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
The club was established in 1924, spending 64 years in the Lancashire Amateur League from 1928 until 1992. They spent time in all three of its divisions and won the competition overall in 1938 and 1971. A notable club captain at this time was Joe Finney, brother of England international and Preston North End star Tom Finney. In 1992, Fulwood Amateurs joined the West Lancashire League and were runners-up in its second tier behind Leyland DAF in their debut season. For all but one season during their stay here, they remained in the top tier. The one exception was in 2014 when they were relegated but won Division 1 at the first attempt. They were Premier Division champions in 1995. 1999 and 2019, and runners-up twice more, the latest in 2022. After three successive 4th-place finishes, the club was admitted into the North West Counties League at the start of this season.
MY VISIT
This was to be the seventh season of the North West Counties Hop after it was established in 2017 to replace the Northern Counties East League, after all of their grounds had been completed. It had been an idea which the league adopted with enthusiasm, and the same could be said for the vast majority of the clubs. There had been a reasonable turnover of clubs, too, meaning that the hop had lasted a lot longer than less vibrant leagues. There was still plenty of life left in the league yet, quite remarkable given how long it had been running. I had been on most of the hops, but missed some games years ago due to not wanting to waste my season ticket or having to work. That meant that I'd be left to my own devices for Charnock Richard, with me hoping to catch up on the hop by doing Pilkington on the Sunday. Groundsharers were not permitted to host, so that meant that AFC Liverpool, City of Liverpool and MSB Woolton would not get a payday unless they moved. Additionally, the Isle of Man was unlikely due to the extra logistical work that their location involved. That just left Burscough, Prestwich Heys, Holker Old Boys, Maghull, Ashville, Haughmond and Shawbury that we both needed to do, and I was keen to save these to do with the hop. Additionally, I had been to Chadderton, Irlam, South Liverpool, Colne, Cammell Laird, Market Drayton Town, Telford Town, Wolves Casuals and Wolves Sporting but the hop. An element of compromise would be required on my part for either revisits or finding other games, but that was something I was willing to do to make the most of seeing multiple games.
This weekend was booked way back in mid-August as soon as the teams hosting were announced. I had got my calculations slightly wrong when I was forced to decide what holiday dates I wanted back in March, and originally didn't have the needed time off. It was the first-ever hop that was mainly in February, such is the limited range of dates available on the calendar for hops. Thankfully, my manager is a pretty easy-going guy and I was able to book the Sunday off unpaid. This was also the hop with the best choice of well priced accomodation. I was able to get a hotel for Friday night in Blackburn for £55 and Saturday night in Blackpool for £35. Both were twin rooms to split the cost with Colin and both were ideally located for going to the evening games. Compare and contrast with the hotels in Scotland (£90 per night but well located) and the North East & Somerset hotels (around £70 a night with much compromise on the location), and so this was the hop that I was looking toward the most. It had been going for many years and was in the twilight years as far as clubs were concerned. It was redemption for Atherton Laburnam Rovers (who turned down the chance to host years ago under a different committee) and the two Blackpool clubs (who had been shafted by the weather a couple of years ago).
After getting my blog up last night, I had a couple more drinks whilst watching Newsnight and The Last Leg. So much for a sensible night, I was in bed by about half past midnight. I got around six hours of sleep, more than enough for me. In the morning, I got hydrated, washed and ready in time to leave at 9. Colin was watching his wrestling, so I killed time by looking forward to future trips. Seeing that Kilmarnock were playing Hearts, I played it safe and purchased our tickets for a couple of weeks. We left at 8.50 and drove to Morrisons. It was under ten minutes' walk to the Wetherspoons, the Postal Order for breakfast muffin, black pudding and energy drink. All was excellent and set me up for the day. I got a cake from Morrisons for dessert and also some bits for later. Of course I, it started raining as we got near the ground, and we had a fair walk due to the bumper attendance. The entry was a bargain £5, and as the kickoff got nearer, the rain started to ease off.
Fulwood Amateurs were in 8th place, having won ten, drawn five and lost ten. In their last six, they had won two and lost four. In their last game, they lost 4-1 to Nelson. Garstang were bottom, having a rotten season in which they had won three, drawn seven and lost eleven. Their form was not much better, with them winning one, drawing one and losing four. The weather had not been kind to them in recent weeks, but they gained a spirited draw at Steeton in their last game. Both teams came close in the opening five minutes but it was Fulwood that opened the scoring when a left-sided cross was tapped home by Spencer Lucas. It turned out to be a double salvo as it was 2-0 less than a minute later, a shot into the roof of the net with eight minutes on the clock. Colin had spent the entire game looking at the badge stall, so he must have missed the goals. The rain started up again, and the hosts had a third goal disallowed for offside. Just before halftime, Garstang pulled a goal back, following up after the keeper palmed the initial shot out. It was all square, even deeper into injury time, an excellent shot into the top right-hand corner. The second half didn't match the entertainment level of the first game, but Fulwood had another goal disallowed. Garstang came close too, a shot deflected wide by the keeper. They also hit the post during a late goalmouth scramble.
THE GROUND
LIGHTFOOT GREEN LANE is a superb venue set in a peaceful location. The highlight is the cover behind the goal; this was procured from a local driving range and has seats in the middle. In addition, there is some uncovered seating in one corner. The cover kept a good proportion of the 519 crowd dry. The bar had a couple of pumps and a range of bottles, whilst the food range was excellent. A small range of merch was available whilst parking was plentiful, albeit along the street with the areas nearest the ground restricted for safety reasons.
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