Daisy Hill - New Sirs

Daisy Hill FC

New Sirs

St James Street

Westhoughton

Bolton

Lancashire

BL5 2EB

01942 818544

Official Website

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Ground Number: 1088
Friday 15th July 2022
Daisy Hill 4-1 Ashton United
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DAISY HILL FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1894. They joined the Wigan & District League upon formation and were crowned champions in 1897, remaining unbeaten all season. By the time the First World War came, they were playing in the Leigh & District Senior Sunday School League, later moving to the Westhoughton League. The club folded some time before the Second World War but would reform in 1951, picking up where it left off. They'd later join the Bolton Combination, which they won four times. The club made the step up to the Lancashire Combination in 1978 and spent four seasons here before it merged with the Cheshire League to become the North West Counties League. They played in Division 3 at first, finishing a credible 4th in 1986. A year later, the division was merged into Division 2 and Daisy Hill would be known as Westhoughton Town between 1989 and 1994 in an attempt to appeal to the wider area. Their name might have changed briefly, but they have remained in the North West Counties League's bottom tier since 1982, though it was renamed Division 1 in 2008 and a regionalized Division 1 North in 2018. They've generally finished in the lower half of the table, their best-ever finish of 8th has been achieved on three occasions, including last season.

The club made their FA Cup bow in 2006 but lost to Winterton Rangers following a replay. There have been five further campaigns, although all have ended at the first hurdle. The FA Vase record is a little better, with two 2nd Round exits their best efforts so far. They've had some success in local cups, winning the Lancashire Amateur Shield twice, the Bolton Combination Cup four times and the Westhoughton Cup in 1897. In 2005 Daisy Hill U18s progressed to the FA Youth Cup First Round proper after beating Prescot Cables, Retford United and Farsley Celtic. They finally succumbed 4-2 against Doncaster Rovers. Daisy Hill is a suburb of Westhoughton which is located near Leigh and Bolton and has a population of around 25,000. Famous people from the town include footballer Frannie Lee and actress Maxine Peake. She has been in a few things I've seen such as a small part in Coronation Street, the Hillsborough-related drama 'Anne' and most memorably, Veronica in Shameless.

MY VISIT

As ever for the weekend for my birthday, I booked a few days off. Originally I'd hoped to go to Devon and Cornwall but the choice of games were limited and the accommodation not as abundant as I'd like. The next idea was something based around Manchester with a guaranteed game at the Leigh Sports Village on Sunday for the Women's Euros game between Sweden & Portugal. That was the plan I went through with, albeit with a slight diversion to Blackpool to give a bit of variety on Saturday.  I would have someone coming with me too, one of my regular hoppers, Colin, who I'd first me on the coach to Blackpool v Wycombe Wanderers in 2019. The lad has a heart of gold but is not the best with booking things so I had to go up to his place in Amersham to help him book tickets, accommodation and coaches. It was nice to have it all sorted a month in advance, although lots of stuff was already booked up. The beauty of this was that we could share a room and save money. For this day we got a family room at a very reasonable £44.50 in the Premier Inn near Bolton Wanderers which was a few miles away from my first choice of Daisy Hill. Bearing in mind that pre-season games can be a bit flaky, I had a backup in Chorley v Stockport County planned. It would be a revisit but it was better than nothing. I also got a great deal on the coach with a £15 return from London to Manchester. This was a half-price offer, thanks to the horrible journey I'd had back from Newcastle in March.

Sadly, it turned out that Colin would be unable to join me until Saturday. His boss had forced him to work on his day off, citing the reason that he'd not booked it as a holiday. I felt sorry for him as I've had bad bosses in the past, but luckily my current one is great. I'd have told the bloke to get stuffed if it was me, totally out of order. Though that said, it would be nice having the hotel room to myself. I did my research for Daisy Hill on Monday, trying to find out more about the club's history before I visited. I always thought the name sounded like an old lady and indeed, it was Fred West's mum's name before she got married, something I accidentally found out whilst listening to an audiobook. I had visited the ground for pictures around 15 years ago and remembered it as a bit of a classical old ground.

I had a few drinks the night before to unwind and quickly researched a late addition to the trip in Blackpool Wren Rovers. I'd only be seeing half a game at either there or Squires Gate as despite the grounds being next door to each other, the kickoffs overlapped. The day of the game came and I was awake long before my alarm went off at 5.50. I did the usual rounds of Wordle, Timehop and updating my pictures on Futbology before getting dressed and having breakfast. Leaving at 6.15, I opted to still park at Colin's to keep my car safe. It was then a pleasant mile walk to the station with me getting there earlier than expected at 6.50. A train was there waiting for me and happily, it was fairly quiet. It got a lot busier on the Victoria Line and at the coach station and I was there nearly an hour before I needed to be. It was better to be safe than sorry but the coach was on time. Despite it being nearly full, I managed to get a double seat to myself, thanks to my absent friend. We made good progress, stopping at Corley services. Sadly no Mcdonald's as they don't put a premium on their prices at services and I'd been looking forward to a wrap of the day. I had to make do with a Hoisin duck wrap and a brownie which weren't outrageously expensive at £5.10. Some woman was ten minutes late back for the coach and the coach driver let her know how unhappy he was. I received disappointing news about my next weekends' plans as the Wingate and Finchley v Colwyn Bay game had been switched to Wales.

 We got to Manchester just after 2pm. I needed a few bits and so headed to Lidl to get a few bits and then also to Poundland to buy a USB cable. I then headed to Fierce Bar which was a bit busy and cramped and I couldn't see any cider. Instead, I headed to the Marble Arch Inn which was a lot better and I had a pint of Ross First Press for a fiver. I had the option of two trains at 4 and 4.30, the station ten minutes away. Of course, I opted for the later train, a second pint of Ross Harry Masters Jersey & Browns Apple was spot on. The trains were not as good as I'd hoped and I had a 25-minute wait at Salford Crescent between trains although maybe I got the wrong station. It was £6.60 single in any case. I got booked into my room but by now, a taxi was required. Luckily, it was a de value £4.50 to get to my pub of choice, the Beer School in Westhoughton. It was a great place with a superb cider selection and many very friendly dogs. I had a pint of Udders Orchard Beer School Blend and it was great. Thankfully the place was open until midnight so I'd be back later. I then headed across the road to Italiano where I got Premadoner pizza, chips and a drink for £9. It was then just over half an hour's walk to the ground with me chatting to some friendly Bolton fans on the way. They were surprised at me coming so far for the game but we had a good chat.

 I got to the ground just before kick-off. Entry was a well-priced £4. Ashton United looked the neater side early on but after 18 minutes, Daisy Hill took the lead. It was a good ball in by #9 and left #2 to neatly put the ball past the keeper from a tight angle. I got the second goal on camera, a corner was put in, only half cleared and the attacker pounced to make it 2-0 on 35 minutes. An attack down the right and a low shot made it 3-0 on 55 minutes. Ashton United pulled one back on 64 minutes, a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner. The hosts completed the scoring on 75 minutes, a well-taken low shot to make it 4-1. 

The second for Daisy Hill. I can't see my blogs being up before Monday or Tuesday given the quality of the pubs so far. pic.twitter.com/FkgAXF1MkR

— ⚽Russell Cox💙 (@RussWWFC) July 15, 2022

After the game I walked back to the Beer School, seeing a group of guys who spotted my Wycombe shirt and of course, mentioned Akinfenwa. I had the one cider I'd not had before which was Udders Orchard Katja and this was very nice. There were a couple of other pubs worth visiting. The Brewery Tap was blasting out loud music I think, though I may have been mistaken. Instead, I headed to my 227th Wetherspoons, The Robert Shaw. It was standard fare, no real cider but I had a pint of Stowford Press for £1.99. From there, I walked back to the room, it took longer than expected and I was back around half midnight after a good day.

 

THE GROUND 

NEW SIRS is a classic old ground. There are just two covered areas but they are proper bricks and mortar stands. The main seated area is behind the goal and holds around 100. The standing area is along the side and holds the same. The rest of the ground is open hard standing. There is a tea bar and clubhouse there but I didn't try either. Nearby are some takeaways but if you have time, it's worth walking to the Beer School in Westhoughton where there are also lots of other places.